Doug Pederson

NFC Notes: Eagles, Bolden, Buccaneers, Raji

July 23rd, 2016 at 11:59am CST by Ben Levine

Some assorted notes from around the NFC…

After having worked under Andy Reid for several years, Doug Pederson is now in full control as the head coach of the Eagles. Reid had guided the Eagles to the playoffs during his second season as head coach in Philly, but Pederson believes he inherited a better team than his mentor. “This team today is better than that team,” Pederson told Jeff McLane of Philly.com. “I just think that we’re in a better position.”
Safety Omar Bolden was released by the Bears yesterday, but Troy Renck of Denver7 ABC tweets that the 27-year-old “will land on his feet.” Renck notes that the former Broncos draft pick could wind up in Denver, and he adds that his release from the Bears was due to the team’s “logjam” at defensive back.
If Buccaneers offensive lineman Gosder Cherilus proves to be nothing more than a backup to Demar Dotson, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times could see the team letting go of him and his $4.5MM salary. Other veterans who could find themselves on the hot seat include offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith, defensive end George Johnson, tight end Brandon Myers, and safety Major Wright.
The Packers had offered B.J. Raji a “lucrative” contract, indicating that they expected him to play a major role on their 2016 squad. However, as ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky writes, the defensive lineman’s one-year hiatus from the NFL suddenly changed the organization’s offseason plans.

NFC Notes: Cards, Abdullah, Redskins, Eagles

July 1st, 2016 at 7:11pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

As their second-round pick approached in the 2015 draft, the Cardinals were in the midst of informing running back Ameer Abdullah over the phone that they were going to take him 55th overall. However, as shown on the new Amazon documentary series “All or Nothing,” the Lions traded a spot ahead of Arizona during the Cardinals’ discussion with Abdullah and stole the ex-Nebraska standout at No. 54 (link via Steven Ruiz of USA Today). With their Abdullah dream dashed, the Cardinals waited to address the position until the third round, selecting ex-Northern Iowa runner David Johnson 86th overall. Johnson emerged as a key member of the Cardinals’ offense as a rookie, totaling 1,038 yards (581 rushing, 457 receiving), averaging 4.6 yards per carry and piling up 12 touchdowns (eight rushing, four receiving). Abdullah, with 780 yards (597 rushing, 183 receiving), 4.2 YPC and three scores (two on the ground, one in the air), wasn’t nearly as successful in 2015.

Doug Pederson on Eagles, Final Roster, Absent Players

June 11th, 2016 at 5:54pm CST by Ben Levine

New Eagles coach Doug Pederson recently wrapped up his first mandatory minicamp, and the 48-year-old talked to Dave Zangaro of CSNPhilly.com about the experience. The whole column is worth reading, but we pulled out some of the relevant quotes below…

There’s still a long way to go, but Pederson is already beginning to determine which of his 90 players will ultimately make the team. “I think you have an idea in the offseason,” he said. “You obviously know what you had coming back from last year, and of course your roster makeup and chemistry changes every year. It’s a new team, regardless of the new coaching staff or not. Next year we will be a new team, as well. Yeah, you begin to kind of go, ‘OK, pencil in guys here and there,’ and try to figure that out.”
Zangaro believes Pederson will have a particularly difficult time widdling down his group of tight ends and running backs, but the head coach already has a rough idea of how many players he’ll want for each position. “And again, as you know, once you get to the regular season and the way games are played, you want to make sure you’re covered in all areas,” he said. “But you go in having a general idea of how many you want at each spot.”
One thing that Pederson wasn’t focused on was his previously-absent players. Sam Bradford, Fletcher Cox, and Darren Sproles all missed parts of the previous voluntary workouts, but the coach stayed focused on the players who were present. “I didn’t necessarily worry myself too much about those situations,” he said. “Again, it goes back to just the way the offseason is set up and the fact that the entire program, outside of these last four days, is a voluntary program, and I just can’t – I’ve got to worry about the guys that are here during those times, and focus on those guys…I think at the end of the day, we’re just very fortunate that everybody is here this week and getting through this offseason and getting ready for camp.”

Eagles Pondering Darren Sproles Trade?

