Jaguars hire Super Bowl-winning coach

The Jacksonville Jaguars have hired Doug Pederson as their NFL head coach, ending a wild and winding search that ended up where it started more than a month ago.

Pederson, who led the Philadelphia Eagles to their lone Super Bowl title, was Jacksonville's first candidate interviewed when he met with owner Shad Khan and general manager Trent Baalke on December 30.

He waited more than month for a call back. He got a second interview on Tuesday and landed the job two days later.

"Doug Pederson four years ago won a Super Bowl as head coach of a franchise in pursuit of its first world championship," Khan said in a statement.

"I hope Doug can replicate that magic here in Jacksonville, but what is certain is his proven leadership and experience as a winning head coach in the National Football League.

"It's exactly what our players deserve. Nothing less."

The 54-year-old Pederson takes over for Urban Meyer, who was fired after 13 games and countless controversies in what will go down as one of the worst coaching tenures in NFL history.

Pederson ultimately got the nod over former NFL coaches Jim Caldwell and Bill O'Brien, current/former coordinators Byron Leftwich, Nathaniel Hackett, Matt Eberflus, Todd Bowles, Kellen Moore, and Jaguars offensive coordinator/interim head coach Darrell Bevell.

Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn declined an interview request, presumably because he preferred not to work with Baalke.

Discussions with Leftwich broke down for similar reasons, according to a person familiar with the process. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because both sides wanted to keep details private.

Former Las Vegas interim coach Rich Bisaccia and fired Denver coach Vic Fangio also