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Look, I was under no illusion that Doug Pederson was going to win Coach of the Year. I knew it was going to Sean McVay. Everyone did.
So it wasn’t surprising when the Los Angeles Rams head coach was announced as the winner during Saturday evening’s NFL Honors show.
But what IS surprising is that Pederson only got ONE STINKIN’ VOTE.
Coach of the Year results. Somehow Bill Belichick earned a vote. pic.twitter.com/t3QTJdvR8W
— Marc Sessler (@MarcSesslerNFL) February 4, 2018
Seriously, that’s pathetic.
Pederson should have won the whole freaking thing.
And I get it, the voting for Coach of the Year is based on the regular season.
But ... Pederson went 13-3 in the regular season, which was tied with the Patriots for the best record in the NFL. McVay’s team went 11-5. And one of those five losses was to Pederson! With a backup quarterback having to enter the game!
I’m not even trying to say McVay was totally undeserving. The Rams’ improvement was incredible.
But Pederson had to deal with SO MUCH more adversity than McVay did. Pederson lost an MVP quarterback (Carson Wentz), a Hall of Fame left tackle (Jason Peters), one of the team’s best offensive weapons (Darren Sproles), a stud middle linebacker (Jordan Hicks), a special teams captain (Chris Maragos), and the kicker (Caleb Sturgis).
The Rams had no major injuries for most of the season. Starting cornerback Kayvon Webster went down in Week 14. Kicker Greg Zuerlein got hurt in Week 17. Big whoop.
I also think it’s important to consider individual expectations here. Everyone was intrigued by McVay. He was the “hot new thing” due to his success with Kirk Cousins in Washington. People were excited about him.
No one even believed in Pederson when he was hired. Multiple media outlets said he was the worst hire of the 2016 head coaching class. A former NFL general manager came out and called him the least qualified coach in the last 30 years.
Pederson proved everyone wrong and he did it against all odds. That’s your Coach of the Year right there.
Sean McVay? He’s your Coach of the First Round Playoff Exit.