Pederson emerges from ’16 class
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 — he’s the winningest coach in franchise history and led Philadelphia to five NFC title games and a Super Bowl loss in 14 seasons between 1999-2012 — fans didn’t want his protégé.
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. “He might be less qualified to coach a team than anyone I’ve ever seen in my 30-plus years in the NFL.”
For the Vikings, Mike Zimmer was already smiling more than usual, sporting a relaxed look of satisfaction rarely revealed in public during the NFL season, when he really let his guard down a few minutes into his postgame news conference deep inside Minnesota’s still-buzzing stadium.
“Hey, let’s open these things up!” Zimmer blurted out midsentence, prodding a Vikings official to push the button that removes the window shades and allows the premium ticketholders in an adjacent lounge to peer in the room.
His wish to interact with the customers who cheered the Vikings on to a last-play divisional round victory was granted.
Zimmer then proceeded to slowly and rhythmically clap above his head, dignifying the ritual “Skol” chant performed by the purple-clad fans at each game honoring the area’s Scandinavian heritage and the team’s nickname.
“You deserve it!” Zimmer said, again interrupting his own answer to acknowledge the crowd.
From peers around the league to players in the locker room to people up and down the organization, there’s a strong sentiment that Zimmer has earned this, too, pulling within one win of a Super Bowl appearance.
The way the Vikings finished their 29-24 victory over the Saints on a lastchance, 61-yard touchdown pass from Case Keenum to Stefon Diggs suggested they’re on some kind of charmed path, an uncharted territory for this championship-deprived franchise.
“I just think he was so proud of us,” tight end Kyle Rudolph said. “Proud of us for fighting until there were zeros on the clock.”