Jaguars’ Doug Pederson Wins AFC Coach Of The Year

After leading the Jacksonville Jaguars to the AFC Divisional Round, Doug Pederson was awarded AFC Coach of The Year by 101 Awards on Tuesday.

For two straight years, the Jaguars owned the worst record in the NFL in 2020 and 2021. After hiring Pederson, they finished the regular season 9-8 and secured a ticket to the NFL Playoffs for the first time since 2017.

Pederson led the Jaguars to five consecutive regular season wins and helped Jacksonville come back from a 27-point deficit in the AFC Wild Card Game.

Pederson Makes Immediate Impact With Jaguars

In his first year as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Pederson led his squad to an AFC South title and playoff victory, helping him earn the nod as the best coach in the conference.

The Jaguars were coming off two disastrous seasons but finished above .500 with Pederson at the helm. After losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the regular season, the Jaguars entered their bye week with a 3-7 record.

Pederson was able to turn things around and the Jaguars were red-hot to end the season, winning six of their final seven regular season games, including a five-game winning streak to secure their spot in the playoffs.

Jacksonville also had one of the biggest NFL upsets this season, beating the Los Angeles Chargers on the road in the AFC Wild Card round. Pederson helped guide his young squad out of a 27-point first-half deficit, marking the third-largest comeback victory in NFL postseason history.

Despite not winning the Divisional Round battle against the Chiefs, the Jaguars have a ton of potential for the next coming years with Pederson and star quarterback Trevor Lawerence.

AFC Coach Of the Year with 101 Awards

Since the AFL-NFL merger, the 101 Awards has been giving out accolades for Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year along with Coach of the Year from the AFC and NFC.

The award is voted on by 101 national media members and winners will be honored with trophies at the award gala in Kansas City on Feb 25.

Pederson joins former head Coach Doug Marrone as the only Jaguars’ coaches to ever win the AFC Coach of the Year from 101 awards in its 53 year history.

There has only been one Jaguars’ player ever honored at the 101 awards, Calais Campbell, who won Defensive Player of the year in 2017.

Brian Daboll, head coach of the New York Giants, was the winner of the NFC Coach of the Year.