When the Eagles hired Doug Pederson in January, one of the outside perceptions was that they hired a “yes man” to go along with whatever the organization, namely Howie Roseman, wanted.
Only that’s not true.
Pederson is no wallflower.
This became a little more evident on Thursday, shortly after Sam Bradford held his press conference in the wake of signing a two-year deal worth a reported $36 million. Pederson was asked how vocal he was about wanting Bradford back.
“Real vocal, actually, to be quite honest with you,” Pederson said.
“Again, as I evaluated the tape from last year and got together with Frank [Reich] and Coach [John] DeFilippo and getting everyone’s opinion, we felt strongly about having Sam back. We’re excited that he’s here and locked in for next year.”
Throughout the first part of this offseason, Roseman, the vice president of football operations, has continually said what a weapon it is for the organization to have former quarterbacks involved in personnel decisions.
Apparently, Roseman listened to what Pederson had to say about Bradford.
“I think that having played the position, understanding the position, having coached the position, it makes a big impact with the people you talk to in the organization,” Pederson said. “They want your opinion, they want you to voice your opinion. And with this situation here, I think it was key that they understood where I was coming from in order to get Sam signed.”
Both Pederson and Reich, the team's new offensive coordinator, had lengthy careers in the NFL, mostly as backup quarterbacks. They spent time studying Bradford and determined he would be a good fit in the Eagles’ new offense.
Aside from just pushing Roseman and the Eagles to bring Bradford back, Pederson also had to convince Bradford that Philly was still the right place for him. The head coach was very public about his desire to have Bradford back, even saying during his introductory press conference that Bradford would “fit perfectly” in his offense.
Then, there were the conversations behind the scenes. Pederson and Bradford didn’t even know each other before the Eagles hired Pederson.
So what did Pederson do to convince Bradford?
“Once you sit down and you talk to him and you realize that he’s played the position, he understands the game from the quarterback perspective, that was really big for me,” Bradford said. “There’s a big difference in someone like him who has seen it firsthand and someone who hasn’t. And then, also just talking to some people who were here, who worked with him before he went to Kansas City. Everyone had nothing but great things to say.”
Now, Bradford did say Roseman talked to him about a return before the Eagles hired a new head coach, but it still seems as though Pederson was one of the driving forces to the signing.
Because of his influence on the decision to re-sign Bradford, it stands to reason that Pederson will have plenty of say in future personnel decisions in free agency and the draft, especially at the quarterback position.
First thing’s first: Free agency kicks off on Wednesday. Pederson said he and his staff evaluated all the soon-to-be free agents and evaluated them based on the possibility those guys will fit what the Eagles need. This will be Pederson’s first free-agency period as a head coach.
So, how good of a recruiter is he?
“Well, Sam’s here, right?” Pederson said.
Bradford is back. And he probably has a vocal Pederson, in part, to thank for it.