Dear Doug Pederson: Some Andy Reid habits to avoid
GIVEN THE CLOSE connection that Doug Pederson has to Andy Reid, it is human nature to think the Eagles' imminent hiring of the Kansas City Chiefs' offensive coordinator as head coach represents a return to the era Reid established in South Philadelphia for 14 seasons.
GIVEN THE CLOSE connection that Doug Pederson has to Andy Reid, it is human nature to think the Eagles' imminent hiring of the Kansas City Chiefs' offensive coordinator as head coach represents a return to the era Reid established in South Philadelphia for 14 seasons.
After all, Reid, who was the quarterbacks coach in Green Bay when he was named Eagles coach in 1999, handpicked Pederson, the backup quarterback for the Packers, to be his first starter and help teach his system of offense to the Birds.
Pederson was retired as an NFL player for five years and coaching high school football in Shreveport, La., when Reid hired him as the Eagles' offensive quality control coordinator in 2009. Pederson was promoted to quarterbacks coach in 2011 and went with Reid to Kansas City as his offensive coordinator in 2013.
Now that the Chiefs are done in the playoffs, after losing in New England on Saturday, the Eagles can officially hire Pederson.
Primarily due to Reid's perceived influence on the Eagles' search for a replacement for Chip Kelly, Pederson is being pegged as "Big Red Light."
For now, Pederson cannot do much to change that. Still, if he does not want to be tagged even more as a "mini-Andy," here are some things he may have learned from Reid that he should not bring to the NovaCare Complex.
Some are important and some are trivial but all are important if Pederson wants to establish his identity without the looming shadow of Reid.
* DO NOT mismanage the game clock. Doug, for the life of you, do not call a timeout within the first 17 minutes of your first game unless you absolutely have a crystal- clear reason for doing so.
Reid became infamous in Philadelphia for his constant inability to properly manage time.
On Saturday, with the Chiefs down two touchdowns with 6 1/2 minutes left, he let 5 minutes, 16 seconds burn during a scoring drive without using any of his three timeouts.
With first-and-goal with 2:33 left, Reid called a running play that was stopped, and then had the Chiefs huddle without getting another play off before the two-minute warning.
When Kansas City scored with only 1:13 left, its only option was to try an onside kick; it failed. Even with three timeouts, Reid could not prevent New England from running out the clock.
That sequence undoubtedly reminded many Eagles fans of Super XXXIX, when Reid showed no urgency during a 13-play drive that took 3:52 late in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles scored to cut the Patriots' lead to three, but with only 1:48 left there was not enough time to complete a comeback.
Ignore the clock at your own peril, Doug.
* DO NOT devalue wide receivers. When Pederson was the Eagles' quarterback, his receivers were the washed-up Charles Johnson and Torrance Small. Donovan McNabb had James Thrash and Todd Pinkston (aka Trash and Stinkston) for most of his prime seasons.
Reid continually insisted his mediocre receivers were good enough. His most incredulous statement on that came after his receivers combined for five catches on 18 targets in the 2004 NFC Championship Game loss to Carolina.
Before the next season, the Eagles traded for Terrell Owens and finally went to the Super Bowl.
If spreading the ball around is good, spreading it around to good receivers is even better.
* DO NOT disrespect the linebacker position. With the Eagles, Reid held linebackers in as much regard as he held receivers. His philosophy was any group would do - except his did not. Not even famed defensive coordinator Jim Johnson could scheme away the overall lack of talent.
Doug, you were an NFL quarterback, you know how a good group of linebackers can disrupt an offense.
* DO NOT clear your throat three times before speaking. Pop in a throat lozenge. Nothing will better visualize Reid than a grizzled "uh, uh, uh."
* DO NOT cover for your players by saying, "I have to do a better job of putting them in the right position."
* DO NOT let anyone in the organization ever utter the phrases "kind of the gold standard" or "dream team."
* DO NOT start every press conference, especially the ones after the last game of the season, with an injury report.
* DO NOT bring back "Taco Tuesdays" or "Fast Food Friday" even if you decide to get rid of the smoothie machines.
But Doug, the No. 1 "Do Not Do Like Andy Reid Did" will be:
* DO NOT fail to win a Super Bowl. Reid won more games than any coach in Eagles history, advanced to five NFC Championship Games and Super Bowl XXXIX.
None of that matters because the only thing he did not win is the only thing that matters to this town.
Doug, if you want to be your own coach, crush the perception and not constantly be referred to as "Lil' Andy," then the most important thing you should do is deliver a Vince Lombardi Trophy to Philadelphia.