What a Win vs. the Eagles Could Mean for Doug Pederson and the Jaguars
You can always go home. Especially in the NFL, where the nature of the business has players, coaches, executives, and many, many more jumping from team to team throughout their careers.
But in Week 4, Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson will be doing more than just going to a former home. He will be doing more than facing the franchise he helped lead to a Super Bowl five years ago; more than a potential revenge game against the team that fired him after the 2020 season despite the Super Bowl win.
In Week 4, going home for Pederson means a chance to let the NFL know with a definitive voice that the Jaguars have arrived. Players have said they want to win for Pederson, but Pederson knows a Week 4 win would go far beyond any personal feelings.
“That’s great and everything, and I appreciate that from the team. Look, this is a good football team, and it’s still Week 4 and there’s a lot of football ahead," Pederson said on Wednesday.
"We’ve just got to prepare and do the right things during the week, and that includes me. I’ve got to stick to my routine and staying diligent with that and the studying and the planning and prepare myself just like the players do. It starts with me, and I’ll keep relaying that message to the team.”
Pederson isn't the first former Eagles head coach to return to Philadelphia. After five years of roaming the sidelines wearing green and black and with the Eagles' logo on his visor, Pederson earned the admiration of fans and player alike. But will he receive the standing ovation that former Eagles head coach Andy Reid received in his first return to the Eagles' field?
Maybe. Maybe not. But regardless of if there are cheers or jeers, Pederson has his focus far beyond any reactions from those who once rallied behind him.
“I don't know. It could be mixed. Listen, I have to get this team here ready to go and I'm not going to be concerned with that," Pederson said.
"You hope it's a good one obviously for the things you did there, but I also know that crowd and they can be a little hostile and [I'm] looking forward to that too. Listen, understanding that and having been there and worked there, you just understand that it's [how it is]. Even when I was there and we were winning games or losing games, you were still getting booed, so it doesn't really matter."
Pederson isn't the only former Eagle returning to Philadelphia this weekend. Joining him will be offensive coordinator Press Taylor -- whose role with the Eagles reportedly played a factor in Pederson's tenure ending -- and several other assistant coaches.
For each of them, Sunday will be viewed as just another game; a chance for the Jaguars to go 3-1 for the first time since 2018. A chance for the Jaguars to rattle off their third-straight win against their third-straight opponent who was picked by many to be a serious contender.
“Oh yeah, we know it’s a special game for him and a bunch of other coaches as well, too. A lot of them were in Philly, too," defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot said this week. "It’s definitely going to be a war and we’re ready for it.”
The Jaguars have dominated two other offseason favorites in the last two weeks, blowing out the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Chargers 62-10. Still, each win came with the caveat of the other team missing key players; the Colts were missing Shaquille Leonard, Michael Pittman Jr., and Alec Pierce, while the Chargers were missing Keenan Allen, J.C. Jackson and Corey Linsley before eventually losing Joey Bosa, Rashawn Slater and Kenneth Murray Jr. during the game.
The Eagles, though, are a juggernaut. They are one of just two 3-0 teams in the NFL alongside the Miami Dolphins, and many have tabbed them as the favorite in the NFC. And unlike the Chargers and Colts, they will be near full-strength on Sunday, at least at key spots.
A win against the Eagles would do more than just make a statement for the Jaguars. It would propel them to the conversation of postseason play, which is a conversation that has only been had as a quiet whisper in Jacksonville since 2017.
Yes, Sunday is a chance for Pederson to offer a slice of vindication and redemption after his surprising firing from the Eagles two years ago. It is a chance for him to remind the Eagles' brass why there is a statue of him outside the stadium.
But more importantly, it is a chance for the Jaguars to show they are for real. A chance for Pederson to show the Eagles are firmly in the past, and a good, young and exciting Jaguars team is his present.
"I think that's amongst them. My job is to prepare the team to go play in a great environment against a really good football team that's playing extremely well right now," Pederson said.
"For us, it's the next one on the schedule and it just so happens to be Philly. But at the same time, it's my job to prepare the guys this week and go play."
