Jaguars' Doug Pederson Officially Named Finalist For Coach of the Year

The Jaguars had an all-time first-year turnaround with Doug Pederson at the helm, leading to him earning a coach of the year finalist nod.

Few coaches had the season Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson had in 2022. As a result, Pederson is justifiably a finalist for the NFL Coach of the Year honor. 

Pederson is a finalist alongside New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll and San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. Pederson and Daboll each turned around teams with losing records and won a playoff game in their first year at the helm, while Shanahan has the 49ers a game away from the Super Bowl despite starting a rookie third-string quarterback for the last two months.

“I think for us this season, I think there is a sense of accomplishment for everything this team has gone through over the last year and a half. To go from one of the worst teams record-wise a year ago to winning a playoff game this year, there is a sense of accomplishment," Pederson said on Monday. 

"It’s just a credit to these guys to have the, it all starts in the offseason, and it starts with adding the players that we added here in the offseason to build the foundation, to start there and just keep building upon that. It wasn’t a pretty season, by any means. We had that stretch in there that was pretty rough on us. Every guy in there right now, they all had a belief that we could accomplish our goals, and they never wavered from that. It’s a credit to them for kind of sticking to it. It really is something to build upon with the accomplishments that we did this year.”

Jacksonville finished 9-8 in the regular season, recovering from a 3-7 record and winning the AFC South in Week 18 before defeating the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card Round.

The Jaguars increased their win total by six wins (from three to nine) this season, tying Detroit for the largest improvement in wins in 2022. Jacksonville’s six-win increase was the highest by any team with a new head coach.

“There’s a lot of things to point to, but I don’t think you point to anything greater than Doug’s influence as a leader," Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said on Tuesday when asked why the Jaguars turned things around in 2022.

"When you have someone at the top that’s as steady as Doug is, as fearless as he is, and really as authentic. Those are three things I think of when I think of the way Doug’s led this organization and this football team that really stand out, and people get behind that. When you’re authentic, you’re the same guy every day, and you’re fearless as a leader, people—players, staff, fan bases—it’s encouraging, and it’s engaging.”