A couple of months ago, when Doug Pederson began to resurface publicly in media interviews, I noticed something different about him.
He was Doug Pederson again.
He wasn’t the Doug who was a shell of himself, beaten down and worn out, at the end of the 2020 season. He was more like the energetic version of Doug we saw earlier in his time as the Eagles head coach: bright, chipper, enthusiastic, big ol’ goofy wide smile. The guy who got his team to follow him to a Super Bowl victory.
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And as Pederson starts anew as the Jaguars’ head coach, it’s pretty clear to me that his year off in 2021 did wonders for him.
After all, what made Pederson so special in Philadelphia was his ability as a leader. Sure, his offense was great when the Eagles won the Super Bowl and he had a knack for pushing all the right buttons as a play-caller. But what was more impressive was the way he connected with his players, the way he got them to buy in and believe even when no one else believed in them, the way he navigated tough times and kept the Eagles strong throughout them.
Then 2020 came and it was an absolute dud. The losses piled up, his relationship with the franchise quarterback -- a relationship they once likened to a marriage -- became strained beyond repair and after everything his teams overcame in the previous few years, they couldn’t repeat it in 2020. While every NFL team had to deal with COVID that season, the Eagles really missed being able to bond; Pederson missed it too. Things spiraled, resulting in a four-win season.
It was clear that the miserable season wore on Pederson. No doubt.
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That’s not to say Pederson wasn’t a problem in 2020; he didn’t coach well. But he should have had enough equity built up to keep his job. He didn’t deserve to be fired. Heck, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie even admitted that Pederson didn’t deserve to be fired after he fired him.
But Lurie and Pederson differed on the future of the team, particularly as it pertained to his assistant coaching staff, and Pederson was let go. Normally the term “relieved of duties” is silly, but in this case it was probably apt. Pederson had to feel some sense of relief as the pressure lifted off his shoulders. Because when he started making the rounds a couple of months ago, he made it clear that he was ready to get back into the business.
All that said, Pederson is walking into an absolute mess in Jacksonville. No way around that.
The Jaguars have a clueless owner, an embattled general manager and a locker room left picking up the pieces after a whirlwind few months with a pompous head coach who seemed like he was trying to get the boot.
Pederson has a lot to fix. This Jaguars’ roster isn’t as talented as the one he inherited in Philadelphia back in 2016. And it’ll be important that Pederson surrounds himself with a strong coaching staff; there’s a perception that’s not his strength and it in part led to his firing in Philly.
Still, Pederson is a fixer, and he’s taken over for an ego-centric former college head coach who lacked interpersonal skills before.
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He’ll also have another young quarterback to mold in Jacksonville. He and Carson Wentz were separated, now they’re divorced and Pederson is getting hitched again, this time to 2020 No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence was viewed as a can’t-miss prospect but he had an underwhelming rookie season, although the Jaguars didn’t do much to support him … until now. Pederson loves working with quarterbacks, especially young quarterbacks, and he’s energized to do it again for the Jaguars.
I don’t know if it’ll work out. Jacksonville is a tough place to win and if Pederson does it, it’ll be because he has overcome a lot of obstacles in his way.
It’s a nice touch for Eagles fans that Pederson ended up in the AFC because people in Philadelphia still have a soft spot for the coach that brought them their first Lombardi Trophy. With Pederson out of the conference, fans can feel free to root for him, except when his Jaguars come to Philly in 2022.
That will be a fun moment at the Linc and I’m sure the Eagles will find some way to honor Pederson before the game. When they do, he’ll hopefully flash that smile we missed at the end of his tenure here.