MOBILE, Ala. — This trip to the Senior Bowl has been a little different for Doug Pederson.
The former position coach and offensive coordinator is now an NFL head coach for the first time. So with that new job comes new responsibilities.
“The biggest thing is just watching the entire field of talent, not just focusing on the offensive side,” Pederson said. “Anybody that is involved with football obviously knows a little bit about everything. But that’s probably the biggest thing, viewing the entire field and not just one side.”
Pederson is an integral part of owner Jeff Lurie’s collaborative process in an otherwise unspecified front-office structure.
Because Pederson’s tenure as the Eagles' coach is just barely a week old, the scouting department and the new coaching staff hasn’t really had a chance to meet much and talk about the types of players the Eagles want on their roster, the types of players who will fit into specific schemes.
But that process has started.
“We’ll sit down with our coaches and find out what’s important to them,” vice president of football operations Howie Roseman said. “It’s important that we get players that fit what’s important to them and their scheme and what we’re looking for in our football team and also what we have on our team currently. What fits and what doesn’t. I think that’s all in the process. Again, this is early on.”
Roseman said the new coaching staff has already done a “tremendous job” of communicating what they’re looking for to the rest of the organization. Roseman also mentioned that there is a level of familiarity with many of the coaches, including Pederson.
Typically, if there’s turnover in a scouting department after a new coaching hire, it comes after the draft. So for these scouts, the new coaching staff means they might have to fine-tune the way they look at players. For example, Chip Kelly preferred leaner, more athletic offensive linemen. It’s unclear what type of players Pederson will want, but it’ll be up to the scouts to find them.
So how has that process been going?
“It’s been going well,” Pederson said. “As a new staff, we’re just kind of getting that ball rolling right now. Our scouting department has been out on the road and they’ve been gathering a lot of information on these guys and now, as a staff, as coaches, we get in and start breaking them down by position. With all the information going forward, you select the best possible at that time.”