How Sean McDermott’s contract extension with the Bills impacts Eagles’ head coach Doug Pederson

The Bills were the joke of the NFL before Sean McDermott landed the job as head coach and as we prepare for the 2020 NFL season to start, he’s being rewarded for making Buffalo relevant in the AFC East again.

Doug Pederson is one of the top head coaches in the NFL and also one of the most underpaid.

After leading the Eagles to their third straight playoff appearance in 2019, Pederson might be scratching his head after the Buffalo Bills joined the Vikings, extending head coach Sean McDermott.

McDermott helped the Bills snap an 18-year postseason drought — which was the longest in the NFL — in his first season as the head coach in 2017 and through three-seasons with Buffalo, he’s compiled a 25-23 record with two playoff appearances.

It’ll be interesting to see how McDermott’s deal impacts Pederson, who is a top-five head coach in the league and a prime reason why the Eagles are Super Bowl contenders.

As we sit here today, Pederson isn’t in the top-10 highest-paid coaches in football or the top-20 highest-paid in sports despite his playoff prowess.

1. Bill Belichick: $12 million
2. Pete Carroll: $11 million
3. Jon Gruden: $10 million
4. Sean Payton: $9.8 million
5. John Harbaugh: $9 million
6. Matt Rhule: $8.5 million
7. Sean McVay: $8.5 million
T-8. Mike Tomlin: $8 million
T-8. Dan Quinn: $8 million
T-8. Andy Reid: $8 million

Pederson is 38-26 over his first four seasons and hasn’t had a losing season since his first season as a head coach back in 2016.

The Eagles rarely have contract disputes with coaches but it’ll be interesting to see how Howie Roseman proceeds with Pederson having two-years remaining on his current deal as coaches around the league get paid.

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