PHILADELPHIA — Doug Pederson was too close to Andy Reid to get fan approval when the Philadelphia Eagles hired him to replace Chip Kelly.

Pederson was Reid’s first starting quarterback in Philadelphia back in 1999 when he groomed rookie Donovan McNabb. Then Pederson served as an assistant coach under Reid for seven seasons with the Eagles and Chiefs.

Because Reid never won the Big One, fans didn’t want his protege.

Adam Gase and Ben McAdoo were popular choices during the 2016 coaching search, but Gase went to Miami and McAdoo stayed with the Giants. The Eagles even considered Tom Coughlin, but chose Pederson instead.

Gase is 16-17 in two seasons in Miami. McAdoo was fired already. Other coaches hired that year: Hue Jackson is 1-31 in Cleveland; Dirk Koetter is 14-18 in Tampa Bay; Tennessee fired Mike Mularkey on Monday; and San Francisco fired Chip Kelly after one season.

Even longtime NFL executive Mike Lombardi was critical of Pederson after he led the Eagles to a 7-9 record in his first season.

“Everybody knows Pederson isn’t a head coach,” Lombardi said before this season started. “He might be less qualified to coach a team than anyone I’ve ever seen in my 30-plus years in the NFL.”