How Doug Pederson Restored a New Roar in Duval County
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Jacksonville, Florida (PSF) - Doug Pederson has brought the Jacksonville Jaguars back to relevancy, and it only took him one season to do so.
Before Pederson arrived in Duval County and became the ninth Head Coach in franchise history, he spent a year away from football after being fired by the Philadelphia Eagles. This came after he delivered Philadelphia their first and only Lombardi trophy up to date.
The decision to let Pederson go left many in Philadelphia and the NFL world baffled. However, little did Pederson know that his firing and decision to take a year off from the game would ultimately be a blessing in disguise.
Before eventually taking the Jaguars job, Pederson interviewed with the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, and Denver Broncos. Out of all ten Head Coaches that were hired last offseason, it is safe to say that Pederson is one of, if not the best hire so far. Although, five out of the ten first year head coaches also led their team to the postseason.
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Whether Pederson has been the best Head Coach out of the other nine is a discussion for a different day. However, if one thing is for certain, he has gotten the most out of his second year generational talent quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Lawrence’s rookie season was a roller coaster to say the least. While he did show promise and flashes of why he was the unanimous number one overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and the best quarterback prospect coming out of college since Andrew Luck, he only finished with a 59.6 completion percentage, 12 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions.
No one played a bigger role in Lawrence’s lack of development and rookie struggles than Urban Meyer, who now finds himself back at FOX as a College Football TV commentator. This opened the door for Pederson and has left many believing that Meyer is one of the worst head coaches in NFL history.
Meyer’s short-lived tenure in Jacksonville was certainly not the start Lawrence, General Manager Trent Baalke, and the Jaguars fanbase envisioned and expected for their QB1.
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Under Pederson, Lawrence has flourished in his sophomore breakout season to the tune of doubling his touchdowns with 25, cutting his interceptions in half with only eight, and improving his completion percentage to 66.3%. Like Bruce Arians, Pederson is a quarterback whisperer who finds what his quarterbacks do best and tailors the offense to their strengths as seen with Carson Wentz, and most recently Nick Foles.
Not only has Pederson gotten the most out of his quarterback thus far, but also his skill position players and receivers. General Manager Trent Baalke received a lot of heat for going on a free agency spending spree when the Jaguars had the most cap space in the league this past offseason. To Baalke and Owner Shad Khan, it was an opportunity for them to support Lawrence with all the help they could possibly give him in addition to hiring Pederson.
Some of Baalke’s notable signings include wide receivers Christian Kirk, Zay Jones, and tight end Evan Engram who are all having career years. Safe to say that these players were worth every penny as Baalke and company could not have received a better return on investment after making these signings only after one season.
So much of coaching, especially at the pro level is putting your players in positions to be successful. The other half deals with being a leader that your players respect, building a winning culture, and having your players buy in to what you are preaching through both the success and struggles.
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For Khan, Baalke, and the Jaguars players, this buy into Pederson happened through a crystal ball.
Standing at 2-6 following an October month that concluded with a five game losing streak, Pederson told the team he had a crystal ball that saw them coming back from their losing record to playing for the AFC South title in week 18.
It turns out that Pederson’s prediction and the crystal ball were both right, as Jacksonville was able to beat Tennesse in the regular season finale and be crowned AFC South division champions for the first time since 2017.
What is even more impressive than Pederson calling his shot and everything else he has done in year one is how he was able to lead his team back from the third largest playoff deficit in postseason history against the Los Angeles Chargers while also finishing the game with a turnover differential of -5.
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What Pederson was able to display from the sidelines versus Los Angeles in the wildcard round should come as a surprise to nobody. As he always has been, he was calm, cool, and collected, never getting too high or too low with no fear installed within him. Much like the crystal ball, Pederson stook to his gameplan and put his trust in the hands of his players even with his quarterback throwing four interceptions in the first half.
No example in the game shows this better than when Pederson decided to go for it down two with 1:28 remaining in the fourth quarter on Los Angeles’s 41-yard line. The Jaguars lined up in heavy formation with three players in the backfield which made it look like Lawrence would sneak it up the middle or have his three teammates lined up behind him push him past the sticks. Instead, very much like in Philadelphia with the Philly Special, Pederson dug into his bag of tricks as Lawrence handed the ball off to running back Travis Etienne who was lined up behind Lawrence’s left who took it to the outside and picked up 25 yards for the first down, which set up kicker Riley Patterson for a 36-yard field goal attempt which nearly hit the right upright but was still able to make it through the uprights.
This is what real coaching looks like, and a page every other NFL coach should steal from Pederson’s book.
If nothing else comes out of this magical season for Jacksonville, they certainly have the right coach and quarterback in place leading the way.
