By Jeff Moeller, Florida Sports Wire
Recently, I watched the Eagles’ 2018 Super Bowl highlight film, and Doug Pederson had a smile a mile wide on his face.
Now, seven years later, Pederson is out of football, but reportedly he has been in line for some offensive coordinator positions.
Yet, Pederson and his predecessor have some connections with Sunday’s Super Bowl.
Two years ago, Pederson appeared to be on the verge of writing another chapter when he guided his team to a 9-8 record. He set Jacksonville into a frenzy when his team erased a 27-0 deficit into a 31-30 victory, marking the third-best comeback in NFL history and the best in Jags’ history.
Two years later, Pederson is looking for another job.
It’s funny how quickly the football landscape changes.
It’s also funny how many links there are around the league, especially tying some together with the Super Bowl and the Jaguars.
First-year head coach Liam Coen has taken over for Pederson, and the former Tampa offensive coordinator has ties to the Rams’ Sean McVay, who in turn, took a page from the Chiefs’ Andy Reid’s West Coast offense.
Pederson incidentally played and groomed under Reid.
For the Eagles’ Nick Sirianni or the Chiefs’ Andy Reid , the landscape may change after Sunday’s Super Bowl. Yet, it may not.
Sirianni can capture his second championship in four years, and respect for him among his peers and fans can reach a new level. He brought the team from a reported state of turmoil at 2-2 this season after an embarrassing 33-19 loss at Tampa Bay, and the Eagles proceeded to steamroll to 10 straight victories.
The Eagles arguably have the league’s MVP in Saquon Barkley, and the league’s best defense.
Reid, the former Eagles’ boss, has had Patrick Mahomes since 2017, but he had a 53-27 mark with Alex Smith at helm before Patrick Mahomes began his run in 2018.
In Reid’s first year, he lost a lead and the game in a 45-44 loss to Indianapolis. From there, Reid’s teams couldn’t get past the divisional round until Mahomes took them to the conference championship in his first full year.
A win for Reid will further cement his overall legacy with Don Shula’s all-time wins total, and Bill Belichick’s Super Bowl rings,
Sirianni came to Philly after a three-year stint with the Colts as an offensive coordinator, and he also spent some time working with the Chargers’ Philip Rivers.
A win Sunday can begin the process of slowly erasing Reid’s stoic stay in Philly and further Sirianni’s legacy.
Whatever the outcome, Coen can take some notes from both of them, as he builds another chapter of Jaguar football.
Coen recently hired Grant Udinski, considered a shooting star offensive mind from Minnesota’s high-powered offense under Kevin McConnell, who is a McVay disciple. Defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile worked under the Packers’ Matt LaFleur, who also is from the Rams’ stable where Mike LaFleur is the current OC.
As he works through his staff in the coming weeks, Coen will soon discover if he has found all of the links as well as finding out how funny the league can work.
