Calls Mount for NFL Coach to Be Fired After Blowout Loss

The Jacksonville Jaguars have back-to-back London games on the docket here in Weeks 6 and 7 of the NFL season, and it just might be that quirk in the schedule that saves coach Doug Pederson from being fired.

Because after Jacksonville's miserable, 35-16 blowout loss to the Bears, there's no question that Pederson should lose his job. The Jaguars came into the year with high expectations after winning nine games and handing quarterback Trevor Lawrence a hefty five-year, $275 million contract.

But the Jags are unable to get out of their own way this season, and are now just 1-5 on the season. They were outgained in yardage, 373-278, by the Bears, a team that had been averaging 22.6 points per game.

"Doug, you might want to take an extended vacation there in London," CBS Sports' Pete Prisco said. "If this gets really ugly, and I think this has a chance to get really ugly, this is a young team that might pack their bags and go home. ... It could be a real problem for Doug Pederson to make it through the season."

While Prisco said he does not think the Jaguars will move on Pederson while the time is overseas, there was plenty of reaction to the loss suggesting that Pederson should be dumped, no matter where the team is.

Already, the NFL has seen one coach fired after a London debacle, as the Jets' Robert Saleh was fired this week following the team's loss to Minnesota in Week 5's London game.

Pederson is in his third season as Jacksonville's coach, a tenure that had a promising start with a playoff appearance, and a win, in 2022. But the Jaguars finished last season on a 1-5 skid after an 8-3 start, and have not recovered since.

The team will play the Patriots in London next week, but whether Pederson is the coach for that game remains to be seen.