In a bit of a surprise, the Philadelphia Eagles fired head coach Doug Pederson on Monday.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and ESPN's Tim McManus reported that Pederson's firing came after multiple meetings with owner Jeffrey Lurie over the past week, which revealed that the two had differing opinions regarding the direction of the franchise, including upcoming personnel decisions.

For instance, Pederson favored the internal promotions of quarterbacks coach Press Taylor to Eagles offensive coordinator and defensive line coach Matt Burke to defensive coordinator. Lurie is interested in more established candidates.

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Later on, Rapoport reported a more succinct explanation for Pederson's dismissal.

“After speaking with two people close to former Eagles coach Doug Pederson, it sounds like this is what it boiled down: Pederson was sick of people telling him what to do,” he tweeted.
Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press was a little more specific about the core dispute between coach and owner.
“It came down to Doug Pederson or [GM] Howie Roseman,” Maadii wrote on Twitter. “Jeffrey Lurie chose Howie. #Eagles are now searching for a new head coach.”

Pederson led the Eagles to a victory in Super Bowl LII over the New England Patriots but oversaw a disappointing 4-11-1 season in 2020.

QB Carson Wentz regressed, resulting in his benching in favor of rookie Jalen Hurts — a move that “fractured” the relationship between Wentz and Pederson.

Philadelphia's season ended ignominiously when Pederson benched Hurts for third-stringer Nate Sudfeld in the fourth quarter of a winnable game against the Washington Football Team in Week 17.

Both Lurie and Pederson released statements of gratitude on Monday afternoon.

Pederson, 52, was hired in 2016 to replace Chip Kelly.

Overall, he went 42-37-1 in five seasons with the Eagles, and 4-2 in the playoffs.