On the surface it is a pretty dull hire… of course it can’t be declared official until after the playoffs and/or the Super Bowl are completed due to the fact that Doug Pederson is still calling the offense for the Kansas City Chieves…
But obviously Doug Pederson buys into the guidelines set up by owner Jeff Lurie and pseudo-GM Howie Roseman…and the Philly Power Dudes buy into Pederson as the ultimate company guy.
So the Philadelphia Eagles are going to go from radical Kelly lime-green to conservative Andy Reid WCO-tinged midnight green…
That’s the “dull” part of the equation— many critics of the impending hire of Pederson are calling it a backwards move. Living in the past is what some are saying…
I don’t know. Who am I to say “comfort food” doesn’t have its place?
The main consideration is Pederson is obviously okay with whatever the frickin’ role Howie Roseman plays in this organization. Does Howie have compromising photos of Mr. Lurie and Christine? Just kidding there, but I am growing impatient with the fact that we have a CPA/attorney who never suited up on a football field actually calling shots that determine who comes here or not.
No doubt in my mind that the reason the Eagles never bothered to interview Hue Jackson is that Hue said “FU” to the Howie factor…
Howie is a nice guy in person but he is a control mole…of the burrowing species.
Even Father Tom Coughlin got a whiff of Howie the Mole and said no need for a second interview… the padre recognized the smell of the devil.
Pederson is a “safe” hire— but he sure as hell better bring in a defensive mindset to offset the ultimate struggles of a conventional WCO which will stall out in transition. At least we will be going 3-and-out in 3 minutes instead of 45 seconds…
Here’s Phil Sheridan’s (ESPN.com) rare positive counterpoints:
“Pederson has some things in his favor. As a backup quarterback, he studied under Reid, Holmgren and a pretty successful guy named Don Shula.”
“His role in Philadelphia in 1999 was to make sure Reid’s offense ran right while McNabb was learning it. Pederson made sure the other 10 offensive players lined up right and knew their assignments. He was literally serving as a coach on the field.”
“In the years since, he has gotten more hands-on coaching experience. He coached Michael Vick, Vince Young and Nick Foles with the Eagles. He has served as offensive coordinator in Kansas City, helping Alex Smith to play the best football of his career.”
“The challenge in Philadelphia will be different. Reid knew he wanted to draft a quarterback with the No. 2 pick in 1999. He chose McNabb over Akili Smith, Daunte Culpepper and Cade McNown. It was a decision that carried the Eagles to five NFC title games by 2009.”
“Pederson would inherit a team with Mark Sanchez under contract and Sam Bradford waiting to find out whether he will become an unrestricted free agent in March. Bradford said he would base his own decision on whom the Eagles hired as head coach and what kind of offense they planned to run.”
“Pederson can sell Bradford on an offense similar to the one Bradford ran successfully as a rookie in St. Louis in 2010. There’s a chance that Pederson will retain offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, another Reid acolyte who was the Rams’ coordinator when Bradford got there.”
Any way you look at it, Mr. Lurie has obviously rethought the big picture and wants to go back to the way things used to be. In truth, the players will probably love it. No more full-tilt practices the day before a game…and getting back to those blessed off-days on Tuesday… methinks Cary Williams was trying to tell us all about this two years ago…
But practice mechanics aside, you still have to draft smart and coach right. You have got to surround yourself with smart assistants. That building process is just as important as being a go-with-the-flow kinda guy as it relates to getting along with Howie and Jeff. Get-along guys fail just as quickly as in-your-face guys.
I hope Doug Pederson finds his own voice within this franchise as quickly as possible. I don’t like the current perception that he is merely Jeff’s and Howie’s boy…
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