Opinion: Jaguars fans should hit reset button, Doug Pederson is a breath of fresh air
Go ahead, Jaguars’ fans, you have a legitimate reason to party like it’s almost 1999.
An authentic breath of fresh air has arrived. It’s a guy who actually knows how to put together a buttoned-up organization, positively change a football culture, bring unity into the TIAA Bank Field building, and, maybe, just maybe, get a slump-ridden franchise used to the idea of eventually being a consistent playoff contender.
Doug Pederson, introduced Saturday as the Jaguars’ seventh full-time head coach, is much more than just the antithesis of Urban Meyer. He’s an embraceable leader with an honest-to-goodness sense of humor, and, more importantly, a proven winner on football’s biggest stage
With his Super Bowl-winning pedigree as a head coach, Pederson can be the stain remover for a franchise that keeps getting dirt thrown upon it year after year
This is a much-needed new day for all Jaguars – starting with quarterback Trevor Lawrence and his teammates, but also every company employee, season-ticket holders, sponsors and fans on the fence about attending games.
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A fog has been lifted. That’s why it’s best for everyone connected to the Jaguars’ franchise to put aside, for now anyway, all the angst and rancor over multiple issues.
What good does it do at this point for the why-didn't-we-hire-Byron Leftwich crowd, the why-is-Trent Baalke-still-here protestors, and the Shad Khan-will-never-win bashers, to keep ratcheting things up?
Time to face reality, folks. The trigger has been pulled on the team’s biggest decisions going forward and no amount of second-guessing is going to change it.
The Jaguars hired Pederson, arguably the most eminently qualified head coach available if you’re comparing all the resumes. Baalke isn’t going anywhere, at least not yet, and will likely soon be answering to an executive vice president (whether it’s Rick Spielman or somebody else) because the Jaguars have put in requests with the NFL to resurrect that position.
And even with a horrific 44-120 record as an owner, Khan is not going to quit trying to tap into a formula for winning. The Jaguars have hit the reset button, and from the looks of things, all their supporters have a right to be a little excited.
A real-deal coach
First and foremost, Pederson is a potential game-changer. More so than any of Khan’s other hires – as well as Jack Del Rio and Tom Coughlin under previous owner Wayne Weaver – the 54-year-old coach who orchestrated the only Super Bowl championship won by the Philadelphia Eagles has a track record of delivering all the things the Jaguars covet.
“So in the end, I mean, we have someone who’s been there, a head coach, developer of quarterbacks, a man who creates a culture for players and coaches alike, a culture they’ll thrive in, and a leader who commands respect and inspires those around him,” Khan said. “And a man who wins.
“We wanted someone who knows exactly what it is to be the last team standing in February and is passionate about doing it and doing it again.”
Oh, yeah. Winning. That’s pretty important, right?
Well, not only did Pederson take the Eagles to three postseason appearances in five years, but he’s currently the only head coach in a position to do what nobody else has done in NFL history: win a Super Bowl with two different teams.
Bill Belichick hasn’t done that. The rare opportunity has also been missed by Don Shula, Bill Parcells, Andy Reid, Jimmy Johnson, Mike Holmgren, Dick Vermeil, Mike Shanahan, Tony Dungy, Mike Ditka, George Seifert, Jon Gruden, Pete Carroll, Bruce Arians and Coughlin.
Is it getting way ahead of things to think Pederson could pull off such an unprecedented feat? Of course, it is.
But given where the Jaguars and their beleaguered fan base have been the past decade, what they need more than anything now is hope.
Meyer was fool’s gold in that regard, but Pederson brings a different kind of skill set to the table.
He has done it on the big stage. He took the Eagles further than that franchise had ever been before. He raised a Lombardi trophy employing Carson Wentz and Nick Foles as his quarterbacks, neither of whom have Lawrence’s potential.
