3 reasons Jacksonville Jaguars hit out of the ballpark with the Doug Pederson hire

3. Doug Pederson immediately clicked with Jacksonville Jaguars players

More often than not, NFL clubs look for hot offensive minds to fill their vacancies but they usually overlook their ability to connect with football players and manage a whole team. That’s why you’ll see many successful offensive coordinators flopping when they become head coaches. Nathaniel Hackett is one of the most recent examples.

Nathaniel Hackett was pretty good at crafting offensive game plans but wasn’t qualified to be a head coach, which is why he lasted less than a year with the Denver Broncos. In retrospect, failing to relate to his players was one of the many reasons behind Urban Meyer’s downfall in Jacksonville.

Speaking of Meyer, another reason he failed in Jacksonville was that he immensely underestimated the work he would need to put in to coach an NFL team. Make no mistake, head coaches need to delegate but they still need to be heavily involved to make sure the team is running smoothly.

Going back to Pederson, you will be hard-pressed to find a single Jaguars player that doesn’t love playing for him. Having played in the NFL helps him put himself in his players’ shoes but he knows how to approach his players and staff. He knows there’s a wide array of personalities in a locker room and can’t talk to them the same way.

Some players embrace tough love and won’t mind being pushed but there are others that might benefit more from a more technical approach. This doesn’t mean Pederson pampers his players. Simply, he’s aware that everyone reacts differently to various coaching styles and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all. This is one of the many reasons why he’s been so successful with the Jaguars and the Philadelphia Eagles before that.