PHL Anon
The Eagles just got done introducing our new Head Coach, Doug Pederson, and I have a full on ragging Eagles boner right now. I think Dougie Fresh gets it. He gets this city, the passion, how to manage players, and understand the importance of being flexible in your approach to games and personnel. This is the type of coach I have wanted for a long time. He is informative, direct, and knowledgeable all while keeping from blowing hot air up our asses and thinking we are stupid.
So, on to what I loved!
Why Philadelphia?
“One is an opportunity to lead young men. An opportunity to be surrounded by quality individuals… Top notch individuals. A tremendous owner. An owner that gives you the fullest of support. The players that are in this room. My challenge to them is that we are going to work everyday. We are going to work hard everyday. We are going to come to work everyday. As coaches it is our job to make you better. To make you better as individuals and as men. And to make you better as Philadelphia Eagles. And that’s my job. It all starts with me.”
This was all what you expect to hear from a head coach, but when I listened to Doug you can hear that he believes in these philosophies. He feels an ownership in the lives of his players, and that if he impacts them in a positive way, that will trickle down through the organization and will be part of finding success. Who lacked this very quality? The one-and-only, Chip Kelly.
Philly Passion
“I understand the culture and passion of Philadelphia. I get it. I experienced that as a Quarterback back in 1999. I experienced that first hand. And now coming back I understand what it feels like to win in this city. This city hasn’t won, and this organization hasn’t won in quite sometime. It’s my job to turn that around. And you do it one day at a time. You do it one player at a time. You do it one coach at a time. So, as I continue to go through the evaluation process nothing’s settled… Nothing’s settled. Evaluate the team, evaluate the coaches. You want to put the best people in place. Not only for the Philadelphia Eagles, but people that are Doug Pederson people. People that I can trust, coaches that I can trust, coaches that are doing what is best for their players.”
Our city is built on hard work, trust, and family. Coach Pederson speaks to all of these qualities here. Working you ass off. Building a trust in the process, your players, your coaches, and everyone surrounding the organization. That is how you build a winning culture that feel likes family. Philly, you may feel underwhelmed by this hiring, but this man speaks to all the values of our city. This man deserves our trust and respect. This is MY Head Coach.
Are You Andy Reid 2.0
“Listen, Andy Reid is a Mentor. I’ll be the first one to tell you that he is. But I’m also here to tell you tho isn’t an Andy Reid football team. This isn’t a Doug Pederson football team. This is a Philadelphia Eagles football team. I’m going to bring my spin on it. I’m going to bring my personality to it. We are going to make this our team going forward. “
This right here… This speaks volumes. You can learn from everything and everyone in life. The good and the bad. He is not hiding from the Andy Reid stuff, and is owning his relationship to him. However, this is not a “Doug Pederson” team. Our last coach was all about himself, his ego, and doing things his way. If you didn’t agree, he’d kick your ass to the curb (I.E. Desean Jackson and LESean McCoy). We now have a guy that says this isn’t a team modeled after my mentor or myself. We will make this “our team”. We often discuss the disconnect from the athletes and coaches to our city. One that is so different than others that we clamor for someone that gets us, and treats this organization with a passion and understanding that this is the city’s team. Doug clearly understands this and I think will endear himself to us as fans.
Locker Room Culture
“The most important part is holding the players accountable. It starts with me. I have to hold myself accountable, then hold my assistant coaches accountable, the message needs to be one message. The one thing that Coach Reid, being around him for so many years, his message of family first, of trusting one another. You can’t sacrifice hard work. He never wavered from that. I think that consistency has made him a successful coach in the National Football League.”
Family first… Where have I seen that referenced before in regards to Doug Pederson (see my above statements)? For any bad after taste we may have from Andy Reid, the one thing we can never say is that his players didn’t love him. His players always fought for him, .took up for him, and became a part of his family. McNabb, Westbrook, Dawkins; they all still speak about their relationships with him to this day. Doug will bring us back from a cold emotionless regime, to one that will build a locker room up, will value relationships, that will value open communication, and a spirit of fighting for your family. How could you not love this mentality?
Current Players & Demarco Murray
“We got some guys I’m very familiar with. Brent Celek being one of them. Jason Peters being one of them. Kelce being one of them. You know, guys I got to work with in the past. And then with the addition of some of the younger guys… I think a Demarco Murray fits well with what I can bring. And I think Sam bring a style that really benefits him.”
“There are some pieces we need to work on, and try and get back, with Free Agency you know you are gouging to lose some, and gain some. I think the nucleus of this football team is very good. It is structured very well. There is some talent here. And I do believe you can put yourself in a position to not only win the East, but to get in the playoffs, and go deep in the playoffs.”
While he didn’t commit to any players specifically, he did mention that he sees Murray being a fit for what he would like to do. At one point he also referenced the Dallas O-Line. He sounds like he will want to build from the Line out, run the ball, and also referenced “younger talent”. He sounds committed to growing a team rather than buying a team, and valuing the trenches (looking at you Tra Thomas and Runyan), and winning with speed, youth, and using talent in the right ways. SIGN. ME. UP.
All-in-all I am very excited about Doug. This is a guy that seems to get it, has a personality, will build a family like structure within the organization, will value this city, it’s passion, and genuinely wants to find success not just for his job’s sake, but for the fans.
I’m more excited than before. Let’s get behind this guy, and hope to not have to do another Head Coaching search for at least another decade!
Let’s Go Birds!!!