It’s no guarantee Trevor develops under Pederson into being the next Patrick Mahomes or another Joe Burrow. But given the absolute mess the Jaguars have been at quarterback for so long, wouldn’t you rather take your chances on someone with a proven track record as a head coach to be that transformational leader?
“It is unfortunate that things didn’t go necessarily smoothly [for Lawrence] this past year, but that’s behind us now,” said Pederson. “I’m just excited to come in here, roll up my sleeves, go to work, create a system that enhances his skill set and be successful.
“I pride myself in that. We did it in my former place with Carson Wentz early in his career and really feel like that’s a strength that I can help and be a part of that.”
'Guy is brilliant'
If nothing else, Pederson is the quintessential fighter. The NFL has handed nothing to him.
During his 12-year journey as a backup quarterback, Pederson has been cut nine times by three different teams (seven times alone by the Miami Dolphins). He also played a couple stints in the defunct World League of American Football, and later began a coaching career – right after his 2005 retirement from the Green Bay Packers — at Calvary Baptist Academy, a private Christian school in Shreveport, Louisiana.
So there’s not a whiff of entitlement about him, which many who played or worked with Pederson insist is one of his many endearing qualities.
LeRoy Butler, a Lee High graduate and 12-year safety with the Packers, spent parts of four seasons (1995-98) watching Pederson operate the Green Bay scout team in practice and barely seeing any game action. But Pederson left an indelible impression on teammates and the locker room.
“When you’re the backup to [Hall of Fame quarterback] Brett Favre, you got plenty of time for people to get to know you,” Butler said. “Doug was very smart then. He was more of a quarterback coach and buffer between the head coach and starting quarterback.
“You could say whatever you wanted to Doug and he could take it. Doug was great at messaging. You need a guy in the workplace who can be bipartisan and get along with everybody. Doug was refreshing to talk to. He would tell you things after practice about why certain things happened, stuff that coaches wouldn’t tell you.
“Doug was the one who taught me the concept of the West Coast offense. Like if they do this, you got to do that [in defending it]. I never heard of a route tree until Doug told me about it. The guy is brilliant. I wasn’t surprised at all when he won a Super Bowl with a backup quarterback.”
Think about that: Butler, a three-time Hall of Fame finalist and one of the NFL’s elite players in the 1990s, received one of his best football tutorials from a backup quarterback (six months older than him) when both were in their late 20s.
Back in NFL flow
Is it any wonder then that same QB understudy to Favre, who gained a wealth of knowledge all those years bouncing around the pro game, now finds himself in his second NFL head coaching gig after earning a Super Bowl ring in his first stint?
Better yet, the Jaguars are getting Pederson after he took a year off from coaching – the Eagles fired him after a 4-11-1 season in 2020 – to recharge his batteries.
“Did I miss football? Yeah, I did,” said Peterson. “That’s why I went and visited some guys in training camp last year because I just wanted, I just needed that fix of football and be around it. As the season progressed and I’m watching the entire league, it just got me. I guess those football competitive juices [came] back.
“I had chances to interview with other clubs. This one really drew me in, and here I am and ready to go.”
Unlike the disingenuous Meyer, who struggled to rein in his arrogance and was far less engaging with people, Pederson gets the whole public relations game. He also understands turning the Jaguars into a consistent winner could take two or three years.
All of that is a good thing. It means the Jaguars have a coach with a clear vision, a former NFL quarterback who craves having a significant impact on Lawrence’s development.
For Jaguars’ fans, after enduring so much ridiculous drama and dysfunction, there’s no use investing too much thought or energy over what the front office will ultimately look like. Never mind about the 4-29 record of the past two years. Put that in the rear-view mirror.
Just enjoy this new chapter. Celebrate the fact you’ve got a proven NFL head coach who knows how to build a winning product.
Welcome aboard, Douglas Irvin Pederson, then give him time to rebuild around Trevor. Legitimate hope, it seems, has finally arrived.
Email Gene Frenette at gfrenette@jacksonville.com: