NFL power rankings: Head coaches from 32-1

 No. 22: Doug Pederson, Philadelphia Eagles

Pederson is an Andy Reid disciple through and through. He played for Reid in 1999 before giving way to some rookie named Donovan McNabb, served as a quality control coach and quarterbacks coach for the Eagles and then followed Reid to the Kansas City Chiefs as offensive coordinator from 2013-2015. In Pederson’s first season back in Philadelphia as the head coach, the Eagles went 7-9 and missed the playoffs after a promising 3-0 start.

As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has noted, Reid was fired after the only time he missed the playoffs in two straight years as Eagles’ head coach. That doesn’t necessarily mean Pederson will be fired if the Eagles don’t make the playoffs in his second season, but a six-game suspension for Cowboys’ running back Ezekiel Elliott (pending a possible appeal) makes the reigning NFC East champions very vulnerable.

Pederson has to prove he’s a good head coach, apart from any residual tie to Reid that may or may not still matter. This year will tell a lot about that, with an offseason effort to surround quarterback Carson Wentz with better talent. It may not be playoffs or bust in 2017, but another losing season could put Pederson on the hot seat a year from now.