May 17th, 2016 at 12:25pm CST by Zachary Links

12:25pm: The first-year Eagles coach denied the report of a potential Sproles trade, telling media (including Berman, via Twitter) “We had no decisions to do that. I want Darren Sproles on this football team. … He’s a big part of this team.”

11:57am: Doug Pederson has been in direct contact with Sproles this offseason and insists the veteran scatback is not unhappy, Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. The first-year coach’s stance on this matter is that Sproles wants to spend time with his family and preserve his legs, Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News tweets. Sproles will enter his 12th season and age-33 campaign.

10:16am: The Eagles received calls of trade interest on running back Darren Sproles during the draft, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Right now, it sounds like the Eagles are considering some of those offers. For now, Rapoport says, he’s staying away from OTAs until it’s all sorted out.

Sproles came to the Eagles in a 2014 trade with the Saints. At the time, Sproles was brought in to be a key part of the team’s backfield. Later on, however, the entire backfield was remodeled and Sproles found himself as the No. 3 tailback on the list behind DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews. Now, Chip Kelly is out of the equation in Philadelphia, but the Eagles are still not sure if they feel the diminutive back is essential to their offense.

The Eagles once again overhauled their backfield this offseason when they shipped Murray to the Titans in a surprising trade. That deal left the Eagles with Mathews as their lead back and Sproles as the No. 2.

Sproles, 32, saw time in every game last season and made four starts. In that span, the veteran ran for just 317 yards off of 83 carries but also contributed 55 receptions for 388 yards. For his contributions in the rushing, receiving, and return game, Sproles earned his second-straight Pro Bowl nod in 2015.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Eagles Rumors: Daniel, Bradford, Pederson

February 24th, 2016 at 6:58pm CST by Zachary Links

The Eagles have question marks at quarterback and their new head coach apparently covets a signal caller who is under contract elsewhere. Doug Pederson is quite familiar with Chiefs reserve QB Chase Daniel and he told reporters today that Daniel could be a starter in the NFL, if given the right opportunity (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). As for incumbent Sam Bradford, Pederson says he believes Bradford wants to be there (link).

Here’s more on the Eagles’ QB situation and other news on Philly:

Pederson said the Eagles have contingency plans in place in case they can’t bring Bradford back, as Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.
When asked about Bradford, Pederson said (Twitter link via Zach Berman of The Inquirer): “All I know is if Sam wants to be in Philadelphia, he’ll be in Philadelphia.” Pederson indicated that he would not tag Bradford in order to ensure his return to Philly and Berman believes that the coach’s implication is that it’s all up to the QB (link).
Rookie quarterbacks in the draft won’t affect the Bradford situation, the coach told reporters (Twitter link via Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News).
Pederson says there “are holes” on the team’s offensive line, as John Clark of CSNPhilly tweets. He says he will look to the draft and free agency to fill those needs.
Pederson said that he anticipates Mark Sanchez returning to the team as a backup quarterback (Twitter link via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer). Sanchez is already under contract for 2016.

NFC East Rumors: Gettleman, Pederson, Cousins

January 31st, 2016 at 7:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

When Ernie Accorsi retired as the Giants‘ GM after the 2006 season, he pushed hardest for Jerry Reese to become his successor despite Dave Gettleman‘s success within the organization, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post writes.

Reese, who coordinated the draft for Big Blue at the time, and salary cap expert Kevin Abrams joined Gettleman as the top in-house candidates to succeed Accorsi. Reese is now entering his 10th season as the Giants’ GM.

“And I felt sorry for Dave on the thing, I don’t think it was an easy decision for John Mara or the Tischs,’’ Accorsi told media, including Schwartz. “When Jerry got it, I could tell Dave was down. I said to him ‘Look, I have no idea if I’m ever going to be able to deliver on this, but if I possibly can take care of you, I will.”

Accorsi helped the now-64-year-old Gettleman ascend to the Panthers’ GM position as a consultant. Gettleman, per Schwartz, helped the Giants in free agency when they signed Super Bowl XLII bastions Plaxico Burress, Antonio Pierce and others. Gettleman laid the groundwork for Pierce, an outside linebacker mostly in Washington, to move to the middle full-time in New York.

