Andy Reid is all things Jaguars HC Doug Pederson strives to do

Andy Reid is one of the most successful head coaches in recent NFL history, having won a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs and coming up short of getting another one with the Philadelphia Eagles. Not surprisingly, Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson looks up to him.

Reid was Pederson’s coach when played for the Green Bay Packers and later with the Eagles. Pederson was also a member of his staff in Philly and later his offensive coordinator in Kansas City, so there’s no doubt Reid has been a big influence on Pederson.

The Jags will play the Chiefs Sunday and Pederson told the media Wednesday what makes his mentor such a great head coach.

“He’s coached me, and I’ve worked with him and worked for him”, Pederson said. “The players love him. He’s hard, he’s a disciplinarian. He demands a lot, all the things that I strive to do in my job, and then just with the offense, he’s creative, does a great job of putting his guys in positions to make plays”.

“Over the years, the teams that they’ve put out there have all been great football teams, and same thing in Philly. It started out slow in ’99 when I was there as a player, but it quickly escalated with better talent around and a better quarterback at the time. They were competing in NFC titles, just like they are in Kansas City”, Pederson said.

Bill Belichick notwithstanding, no other NFL head coach has had as much success as Andy Reid over the last 25 years. He turned the Eagles into a perennial contender in just his second season at the helm and led them to four consecutive NFC Championships and a trip to the Super Bowl. Similarly, he had a big role in helping the Chiefs raise the Lombardi Trophy in 2019.

Moreover, many of Reid’s former protegés have gone on to become NFL head coaches. Besides Pederson, John Harbaugh, Steve Wilks, Ron Rivera, Frank Reich, Sean McDermott, Pat Shurmur, and Matt Nagy currently hold or used to hold head coaching positions with various degrees of success. Here’s Pederson’s exchange with the media in case you want to watch it.

Jaguars HC Doug Pederson had an outstanding teacher in Andy Reid

When Pederson talked about Reid, he basically named all the traits of a good teacher and even described himself. The best ones know what buttons to press, when they need to take it easy on players and when they need to push them hard. Keep in mind that everyone is different, so coaches have to adjust their methods to make sure their message gets across.

While Reid and Pederson have different personalities, there’s no doubt the former has been a big influence on the latter. Although the Jaguars currently have a 3-6 record, you won’t hear players complain about Pederson. Instead, you’ll hear about how much of a difference he’s been this year and how they’re willing to run through a brick wall for him.

The Jaguars have made strides under Pederson and they will have a chance to take another step in the right direction when they take on the Chiefs in Week 10.