What Are the Odds: Odds Released on Likelihood of Jaguars Hiring Doug Pederson

Could Doug Pederson be Jacksonville's next head coach? The odds have been released and it appears oddsmakers think it is a more likely landing spot than a few others.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are still in the process of looking for their next head coach while another team joined the coaching cycle on Monday. 

With the Philadelphia Eagles firing head coach Doug Pederson, there are now seven head coach openings throughout the league. This means the other six teams could now have a chance to hire Pederson, the coach who led the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory over Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI. 

Does Pederson make sense for the Jaguars, though? Jacksonville is widely seen as the league's most appealing job opening due to their plethora of draft picks, cap space, and ownership of the No. 1 overall pick and eventually Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. But are they a fit for Pederson? 

This is the question posed by BetOnline, who listed the likelihood of Pederson landing any of the non-Eagles coaching jobs. The company clearly sees Pederson as probable to return to a sideline in 2021, giving him -150 (2/3) odds to be a head coach next season. But could that be in Jacksonville?

BetOnline has the Jaguars listed as the third-most likely landing spot, behind just the New York Jets (2/1) and Los Angeles Chargers (3/1). The Jaguars were given 4/1 odds, which is in front of the Detroit Lions (5/1), Atlanta Falcons (6/1), and Houston Texans (7/1).

Pederson has been frequently linked to the Jets job due to his relationship with Jets general manager Joe Douglas. He has yet to be connected to Jacksonville's job, with most of the momentum there still centering around former Florida Gators and Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer. 

All in all, it seems unlikely the Jaguars would pursue Pederson at this stage. They have already conducted five interviews in the week they have been searching for a new head coach, and it appears they are more or less set on those five coaches as their candidates.  

Pederson would bring some respectability to Jacksonville's sideline, however. Despite the Eagles' terrible 2020 season, Pederson has a 48-41 record (including playoffs), a .539% rate, and three playoff appearances. Considering the Jaguars are 27-56 in that span with one playoff appearance, it is hard to say he wouldn't be an upgrade.

The Jaguars fired head coach Doug Marrone on January 4 after the team finished with a franchise-worst 1-15 record in 2020. Marrone went 25-44 in four-plus seasons as Jacksonville's head coach, but the Jaguars have lost 36 of their last 48 games.

"Well, I certainly think there’s a huge amount of interest in this, much more so than the last time around. And I also look at really—we’re in a much different, and I would say a better position today than we were a year ago," Khan said on Monday.

"A little over a year ago, as you well know—and I think you reported—we did have team disharmony and we were—for lack of a better word—salary cap hell. I think today, I frankly thought that we would do better. We won six games last year [2019], but you know, certainly we have a lot of salary cap availability along with the draft picks and obviously the number one pick. But what’s evaded the history of the Jags, really, has been a franchise quarterback. And I think what’s unique, certainly, is that we have the ability now to make a choice and it’s going to define the franchise moving forward.”