The Browns passed over Gettleman twice, in 2009 and 2010, when they hired George Kokinis and Mike Holmgren, respectively, over Accorsi’s recommendation, while the Chiefs hired Scott Pioli over Gettleman in 2009 as well.

Following these shortcomings, Gettleman, then the Giants’ director of pro player personnel, informed Mara he sought to retreat into a part-time role before getting the Panthers’ job in 2013.

Here is the latest coming out of NFC East cities.

Alex Spiro, the attorney for Jay Bromley, doesn’t expect the Giants defensive tackle to be charged (Twitter links via Jordan Raanan of NJ.com) after a woman said he attempted to rape her. The 23-year-old Bromley has not been arrested in connection with Saturday morning’s alleged incident.
Doug Pederson‘s proactive approach regarding keeping the Eagles‘ talented young players comes in contrast to Chip Kelly‘s more volatile method on display last season, Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com writes. Frank notes Pederson’s straight-forward style has helped stabilize the organization thus far after Kelly’s final days put staffers on edge, given the seismic moves he’d made. The new 49ers coach’s reluctance to compromise and employing an overmatched staff helped key his dismissal from Philadelphia, Frank writes.
The 49ers offered Pederson an assistant-coaching position in 2005, but the current Eagles coach turned it down to continue being a high school head coach in Louisiana, Zach Berman of Philly.com writes. Pederson continued to coach at a Shreveport, La., high school for four seasons and told the school’s athletic director he’d only leave if Andy Reid offered him a job in Philadelphia. He extended an offer to Pederson for an offensive quality control job before the 2009 season, leading to seven years of the pair working in tandem in Philadelphia and Kansas City.
Kirk Cousins‘ likely extension with Washington should be a four-year pact, John Keim of ESPN.com writes. He cites the majority of quarterback contracts agreed to in the past two offseasons being four-year deals — like those given to Eli Manning, Russell Wilson, or Philip Rivers — along with Cousins proving to be an effective, but not yet a game-changing quarterback, as the reasoning behind the estimation. Keim writes that Robert Griffin III can still be traded if he agrees to redo his fifth-year option ($16.15MM for 2016) but expects him to be released to help make room for Cousins’ deal.
Alfred Morris coming back to Washington after the running back put together his career-worst year in 2015 wouldn’t make sense, Keim writes. He also expects the team to bring in a back to compete with the thus-far-inconsistent Matt Jones for No. 1 runner responsibilities.

NFC Notes: Eagles, Packers, Cowboys, Lions

January 23rd, 2016 at 3:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Eagles were prepared to offer new Giants head coach Ben McAdoo their top coaching job had he come in for the second interview he scheduled, Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The Giants moved up their interview with their then-offensive coordinator to expedite their process and retain him, but multiple sources told the Inquirer he would’ve gotten the Eagles’ job had he interviewed again.

Philadelphia also did not offer new coach Doug Pederson final say on the 53-man roster like Adam Gase, the Eagles’ initial coaching interview as part of their 10 “Tier 1” candidates, received upon accepting the Dolphins’ job.

Linebackers coach Ken Flajole turned down the UTEP DC job to land in Philadelphia. UTEP had to amend a Jan. 14 press conference to inform that Flajole, the Rams’ DC from 2009-11, would be returning to the NFL instead of guiding the Miners’ defense.

Jeffery Lurie told Berman the regular season’s final week, after he fired Chip Kelly, proved beneficial in terms of communicating with the players on what exactly went wrong under Kelly and how best to re-route the team.

Here are some more notes on the Eagles, along with the latest from other NFC locales.

