3 head coach candidates after Eagles fire Doug Pederson

Carmichael arrived in New Orleans as quarterbacks coach with Drew Brees and Sean Payton in 2006, and he became offensive coordinator in 2009 (a post he has of course occupied since). While Payton and Brees get a lot of credit or how good the Saints’ offense has been, Carmichael’s contribution shouldn’t be overlooked.

As Brees seems headed for retirement whenever the Saints’ season ends, a new starting quarterback would be coming next season. Will it be Payton’s pet project, Taysom Hill? Will Jameis Winston be back? The idea of trading for Deshaun Watson sounds ideal and nice. But even if you remove part of Brees’ $36.15 million cap number, the Saints have a lot of work to do just to get under the 2021 salary cap.

Carmichael continues to be peripherally mentioned as a head coaching candidate, but would he seriously entertain an opportunity in parallel to Brees retiring if one came? From the Eagles end of things, they need someone to either fix Wentz or refine Hurts’ game into an all-around force. Where Pederson has apparently failed, as his relationship with Wentz has reportedly become “fractured beyond repair”, Carmichael’s long run with Brees is notable. Maybe he’d be intrigued by the idea of working with the Eagles’ quarterbacks, and fixing what Pederson has broken in one fashion or another.