Philadelphia Eagles: Should Doug Pederson give up play calling duties?

For a young Philadelphia Eagles team, would it make sense to head coach Doug Pederson to relinquish his play calling role?

Okay, I get it. Pete, why are we talking about this before the season even starts? Doug Pederson hasn’t even gotten a chance to prove himself yet. Well, yes, that makes sense. However, this conversation about Pederson’s role with the Philadelphia Eagles needs to happen. Primarily, because of the massive role he currently has with the team.

Now, Doug Pederson by no means has a Chip-Kelly-esque say with the team. He knows his role and simply does what the higher-ups tell him to do. Nothing more, nothing less. In a vacuum, this works. Unlike Kelly, Pederson won’t try to defy orders. He won’t attempt to gain more control than he already has. For an owner-vice president pairing like Jeffery Laurie and Howie Roseman, this situation is perfect.

As fans, we understand that Doug Pederson’s play calling doesn’t necessarily compare with the likes of Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll (minus Super Bowl XLIX). His style fits the Andy Reid “West Coast” offense. This style (ideally) will work for a quarterback like Carson Wentz and his various weapons. However, the play book is not the issue here.

Lack of Experience?

Where we find problems is with the situations in which Pederson implements certain plays. For instance, Doug would go for it fourth down in a situation where an easy field goal would suffice. You take your three points and go. However, Pederson did not do that. He would either take too many risks or not enough of them.

Okay, before I continue, I want to say that I admire Doug Pederson’s ambition and ability to move up the ranks as quickly as he did. He went from a high school coach to a position coach to an offensive coordinator and now a head coach. That obviously takes some courage to do. Most guys never see that opportunity. Call it what you want, but the fact remains that he did it. Not many players can say they became head coaches in the NFL. Now, for a coach with such a small resume (at the pro level), Pederson sure has some, uh, intestinal fortitude. But, that sort of carelessness

Now, for a coach with such a small resume (at the pro level), Pederson sure has some, uh, intestinal fortitude. But, that sort of carelessness bit the Philadelphia Eagles in the butt on to many occasions. That could also be the reason why so much attention has been given to this. If Belichick pulled a stunt like that and it worked, he’d be hailed as a genius and a mastermind. If Pederson does it (which he did) and it fails (which it did), people call him a dope and a rookie.

The Brass Tasks

That said, he still has the play calling duties. From the looks of things, he won’t be giving them up anytime soon. Look, I understand that we want the Philadelphia Eagles in the best position to win. As head coach, Doug Pederson gets to steer the ship. If he thinks the team works best under his offensive oversight, so be it. But, if it all starts to crumble down, Eagles fans won’t take it sitting down.

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To me, the longest Doug can go without giving the playing up to offensive coordinator Frank Reich would be a month. If the Philadelphia Eagles don’t stay true to a winning formula, Pederson will have to save face and hand the playbook to Reich. Given the fact Pederson likes having control, he should look to maintain order. The only way to do that is by doing what works. Whether he’s calling the plays or not, Doug Pederson’s ego can’t get in the way of this team’s success- player’s coach or not.