SUPER DOUG
Pederson basking in the glory of outcoaching Belichick in the big game
BLOOMINGTON, MINN. » Doug Pederson hit the team party late Sunday night and into Monday morning, celebrating life with Eagles players, coaches, family and friends, including guys he played with in his NFL career.
The magnitude of what Pederson and the Eagles had done in defeating Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots won’t completely hit him until the Eagles touch down in Philadelphia, and he’s waving to fans during the parade this week.
But Pederson knows he and Eagles fans will walk together forever after outcoaching Belichick and beating the Patriots and Tom Brady, the GOAT, on the biggest stage.
So Coach Doug, as his respectful players call him, shook hands with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell at the traditional Monday morning winner’s news conference and pretended, really hard, that he hadn’t worn himself out high-fiving Frank Reich, Jim Schwartz, John DeFilippo, Super Bowl 52 MVP Nick Foles and owner Jeffrey Lurie throughout the night.
“It really hasn’t sunk in completely yet,” Pederson said sheepishly. “I can remember back even as a player winning this game and what it felt like, what it meant. But I think it’s just a little more special waking up today knowing you’ve accomplished something that you set out to do in April. And really two years ago when Mr. Lurie hired me in Philadelphia. This is the game that we wanted to eventually be in and play in and win. I knew it was going to take some time. It’s kind of surreal right now.
“These next few days are going to be a little crazy. We’ve got a lot to do still, but I’m just excited for the guys. We’ll remember this the rest of our lives.”
The Eagles are world champions because Pederson, the career backup quarterback, wouldn’t let go of the dream. Because Pederson, the play-caller, was one step ahead of Belichick, the defensive master, and his right-hand man, defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who is off to be a head coach.
In the fourth quarter, that critical time when NFL games are won and lost, reputations built and destroyed, Pederson coached his rear end off. The Eagles wouldn’t be having a parade had he not kept the offense in to convert a fourth-and-one, rather than punt with five minutes and change remaining. At that point the Patriots led by one point and had scored on every possession of the second half.
“I knew we were going to have to score, and a field goal wasn’t going to do us any good, obviously,” Pederson said. “Listen, it’s part of the ebb and flow of the game. It’s going to happen that way. You’re going to be in a game where either the offense is struggling, the defense is struggling, or special teams is struggling. And you just keep fighting, you just keep throwing punches, and you battle to the end. It’s always a 60-minute game with the Patriots. That’s how I challenged the team before the game, at halftime, that we’ve got to continue to play.”
Foles threw a touchdown pass to Zach Ertz for a 38-33 lead, and Brandon Graham, his hamstring just about shot, stripped Brady. Rookie Derek Barnett recovered and rookie Jake Long added a field goal to produce the final score.
Of course, there was one more test. Brady’s hail Mary pass was tipped around the end zone before bouncing off the turf, preserving the 41-38 victory, and touching off a noisy celebration in Minneapolis and the Philadelphia area.
“That last couple minutes of that game, it was challenging the defense, ‘everything you’ve got. Everything you’ve got,’” Pederson said. “And we got the strip sack, the fumble, and then obviously the last play.”
Pederson was almost ignored in the AP coach of the year voting won by Sean McKay, of the Los Angeles Rams. The season hadn’t even begun when Pederson was assailed by Mike Lombardi, who obviously has no credibility at all now, for being the “least qualified” guy to be a head coach that the former had ever seen.
Pederson, posing with Goodell next to the Lombardi Trophy, put that opinion to sleep. And he did it with class.
“I think this team is full of great character men,” Pederson said. “It wasn’t about one individual, as I kept saying to the team this entire season, and particularly these last couple of months. Part of the messaging this season was putting it back on the players. The players own it, own their jobs, own their responsibilities. And not having selfish coaches and selfish players gives you a chance to win this game.”
The press conference questions limit reached, Pederson had one more thing to say. He thanked the people of Minneapolis for the warm welcome.
That’s Doug Pederson, Super Bowl winning coach.