With Pederson saying Sam Bradford “fit perfectly” into the offense he plans to run with the Eagles, Daniel Zangaro of CSNPhilly.com notes in his Eagles mailbag the best course of action for the franchise going forward would be to sign the former No. 1 pick to a long-term deal. Despite an unremarkable season, Bradford will still figure to have his share of suitors if he reaches the market, with the Texans and Browns also in dire need of a quarterback. Bradford threw 19 TDs, 14 INTs and completed 65.3% of his passes in 14 games — the most he’d played in since 2012.
Tony Romo will undergo a CT scan this week to determine if he’ll require any surgery to repair his troublesome collarbone, according to a report on the Cowboys‘ website. “We have a pretty good idea, but we’re going to get a CT scan here this coming week and then make all the choices from there,” Romo said. “I think we know which way we’re siding and some of the things. We’ve had exhaustive discussions about it.” In December, Romo discussed attaching a plate to his collarbone to reduce the reinjury risk. Romo said he’ll be “ready to rock” by the time OTAs begin.
Lance Dunbar, Rolando McClain and Morris Claiborne should be available to the Cowboys on cheaper, one-year deals, and Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap lists them as free agents the team should consider bringing back. Fitzgerald suggests the team move on from Greg Hardy and consider bringing back DeMarcus Ware on a one-year deal in the event the Broncos release him to clear cap space.
The Packers hired Rams running back coach Ben Sirmans for the same position, Alex Marvez of Fox Sports reports (on Twitter). Sirmans will now be traveling from the league’s second-largest market to its smallest. He coached running backs in St. Louis for four years after spending the previous 16 coaching in college.
Lions defensive tackle Caraun Reid underwent ankle surgery this week but is expected to return sometime during the offseason, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports. Reid started 12 of the 14 games in which he played, but was hampered throughout the season by the high-ankle sprain he suffered in training camp. The team regularly held its 2014 fifth-round pick out of practice down the stretch as a result. Reid is the only interior defensive lineman guaranteed to return to Detroit, with Haloti Ngata, Jason Jones and Tyrunn Walker‘s contracts having expired.

Schefter On NFL Head Coaching Searches

January 21st, 2016 at 8:42am CST by Luke Adams

While the Browns liked Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin and Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, the team recognized the importance of upgrading its offense, which was one reason Hue Jackson was the choice as Cleveland’s new head coach, writes Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. According to Schefter, the Browns believe that by hiring Jackson they not only strengthened their own organization, but weakened a division rival, in the Bengals.

Schefter has some details on the rest of the head coaching decisions as well, so let’s dive in and round up the highlights….

The Giants “seriously entertained” the possibility of hiring Mike Smith as their head coach and keeping Ben McAdoo at offensive coordinator, says Schefter. However, when the Eagles expressed legit interest in McAdoo, the Giants knew they couldn’t risk losing him.
As for those Eagles, they were determined to be more patient this time around than when they hired Chip Kelly, but two of their top candidates – Adam Gase and McAdoo – were hired by other teams while Philadelphia was being patient. Since the club was already familiar with Doug Pederson, it was “completely comfortable” turning to him despite the fact that his initial interview was ordinary, according to Schefter.
The 49ers viewed Kelly, Mike Shanahan, Tom Coughlin, and Anthony Lynn as viable candidates, and felt they would have been in good shape no matter which direction they went in. The fact that Kelly is the only one of the group without a Super Bowl ring was a factor in San Francisco’s choice, since the club feels he’ll be hungry to get that championship.
The Buccaneers took a week to hire Dirk Koetter even though most people expected him to be the choice all along, leading to some whispers that the Glazers “attempted a big swing” before officially promoting Koetter, says Schefter.
Despite a final push from Ray Horton last Saturday, the Titans‘ owners never wanted to get away from Mike Mularkey, who was their top choice all along.
As for the Dolphins, they entered their coaching search planning to be aggressive, and Gase’s desire to land a head coaching job – after being passed over last year – matched up well with that aggressiveness from the team, making him the first new coach hired this month.

Eagles Hire Doug Pederson As Head Coach

January 19th, 2016 at 2:50pm CST by Luke Adams

JANUARY 19: Pederson, who was introduced to the media today, got a five-year contract from the Eagles, tweets Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

JANUARY 18: The Eagles have made it official, announcing the hiring of Pederson in a press release. He’ll be introduced at a Tuesday afternoon press conference.

JANUARY 14: The Eagles are set to hire Doug Pederson as their new head coach, a league source tells Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News (Twitter link). Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer confirms (via Twitter) that Pederson is the Eagles’ man. The Chiefs offensive coordinator remains alive in the postseason, so Philadelphia won’t be able to make the hiring official until after this weekend’s game, at the earliest.

