PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- Eagles head coach Doug Pederson has expressed confidence in his ability to turn the franchise around, as well as his expectation of returning next season -- and the team’s long-time radio announcer agrees with him.
"I just believe that Doug Pederson is a very good football coach," The Voice of the Eagles, Merrill Reese, told KYW Newsradio. "I believe he should be back, and I’ve been very, very steadfast in saying that."
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Several times throughout this frustrating 4-10-1 season, Reese has said that the Eagles have maintained their effort in playing for Pederson.
"Every guy in that locker room, every assistant coach, is motivated by Doug Pederson," he said. "The teams that change coaches every three or every four years are the teams that constantly are at the bottom of their division."
This is Pederson’s fifth season as head coach. They made the playoffs in last three seasons, winning the division in 2017 and 2019, and of course capping off the former with the franchise's first Super Bowl Championship.
Ever since purchasing the team in 1994, Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie has craved the elusive Lombardi Trophy. Pederson brought him that hardware. He is Lurie’s fifth head coach, and the fourth one he has hired.
Lurie gave Rich Kotite the quick hook after the 1994 season, in which the Eagles lost their last seven games to finish 7-9. Next up, Ray Rhodes lasted until 1998, which featured a 3-13 record. Andy Reid coached the Eagles for 14 seasons, showering them with sustained success, but Lurie parted ways with him after a 4-12 2012 campaign. Chip Kelly’s Eagles finished with 10-6 records his first two seasons, including a division title in 2013, but Lurie fired him before the final game of 2015 because he wasn’t happy with the state of the franchise after handing over a lot of personnel control to the coach. Lurie then brought current General Manager Howie Roseman back into power, and they hired Pederson.
Whether Pederson’s worst season as Eagles head coach leads to Lurie making a change remains to be seen.
Pederson says he knows how to fix this team and move it in the right direction. He points to his winning success and Super Bowl experience and the importance of fundamentals. When physically healthy, he said, the Birds have an acceptable foundation that can be complemented with draft picks and free agents.
Reese's thinking is along similar lines.
"I really believe that with an infusion of good draft class with some good free agents, and more importantly the return to health of some of their keys players, this can be a much better team next year, and Doug Pederson should be the head coach," he said.
Can you imagine the Eagles helping the Cowboys?
If the Cowboys beat the New York Giants on Sunday, the Eagles could be in the awkward position of helping out their division rivals. If the Washington Football Team tops the Eagles later on Sunday, Washington goes on to the playoffs. But if the Eagles win, Dallas will win this historically awful NFC East and host a playoff game.
The specifics of this circumstance weren’t brought up to Pederson at his Monday press conference. However, he did say his team is going into this week with the mentality of winning the game.
"That's how we play."
Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz, speaking generally on Tuesday morning, said they don't want Washington to celebrate winning the division in South Philly
"We got to have a no-hat rule this week," Schwartz said. "We can’t let opponents put division win hats on at The Linc."
A loss could help the Eagles' draft positioning. They have a chance to land as high as third overall, or falling no worse than 10th.
This is the first time the Eagles will have a Top 10 pick since 2016.