Eagles News: Doug Pederson and Howie Roseman have “decreasingly seen eye-to-eye”

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

Sources: Doug Pederson’s future with Eagles on perilous ground after meeting with owner Jeffrey Lurie - Inquirer
General manager Howie Roseman, meanwhile, is expected to remain after his postseason meetings with Lurie. While Pederson said that his relationship with Roseman has been on solid ground, there have been indications that the two have decreasingly seen eye-to-eye on personnel, team sources said. Wentz, meanwhile, reportedly wants to be traded because his relationship with Pederson is beyond repair. The coach has said that he still believes in the 28-year-old quarterback and that he thinks he can return to form. Still, if the relationship is damaged, and Lurie/Roseman want Wentz back, it could be another reason Pederson’s job isn’t safe.

Could the Eagles trade Doug Pederson? - BGN
So, let’s say the Eagles trade Pederson. Who’s his replacement? Wouldn’t the Eagles be behind the eight ball with other teams already interviewing head coach candidates? It would seem so. But maybe the Eagles have quietly been doing their homework. Perhaps they can heavily lean on agent connections, such as Howie Roseman and Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator both being represented by Bob LaMonte. Or maybe the Eagles would just pivot to promoting assistant head coach/running backs coach Duce Staley to Pederson’s old position. They could then look to hire an offensive coordinator with play-calling duties since Staley doesn’t have experience in that role. I’m only spit-balling here. But it makes some sense?

Eagles stay or go: Doug Pederson - PhillyVoice
First, it should be noted that it will be absurd if Pederson is let go, but Howie Roseman gets to keep his job. Pederson unquestionably had a bad 2020 season, but Roseman has had three straight bad offseasons. However, looking forward, what does Pederson offer if none of his four biggest strengths noted above are differentiators between himself and other head coaches? The feeling here is that Pederson could be successful in a new environment, but that his time has run its course in Philadelphia, partly because he has lost his mojo, and partly because he has not been put in a good position to succeed the last three years, while also serving as the accountable face of the franchise, forced to answer hard questions four days per week while his general manager and owner have left him hung out to dry. Unfairly or not, Pederson should probably go, and Lurie is likely to pull the plug.

Not So Safe - Iggles Blitz
The X-factor in all of this is the future of Carson Wentz. We don’t know what Lurie wants. Pederson has publicly stated that he still thinks highly of Wentz and that the two can get things turned around together. It doesn’t seem like Wentz feels the same way. He did not have an exit interview with Pederson last Monday. You can bet that wasn’t an accident. It could be a situation where Wentz is pushing Lurie to choose between him and Pederson.

Sources: Doug Pederson’s future as Philadelphia Eagles coach shaky ahead of meeting with owner Jeffrey Lurie - ESPN
Wentz has planned to ask for a trade in the offseason because his relationship with Pederson is fractured beyond repair, sources said. The trust issues between the two work both ways, sources said, despite Pederson recently saying that his relationship with Wentz was fine. Wentz has not spoken publicly since the Eagles’ season ended, and a player source indicated that the quarterback did not have the normal end-of-season exit interview with Pederson or the staff.

If Eagles’ Doug Pederson goes to bat for Press Taylor, he might not have locker room support - NJ.com
Taylor also has frustrated other offensive players with his handling of Wentz, a person with knowledge of the offensive coaching staff’s dynamics told NJ Advance Media on Sunday. The person was granted anonymity to speak freely. There are coaches and players within the organization who believe Taylor has let his personal relationship with Wentz get in the way of critiquing the quarterback, the person said. According to the person, there are offensive players on the roster who feel that Taylor doesn’t coach Wentz hard enough, and some have even labeled his approach with the QB as “soft.” Taylor’s treatment of Wentz isn’t uncommon within the organization. Pederson refused to bench Wentz through the first 11 games of the season, even though Wentz led the league in turnovers, interceptions and sacks at the time. When Pederson eventually benched Wentz, he took his feelings into consideration, choosing to name the starting quarterback on a weekly basis, despite rookie Jalen Hurts’ flashes of brilliance in his initial opportunities for extended playing time.

Lamar Jackson Wins a Playoff Game; Browns Overcome Hectic Wild-Card Week - MMQB
Doug Pederson’s status in Philly bears watching—and it relates to staffing. There’s no question that Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie is unhappy with the state of affairs in his football operation. And it’s been an open secret in the league that Pederson was likely going to have to make major staff changes (read: new coordinators) to get to 2021. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz got ahead of the process in stepping aside last week. And the Eagles don’t have an offensive coordinator in title, but the expectation coming out of the 4–11–1 campaign has been that Pederson would need to find one, and try to fix, once and for all, his issues staffing that side of the ball. Really, this goes back to OC Frank Reich leaving for Indy and QBs coach John DeFilippo leaving for Minnesota after the championship season of 2017. Pederson first promoted receivers coach Mike Groh to OC to replace Reich, Carson Walch to replace Groh, and Press Taylor to replace DeFilippo; then, after Groh and Walch were fired, Taylor became pass-game coordinator, with ex-Denver OC Rich Scangarello coming aboard as an offensive assistant. After all that, and three full seasons, it’s apparent the losses of Reich and DeFilippo are still being felt (Scangarello just got shown the door, too). Can Pederson show Lurie that’s being fixed? His ability to looms large now. There were subtle signs in December that Pederson was worried for his job. Turns out, he had reason to be.

