Doug Pederson

Douglas Irvin Pederson (born January 31, 1968) is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL).

Pederson played professionally as a quarterback, spending most of his 13-season career as a backup to Brett Favre on the Green Bay Packers, where he was a member of the team that won Super Bowl XXXI.

Pederson was born in Bellingham, Washington, in 1968.

He was raised in nearby Ferndale, Washington, and attended Ferndale High School, and was an All-State selection in football, basketball, and baseball.

After high school he graduated from Northeast Louisiana University, where he was quarterback from 1987 through 1990.

He still holds multiple passing records at the school.

Pederson originally signed as a rookie free agent by the Miami Dolphins on May 1, 1991, out of Northeast Louisiana University (now University of Louisiana at Monroe) in Monroe, Louisiana.

He was waived on August 17, 1991, before the start of the regular season.

After spending the 1991 season as a free agent, the New York/New Jersey Knights of the World League of American Football (WLAF) drafted him in the fifth round for the first pool of draft-eligible players on February 4, 1992.

The second pool, which was drafted from on February 20, consisted of players allocated by NFL teams to the league.

He was the backup quarterback to Reggie Slack with the Knights from March to May 1992.

After the WLAF season finished, he was re-signed by the Dolphins on June 2, 1992.

Pederson spent 1992 training camp with the Dolphins, before being released during final roster cuts again.

He was subsequently re-signed to the team's practice squad, where he practiced on the scout team until he was waived on October 8, 1992.

He was re-signed by the Dolphins after the season on March 3, 1993.

After his third training camp with the Dolphins, he was waived again on August 31, 1993.

For the second consecutive season, Pederson was re-signed to the team's practice squad, on September 1, 1993.

Dan Marino, the Dolphins' starting quarterback since 1983, ruptured his Achilles' tendon in a week 6 game against the Cleveland Browns on October 10, 1993, forcing backup Scott Mitchell to replace him.

Pederson replaced Marino on the active roster, and served as Mitchell's backup for the next four games.

Pederson made his NFL debut on October 24, 1993, in a week 8 game against the Indianapolis Colts.

He helped head coach Don Shula win his NFL-record 325th victory as a coach when Mitchell suffered a separated shoulder in a week 11 game against the Philadelphia Eagles on November 14, 1993.

In that record breaking game for Coach Shula, Pederson entered in the third quarter of the game and went 3 for 6 for 34 yards while converting several crucial third downs.

Pederson was able to steer the Dolphins to the win.

Pederson also served as the backup to recently acquired Steve DeBerg for the three games Mitchell missed with injury.

He briefly entered a week 14 game against the New York Giants while DeBerg was receiving stitches on his face.

Mitchell returned as the Dolphins' starter after week 15, and Pederson was released in favor of backup DeBerg and third-string quarterback Hugh Millen on December 16, 1993.

Pederson re-signed with the Dolphins on April 16, 1994, after the season ended.

He spent the entire 1994 season on the Dolphins' active roster as the third-string quarterback behind Marino and Bernie Kosar.

On February 15, 1995, Pederson was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the twenty-second round of the NFL Expansion Draft, after being placed on the Dolphins' available players list on January 19, but was released on May 24, 1995.

He returned to the World League after his release, playing with Rhein Fire.

Pederson re-signed with the Dolphins again in June 1995.

After competing with Dan McGwire throughout training camp, Pederson was waived on August 22, 1995.

Marino suffered a knee injury during a week 6 game, so Pederson was re-signed on October 10 to serve as the third quarterback behind Kosar and McGwire for the next two games.

He was released again after Marino returned for week 9 on October 24.

Pederson was also a backup to Dan Marino on the Miami Dolphins and a starter for the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns until retiring in 2004.

Pederson began his coaching career under Andy Reid, serving as an assistant for the Eagles from 2009 to 2012.

After Reid became the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013, Pederson followed him to serve as the Chiefs' offensive coordinator.

Pederson returned to the Eagles as their head coach in 2016, a position he held for five seasons.

His most successful season with the Eagles was in 2017 when he won Super Bowl LII, the franchise's first Super Bowl title.

Pederson became the head coach of the Jaguars in 2022 and led them to their first division title and playoff victory since 2017 the same season.