Pederson, Eagles must improve
Coach knows patience doesn’t last long in NFL
It’s not that Doug Pederson’s job is in jeopardy this season as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.
But there are expectations for improvement, both in Pederson, who’s entering his second season, and the team, as the Eagles open training camp Monday. Pederson is well aware of this, even though the Eagles are determined to build for the long haul around a young nucleus led by second-year quarterback Carson Wentz.
Recent history shows many coaches don’t get the benefit of a long-range building plan without gradual improvement. That could be the case with Pederson after Eagles management has spent lavishly this offseason surrounding Wentz with veteran receivers Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, running back LeGarrette Blount, who had an NFL-high 18 touchdowns last season, as well as bolstering the depth on the offensive line.
That means this season is not only paramount for Wentz’s development as a franchise quarterback. It is also paramount for Pederson’s development as a head coach.
“I would agree that the window is probably shorter,” Pederson said. “After a year or two or three, sometimes when you’re building a roster, teams that get to that Super Bowl, it takes three years, four years, five years. If you constantly change, I don’t see how you can get there. There has got to be some consistency.
“Now, with that being said, there has to be consistency and there has to be improvement this year. I get that. I’m not naive to that or anything.”
Of the six coaching changes in the NFL after last season, three of the departed coaches lasted two or fewer seasons. Chip Kelly had one season with the San Francisco 49ers, while Rex Ryan (Buffalo Bills) and Gary Kubiak (Denver Broncos), who retired for health reasons, lasted two.
Pederson, meanwhile, led the Eagles to a 7-9 record last season despite dealing with all sorts of adversity.
That could be looked at as successful, considering that Peder- son had to elevate Wentz from third string to first string eight days before the start of the season after the Eagles traded starting quarterback Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings.
In addition, Wentz went through his rookie season without a dependable outside receiver, an inconsistent running back corps and an offensive line that used four other right tackles during Lane Johnson’s 10-game suspension for performance-enhancing drug use.
In between, wide receiver Josh Huff was kicked off the team after an arrest. Wide receiver Nelson Agholor, an underachieving firstround pick in 2015, was benched for a game after saying he lost confidence. The defense fell apart in the second half of the season behind cornerbacks who were average at best.
Pederson, however, impressed both management and his players by keeping the team together while the Eagles lost nine of 11 games to fall out of playoff contention after a 3-0 start.
“Everything happened for a reason, man,” Agholor said. “Doug stands by my side all the time. ... And he communicates with me. I’m just speaking for myself, but I know he does that with other players in the locker room, too. He loves his guys and he wants his guys to be great foot- ball players.
“He’s very transparent. He keeps it real. He coaches you. He can communicate with you. He understands the game. He understands your strength.”
But can Pederson get better results now that he has better players, at least on offense? One can make the argument that he could have had better results last season. That’s because the Eagles went 1-6 in games decided by seven or fewer points last season.
In one of those games, against the New York Giants, Pederson passed up two potential field goals to try to convert on fourth down. The Eagles missed on both and lost by five points.
Pederson was among the more aggressive coaches on fourth down last season.
“Obviously, the decision, necessarily, to go for it, I felt were all legit decisions to go, personally,” Pederson said. “Whether we executed the play or not, we’ve got to get better there.”
He also was questioned often about calling all the plays last season rather than delegating that responsibility to the offensive coordinator, as many head coaches do. Pederson said he is delegating more this season, primarily because his system is in place and he doesn’t have to acclimate players and coaches to it.
But that doesn’t mean he’s giv- ing up play-calling duties.
“I’m still kind of working through some of that,” Pederson said. “After going through a year of calling a full season, it’s hard to give that up personally, selfishly.” He was then asked why. “It’s fun,” Pederson said. “And you’re in control of the game. Being a quarterback and a former quarterback, you’re kind of in charge. You are. You’re calling plays. You’re touching the ball every time. You’re part of the whole fabric of the game.
“It’s just hard to give it up. I’m still in my mind processing all of that, how it would work if I did that. But as of right now, I’m not.”
But that also brings more scrutiny if things don’t work out. Pederson said he’s fine with that. In fact, he welcomes it. And the players have embraced Pederson’s competitive nature.
That is also true for running backs coach Duce Staley, who was Pederson’s teammate on the Eagles in 1999 when Pederson was the starting quarterback helping to groom phenom quarterback Donovan McNabb.
“I remember Doug coming in and being a student of the game and being able to tell everybody on the field what they were doing and their responsibilities — from receivers to offensive linemen to running backs to tight ends,” Staley said. “He was just a general on the field, and I see the same characteristics now. He’s a leader on the field. I don’t care what position you play, you can go talk to him and he’ll coach you.”
That’s what the Eagles are counting on.
Sure, they’re still rebuilding. But they’re also expecting to win behind a franchise quarterback in Wentz, who has much more to work with this season than he did in 2016.
So what makes for a successful 2017 for Pederson and the Eagles?
“Oh, man, if you win the Super Bowl, that’s a successful year,” Pederson said. “But if we go 8-8, is that a successful year? I don’t coach to be average, I’ll tell you that. These players don’t practice the way they do to be average.”
And the Eagles, who haven’t won a playoff game since 2008 and have made the postseason once since 2010, have been average or worse for far too long.
“There are two types of coaches,” Pederson said. “There are hired coaches, and there are fired coaches. And listen, I’m going to do everything in my power to get this football team ready to play this year.”
His job could depend on it.