The journey to Jacksonville for Doug Pederson

After a season out of the league, Doug Pederson makes his return to the NFL in one of the most difficult positions in football. The head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jags are coming off a disastrous experience under just last year and came into the 2022 offseason looking for stability from the head coaching position.

Before last season, Pederson had just finished what was an incredible five-year stretch as Philadelphia Eagles head coach. When he landed the Eagles gig in 2016, he was one of the more under-the-radar candidates and wasn’t even Philly’s first choice. But through his quick turnaround of the woeful post-Andy Reid Eagles, he was able to quickly win over the respect of the league.

Now in 2022, he joins a team in Jacksonville whose apparent flaws mirror those of a 2016 Eagles team he once saved.

Pederson brings footballing pedigree to Jacksonville

Before the most recent success Doug had in Philly, Pederson’s twenty-five year football journey is what helped turn him into the Super-Bowl Winning coach you see today. Doug played for five different franchises over his 13-year career as a backup quarterback during the 90s and early 2000s.

While Pederson wasn’t one of the most talented players, he quickly won over the trust and respect of his coaches through his work ethic and impressive football IQ.

These characteristics may not be noticed by the average fan. But to NFL coaches looking for another high character guy in the quarterback room. Doug was that guy.

This led him to play for three storied head coaches in Don Shula, Mike Holmgren, and Andy Reid throughout his time as a player. Their football expertise and supreme coaching ability has certainly rubbed off on Pederson and has shown throughout his time as a coach.

How he got here

Andy Reid would give Doug his first opportunity to start for a team full-time in Philly during Andy’s first year as head coach. After Doug’s playing career ended and he was ready to coach, Andy would give him an opportunity in 2009 to coach as his assistant in Philadelphia.

He quickly flew up the ranks, earning the quarterback’s coach position just two years in. Furthermore, after Andy’s reign in Philly came to an end in 2012, Andy would bring him to Kansas City to serve as their Offensive Coordinator.

Doug served as Kansas City’s OC for three years, with his offense ranking in the top-10 twice under his watch. This early success along with Pederson’s coveted pedigree led him to garner attention for Head Coaching jobs around the league. 

This led Pederson back to Philadelphia where he entered a situation eerily similar to the one he’s in now. The 2016 Eagles and 2022 Jaguars are nearly identical for three core reasons. Both had just hired innovative college head coaches who crashed and burned, throwing both teams into turmoil. Both drafted young highly touted quarterbacks who have superstar potential.

And most importantly, both teams are plagued with a dysfunctional culture. During Doug’s reign in Philly, he immediately started a culture change by providing instant leadership at the head coach position. 

The Wentz project

In his first season, Pederson made a franchise altering decision to start rookie quarterback Carson Wentz just eight-days prior to the season opener. Against all odds the Pederson led Eagles would start 3-0 going into their early bye, with Carson Wentz putting the league on blast during his early performances. While the team’s ill-experience would quickly become apparent as the season continued, the Eagles showed visible progress under Doug’s new regime.

In 2017, after a major roster overhaul during the offseason, Pederson would lead the Eagles to one of the most improbable Super Bowl victories of all time with his back-up quarterback Nick Foles against Brady and the Patriots. He would follow this with a near second NFC Championship appearance while again losing his star quarterback to injury.

And then would follow this with a second NFC East Division Title in 2019 while losing an egregious eleven key-players throughout the season. Against all odds, Doug continued to prevail and epitomized the “underdog mentality” the Eagles fed off during his run. He remade an Eagles culture that had been suffering since the departure of Andy Reid and took them to the promised land for the first time in the Super Bowl-era. 

Although Pederson may not be the offensive mastermind organizations are searching for, his three decades of experience, elite pedigree, and remarkable success as a coach make him almost overqualified for the position. Not to mention his astounding success in a similar situation should be more than enough to give fans hope for what’s to come in this new era. 

Pederson will play a crucial role in helping Trevor Lawrence to progress. And that is ultimately the key to success in Jacksonville.