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He eventually returned to Philadelphia as a coach a decade later with the Eagles and followed Reid to Kansas City. He was with him for four years with the Eagles (2009-12); and the past three years with the Kansas City Chiefs.

According to rankings by ESPN, Pederson's hire was the worst hire of a head coach to this point.

The general consensus has become that Pederson must not have been the Eagles first choice.

None of them had the appeal of Doug Pederson, who a source confirmed Thursday will become the next head coach of the Eagles.

He cited a game in 2001, after Pederson had returned to Green Bay to back up Brett Favre.

However, Pederson likely won't have to fill out an entire staff. It is believed he will retain running backs coach Duce Staley, special teams coordinator Dave Fipp, offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland and defensive backs coach Cory Undlin.

Humble as always, Maclin was still very much adored by the fans after leaving Philadelphia to join Andy Reid in Kansas and after a season under Pederson, he seems very confident that the Eagles have made a good decision.

At the press conference announcing Kelly's firing, Lurie outlined a vision for his next coach that conjured up an image of the respected and affable Reid, the Eagles coach from 1999 through 2012.

The Eagles expressed interest in both Ben McAdoo and Adam Gase. "If Kelly fixes Kaepernick, and adds a more human touch to his playbook when dealing with employees and employers alike, he has a real chance to restore San Francisco as a credible NFC contender". Coaches who say "gosh", as Pederson did on Wednesday when asked about his meeting with the Eagles, aren't boat rockers.

That doesn't mean he can not develop into a solid coach and play caller.

Coughlin, during his tour as wide receivers coach of the Eagles helped develop Mike Quick, one of the team's all-time great receivers.

Yes, he learned a lot from Reid, Eagles fans better hope one of those was how not to manage the clock. In Pederson, signed by the Eagles as a free agent, Reid found a veteran quarterback who could start until McNabb was ready. He has a friend there in senior consultant Tom Gamble, previously fired by the Eagles. In that role, Pederson was essentially in his first coaching job. McNabb, with Pederson's help, moved into the starting job before the end of the season. He coached there for four seasons, compiling a 41-10 record.