Philadelphia Eagles: Top 5 Moments of 2016

Doug Pederson: A Familiar Face

Despite receiving only one interview for a head coaching position, Doug Pederson was the favorite for the Eagles job from the get-go. Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman were looking to rekindle the magic that Andy Reid had in the early 2000s, what better way to do so than finding the man Andy Reid always found room for on his team.

When “Big Red” moved from Green Bay to Philadelphia he brought Doug Pederson with him to be his starting quarterback and groom Donovan McNabb. Fast forward to 2009, Andy Reid brought Doug Pederson back to Philly to be the offensive quality control coordinator.

In 2010 Pederson was promoted from quality control to quarterbacks Coach. When Andy Reid was hired as the Head Coach of the Kansas City Chiefs he brought Pederson with him as his Offensive Coordinator.

The point is that the Philadelphia Eagles were out to bring back the magic that Andy Reid brought to this city. They wanted to have a Head Coach who called the shots and a defensive coordinator who runs an aggressive defense. Doug Pederson and Jim Schwartz were trying to imitate Andy Reid and Jim Schwartz.

Throughout the season we slowly but surely realized that Pederson is his own man. He was groomed by one of the most beloved coaches in Eagles’ history, but he stands alone. If anything he is more of what fans thought Chip Kelly was supposed to be. The fancy double reverse plays, the creative game planning, going for two, going for it on fourth down, etc.

Pederson even questioned some of his players effort after a loss to Cincinnati, something that Reid or Kelly rarely did, if at all. He managed to get the best of those players after a tough loss.

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Pederson is trying to find his niche as the Eagles Head Coach. His current identity is that he is a wildcard. For better or worse Pederson has been unpredictable. He showed that he isn’t afraid to go for two for the win, that he will go for it on fourth down sometimes, but punt in similar situations. He is still learning the ropes in his first year as a fulltime signal caller.

I’d be lying if I said I were excited when Doug Pederson was announced as the Head Coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. I’d also be lying if I said I’m not excited to see what he will do in his second year. Doug showed he had so much potential in his first year, I can’t wait to see what he does in year two when he has a stable line and a legitimate threat on the outside.