What is Lurie waiting for to make call on Pederson? - NBCSP
Lurie is a smart guy and he’s been a tremendous owner for this franchise for 27 years now, and I understand that he wants to be absolutely sure before he jettisons the only coach that’s ever led the Eagles to a Super Bowl championship. But I don’t understand what more he could possibly need to see or hear at this point to make an informed decision. Nobody is more aware of Pederson’s strengths and weaknesses as a coach than Lurie. Whether or not he keeps Pederson or fires him, the best thing he can do for the long-term success of his football team is do it now.

Will DeVonta Smith break Eagles’ ‘streak’? Making sense of Bama-OSU draft record - The Athletic
If you’re watching Alabama and Ohio State in the national championship game Monday and wondering if a few of those players will wear an Eagles uniform in 2021, here’s some bad news: Recent history is not on your side. The Eagles haven’t drafted a player directly from Alabama in 18 years. Coach Nick Saban has the Crimson Tide in their eighth national championship game in 12 years — a period in which the Eagles have made 90 draft selections and Alabama has had 92 players drafted. Of course, the Eagles spent a 2020 second-round pick on Jalen Hurts, who played three years for the Crimson Tide and started in two national title games. Hurts transferred to Oklahoma, so he wasn’t officially identified as an Alabama player. Still, it’s fair to associate him with Saban and Alabama. But it’s not as if the Eagles were busy drafting his teammates. The last player the Eagles drafted from Alabama? Freddie Milons in 2002. [BLG Note: Maybe try drafting players from the best college football programs for once?]

The Winners and Losers of NFL Wild-Card Weekend - The Ringer
Winner: Taylor Heinicke. It’s not just that the 7-9 Washington Football Team had to play a former XFL guy at quarterback in their first playoff game in five years. It’s that they had to play an XFL backup in their first playoff game in five years.

Cowboys cap casualty candidates for the 2021 offseason - Blogging The Boys
OT Tyron SmithCap savings (post June 1): $10.5 million. If you read the earlier piece about the offensive tackle position, you probably saw this coming. The same savings would also apply if he were traded, which applies for Jaylon Smith as well. A trade would also garner some kind of draft pick in return, which could be quite useful. Much of that depends on Tyron’s health, which has been a concern for five years now. But there might be some tackle needy teams that would take someone who might still miss a few games, because he is still so good if he is healthy. It’s a big if, but something that seems worth exploring. It would be a sad day if the All-Pro does depart, but with ten years on the field, the wear and tear is real. One way or another, it may just be time.

Giants didn’t get enough from wide receivers in 2020 - Big Blue View
Golden Tate simply has not had a distinguished two-year run with the Giants. Memorable, yes. He was suspended for the first four games in 2019 due a PED violation. He missed a game this season when on-field antics landed him in Joe Judge’s doghouse, and two more at the end of the season with a calf injury. His performance in 2020 showed a declining player. Tate caught just 2.9 passes per game, his lowest since 2011. He did not break a single tackle and averaged only 2.3 yards after catch. That’s 3.5 yards per catch below his average from 2019. The Giants can save at least $6.147 million against the cap by cutting Tate. That number rises to $8.5 million if they make him a post-June 1 cut.

How The Browns—And A Guy Named Blake—Survived Weird Wild-Card Week And Upset The Steelers - FMIA
Deshaun Watson. There are 9,000 things out there about the fate of Watson (apparently somewhere between angry and totally volcanic about the Texans hierarchy), include the tantalizing maybe-more-than-just-throwing-this-out-there startler from Chris Mortensen on Sunday: Watson just might be angry enough to force a trade. And wouldn’t it be interesting if that trade was Watson to Miami for Tua Tagovailoa and a passel of Dolphins picks? But before we go too far, I want to quote that famous American philosopher Aaron Rodgers: “R-E-L-A-X.” At times like this, the best thing for a team and its new GM is not to jump to conclusions about anything. Nick Caserio inherited this mess, and, seeing that he’s been on the job for a grand total of four days, I’d like to give him two months—till the start of the 2021 league year—to fix it. As in Philadelphia with Carson Wentz, time to let things simmer down. And when no one’s looking and Caserio can confidently meet Watson in absolutely privacy with his new coach, then try to surgically repair the relationship. Till then, no sense for the Texans to try to pick at this fresh wound.

Opening odds for the Divisional round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs - DraftKings Nation
As the Browns and Steelers look to close out the Wild Card round of the 2021 NFL playoffs, we are finalizing the bracket for the Divisional round. The NFC is settled with the Packers hosting the Rams and the Saints hosting the Bucs. UPDATE: The AFC is now settled with the Chiefs hosting the Browns and the Bills hosting the Ravens. All opening odds are in!

Nickelodeon’s first NFL playoff game is slime-filled fun - SB Nation
The first NFL broadcast on Nickelodeon is better than we ever could have imagined, and proved immediately that this needs to happen more often. The youth-focused presentation of the game made it not only perfect for kids, but anyone who wants to enjoy football without the grand seriousness of traditional commentary. Former NFL wide receiver Nate Burleson led the charge for football knowledge in the booth, breaking down the game and trying to make kids understand the game. Sure, it was a little simplistic, saying stuff like “Allen Robinson hopes to run and catch a ball from his quarterback,” by that’s what young kids need to appreciate the game. There were also dozens of small Nickelodeon touches, from between play graphics showing football players with cartoon elements, to the first down marker being replaced by a “slime line.” It just worked, and I love it.

...

Social Media Information:

BGN Facebook Page: Click here to like our page

BGN Twitter: Follow @BleedingGreen

BGN Instagram: Follow @BleedingGreenInsta

BGN Manager: Brandon Lee Gowton: Follow @BrandonGowton

BGN Radio Twitter: Follow @BGN_Radio

BGN Cameo: Click here for a personalized video message