A former Eagles quarterback, Pederson had only been connected to the Philadelphia job and none of the other NFL head coaching vacancies. In addition to having played for the Eagles, he also coached with the team during Andy Reid‘s tenure, serving as an offensive quality control coach in 2009 and 2010, then as the club’s quarterbacks coach in 2011 and 2012.

Pederson, who has been Kansas City’s offensive coordinator since the team hired Reid as its head coach in 2013, was one of six head coaching candidates to interview with the Eagles. Three coaches that were considered to be strong candidates for Philadelphia have since been hired elsewhere or withdrawn from the process — Adam Gase landed with the Dolphins, Ben McAdoo was promoted by the Giants, and Tom Coughlin removed himself from consideration.

In addition to those candidates, the Eagles also interviewed in-house assistants Pat Shurmur and Duce Staley. Shurmur, Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator, served as the interim head coach in Week 17 following Chip Kelly‘s firing, while Staley is the team’s running backs coach.

McAdoo and Coughlin received plenty of buzz this week for the Eagles’ job, with at least one report suggesting he would have been the choice if he hadn’t withdrawn. However, a weekend report indicated that Pederson initially entered the process as owner Jeffrey Lurie’s favorite among non-head coaches. After McAdoo and Coughlin became unavailable, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reported that the Eagles had moved on to pursuing Pederson.

Despite losing Jamaal Charles this year and playing without a ton of wide receiving talent over the past two seasons, the Chiefs’ offense performed well on Pederson’s watch. Per Football Outsiders, Kansas City ranked sixth overall in offensive DVOA this season, just behind the Patriots, and ahead of teams like the Panthers and Packers. In 2014, the Chiefs placed 12th in offensive DVOA.

One of Peterson’s main challenges in Philadelphia will be coaxing production out of an offense whose quarterback situation is uncertain, with Sam Bradford facing free agency. The Eagles have also seen plenty of talented playmakers depart in recent years, with LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson, and Jeremy Maclin all playing elsewhere now. Pricey free agent running back DeMarco Murray will look to have a bounce-back 2016 campaign under Pederson after a disappointing first year in Philadelphia.

As PFR’s head coaching tracker shows, five of the seven teams seeking new head coaches this month have now made their decisions, with only the Buccaneers and Titans still in the market for replacements. Those two jobs, which feature top young quarterbacks, will be interesting to watch, and it’s also worth keeping an eye on Detroit, where the Lions have yet to make a final decision on Jim Caldwell.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Eagles Notes: Bradford, Pederson, Coaches

January 19th, 2016 at 2:05pm CST by Luke Adams

The Eagles introduced new head coach Doug Pederson today at an afternoon press conference, and announced during that presser that former Lions head coach Jim Schwartz will be Philadelphia’s defensive coordinator for the 2016 season. However, that was hardly the only item of interest from the session. Let’s dive in and round up some of the other highlights….

According to Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, the team started with a pool of about 25 head coaching candidates, then reduced that total to about 10 (Twitter link Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer). That list included head coaches on other teams, per Lurie, so I’d expect John Harbaugh, Tom Coughlin, and Sean Payton were among the Eagles’ names. Ultimately though, no one besides Pederson was going to be offered the job, Lurie said (Twitter link via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer).
Pederson said today that personnel decisions will be made collaboratively, with Lurie breaking any ties. Pederson and Howie Roseman figure to be involved in those decisions, along with the club’s new head of player personnel — Lurie confirmed today that the Eagles are looking to hire someone for that position (Twitter links via McLane).
Asked about Sam Bradford, Pederson said a decision on the free-agent-to-be hasn’t been made, but he praised the QB as one who could fit into his system (Twitter link via Berman).
The Eagles haven’t yet decided on an offensive coordinator, Pederson said today (Twitter link via McLane). Frank Reich is reportedly the frontrunner for the job, though the new head coach said he’ll consider incumbent OC Pat Shurmur too (Twitter link via McLane). Still, it’ll be Pederson, rather than the OC, who will call the team’s offensive plays, tweets James Palmer of the NFL Network.
Special teams coach Dave Fipp and offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland will be retained, tweets McLane. Pederson is still deliberating on the rest of the staff.

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