Philadelphia fans rained down cheers on Doug Pederson, as the former Eagles coach, who helped the club win its first Super Bowl, led the Jacksonville Jaguars onto the field ahead of Sunday's contest at Lincoln Financial Field.
"It was great. It was a great crowd. A great welcome. It was good," Pederson said after the game. "It was my normal routine, just seeing guys. At the end of the day I have a job to do and get the Jags ready to play. It was good to see a lot of people. When you spend as much time here as we did, do the things we did, it was good to see a lot of people."
On a rain-soaked day, Pederson's Jags jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, but Trevor Lawrence's five turnovers helped allow the Eagles to storm back for a 29-21 victory.
Pederson also left the field without his jacket, which he gave to Eagles center Jason Kelce after the loss.
"This is getting framed up, just like all the others," Kelce said at his locker. "It's a very prized possession right here."
Holdovers from Pederson's time in Philly were emotional after the game discussing their former coach.
Said offensive lineman Lane Johnson: "I spent a lot of my good years with Doug. I feel like he was the guy that was really instrumental in bringing me back from the abyss, so to speak. Any time I was down or needed an encouraging word, he was there. You miss him. Anybody who comes in and wins a championship and lays his heart on the line for the team, you have a tremendous amount of respect for.
"He's a hell of a coach, a hell of a person."
Pederson also spoke with Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts after the game. The signal-caller credits his former coach for his success, which has Hurts in the early season MVP discussion.
"I have a lot of respect for Doug as I've said all week," Hurts said. "I told Doug, 'I really appreciate you and have a lot of respect for you.' And I told him, 'I thank you because you're the reason I'm here.' I have a lot of love and respect for him. His way of coaching, his coaching style and the way he does things, the great things he's doing in Jacksonville right now. I have a lot of respect for him and I wish him nothing but the best moving forward."
Pederson was asked whether returning to Philly on the opposing sideline brought back any memories.
"Once the game started, no," he said. "It's just a fact that you're looking with a little different perspective on the other sideline. Obviously I spent a lot of time in that stadium. The fans were great today as expected. Just unfortunate for us."
The Jags have started to turn things around quickly under Pederson, but Sunday's loss to the 4-0 Eagles was a reminder there are still strides to make. Though given the reception in Philly from fans and former players, Jacksonville can finally be confident they have the right man at the helm.
