If anybody knows the highs and lows of serving as coach of the Eagles, it's Doug Pederson.
He won a Super Bowl while at the helm in Philadelphia. And he also oversaw a meltdown so severe, he infamously voiced his frustrations on local sports-talk radio before eventually departing.
Pederson returns to Philadelphia this weekend when his Jaguars (2-6) take on the Eagles (5-2) at Lincoln Financial Field -- where a statue of him and Super Bowl LII MVP quarterback Nick Foles stands outside. He's looking forward to taking the trip back to the City of Brotherly Love, where he'll face a coach he felt he should assist in taking over for him in 2021.
Yes, Pederson participated in an informal transition, giving Nick Sirianni the inside information on the Eagles.
“It’s a tough business,” Pederson said, via the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Just to be a resource, you know, just to be somebody there. I did it for five years and I was an assistant coach there for a long time and really just to be there if he had any questions he could just ask me. It’s just a respect thing. It’s hard enough to be a head coach in this league. Any advice I could give a first-time head coach, I was going to do it.”
Sirianni has experienced his own highs and lows in his three-and-a-half seasons with the Eagles, leading a rapid turnaround that landed them in Super Bowl LVII. But unlike Pederson, Sirianni didn't return with a Lombardi Trophy, and after a colossal collapse to end the 2023 season, he's felt the heat that can be rather intense in Philadelphia.
Pederson is very familiar with that warmth. Like he did when he left, he offered Sirianni words of advice this week.
“From the outside looking in, I think he’s handled it well,” Pederson said. “My advice is you’ve just kind of got to keep going every single day, man. You’ve just got to keep your head down, plowing forward, just do your job. Get your team ready to go for another game. And you know, you can’t control anything other than that as a head coach.
“That’s my advice to myself and that’s my advice to him. Just continue to keep doing the job you’re doing. You’ve got to trust your ability, you’ve got to trust what you’re doing, what you’re teaching, how you’re preparing your football team and you’ve got to stick with that and I think he’s done a good job at that.”
Sirianni has learned some lessons in the last year, especially when it comes to interacting with fans. He was demonstrative after a win over the Chiefs in Kansas City -- which didn't age well after the Eagles' late-season meltdown -- and even chirped at some critical home fans seated behind the Eagles' bench after a win earlier this month.
Since then, the Eagles appear to have regained their swagger, rolling to two straight runaway wins. They'll be tested by the Jaguars on Sunday, which won't include a Pederson visit to the statue bearing his likeness.
“No, it’s on the other side of the stadium. You want me to tailgate, too, and just say hi to people?” Pederson joked.
He knows Philadelphia well enough to understand it will be all business in Week 9.