Good luck, Philadelphia. You're going to need it.

On Monday, the Eagles controversially fired Doug Pederson. In Pederson's five years as head coach of the team, Philadelphia achieved heights never achieved before, winning Super Bowl LII. The Eagles even found themselves in the postseason three times, winning the division twice in that stretch. But for a variety of reasons, including a disastrous 2020 campaign where the Eagles finished 4-11-1 and were dead last in the NFC East, and the mismanagement of the quarterback situation, Pederson was relieved of his duties.

When a coach gets fired, there are two things that need to be considered. Number one, did that coach deserve to get fired? Did that coach do something that made them undeserving to keep his spot anymore? Sometimes, the answer is obvious, such as when the Cleveland Browns fired Hue Jackson after coaching 40 games for the team and finishing 3-36-1. Sometimes, it’s a bit more nuanced than that, such as a fractured locker room, or a culture change being necessary. And in the case of Pederson, he easily satisfies prong one.

The embarrassment that transpired on Sunday Night Football in week 17 against Washington was more than enough to let Pederson go. Obviously, the Eagles were not tanking or trying to lose that game, but Pederson’s decision to bench second-round rookie Jalen Hurts and see what Nate Sudfeld, a five-year veteran, had, was questionable at best and irresponsible at worst. Keeping Sudfeld in the game, even though he was incapable of moving the ball down the field, and calling questionable plays, including a play-action pass on Philadelphia’s own 10-yard line down by six with no timeouts and 50 seconds left, made matters worse.

Coaches make bad decisions all the time, and players can usually move on from that. However, the moment a coach’s desire to win is questioned, there’s no going back. The locker room is forever fractured. Any trust that a player has in a coach is gone, and the divide exists. Miles Sanders spoke out against it, saying, “if I’m being honest, nobody liked the decision. Nobody. That’s all I can say. A lot of people on the team were confused.” Jalen Hurts was visibly shaken up on the sidelines. Jason Kelce approached Pederson during the game. There’s no going back at this point. Especially when this was compounded with Pederson’s decision to seemingly play for a tie against the Cincinnati Bengals, Pederson had to go.

That's the first part of the equation. Pederson deserved to get fired. After mismanaging the situation between Jalen Hurts and Carson Wentz and somehow managing to anger both of them, and after losing to the point where his own players are questioning his decision-making and desire to win, he had to go. The second part of the equation, though, is much more difficult. Because in this second part, what has to be considered is the following- can you get a coach better than the one you just fired? And this one is more complicated.

With the exception of the dumpster fire taking place in Houston, due to the lack of draft picks, and a disgruntled and disjointed player base that is getting more and more frustrated by the day by the front office, Philadelphia is the least desirable coaching vacancy in football. There is almost nothing attractive about this position. When looking at a position, there are usually four things that need to be considered to determine how attractive it is.

Number one is how close a team is to winning, although this usually does not apply unless a coach on a winning team is fired (a la Marty Schottenheimer after the 2006 season despite leading the San Diego Chargers to a 14-2 record), or retires (a la Dick Vermeil after winning Super Bowl XXXIV with the St. Louis Rams). Number two is the quarterback position; having a great, young quarterback (a la Justin Herbert with the Chargers) makes a position way more attractive than a spot where there are major quarterback questions (a la the situation with the Detroit Lions). Number three is available cap space; the more cap space, the better. And, number four is draft stock; the more draft picks, the better.

Philadelphia is lacking in all of these categories. Even if we ignore the winning category, since every team with a vacancy fails in that department, in the other three categories, the Eagles are woefully behind almost every other vacancy. At quarterback, neither Carson Wentz nor Jalen Hurts seem like the answer. Wentz is costing over $30 million against the salary cap for each of the next four years, and costs Philadelphia over $24 in dead cap if cut after the 2021 season. While Hurts showed potential, he did not inspire confidence that he is the guy going forward, as a completion percentage of just 52 percent is not exactly going to do a whole lot. Philadelphia’s draft capital is nothing to write home about, as the team has just three picks inside the first four rounds of the draft. And the cap space is nothing short of a mess; as things stand, the Eagles have negative $63 million in cap space, which is the second worst total in football behind the New Orleans Saints.

There is nothing attractive about this spot in the slightest bit, especially when compared to some of the other openings around the league. Good luck getting any coach to pick Philadelphia over another vacancy with limited draft picks, awful cap space, and a quarterback situation that is nothing short of messy. Pederson had to go, but the odds that the Eagles find anyone better than Pederson during this cycle are slim at best.

Whoever said it was always sunny in Philadelphia was lying. Because right now, it's dark skies ahead. Good luck Eagles. You’re going to need it this offseason trying to find a head coach.