December 05, 2016
As the Eagles' two-month long slide enters its 10th week, head coach Doug Pederson better make sure he has the date of the organization's annual holiday party circled in red on his calendar – and he better make sure he's there the whole time.
We all remember what happened the last time a slumping coach pulled an Irish exit on team owner Jeffrey Lurie.
But despite Pederson's 2-7 record since the bye week, he isn't worried about his job status, not even after his team's 32-14 loss to the Bengals on Sunday. Why would he be? To hear the first-year head coach tell it, he's already been told he'll be back next season, and it doesn't seem like what happens over the final month of the season will make much of a difference.
"For sure," Pederson said when asked if he felt his job was secure for next season, adding that Lurie and Howie Roseman have indeed told him the same thing.
The one thing Pederson isn't sure of, however, is what standard they're using to measure his relative success or failure in Year 1. How much do wins and losses factor in? The development of rookie QB Carson Wentz? How he handles off-field issues like with Nigel Bradham and Josh Huff? How much the players believe in him? His in-game play calling?
It's probably a combination of those things, some of which Pederson has a better grasp on than others. But according to him, the message from Lurie and the front office has been nothing but supportive, even with their recent struggles.
“They have not [told me how they're measuring my performance]," Pederson said. "In fact, from both of them, it’s been 100 percent support on everything. I meet with Jeffrey and Howie every week and we discuss a lot of things and go over a lot of things and every week it’s very positive. I just don’t think personally that you can base a season on a couple of games or a base a career on one season."
"I think you’ve got to give it time to develop. We’ve got a rookie quarterback. We’ve got to have time to develop this quarterback; it doesn’t just happen overnight. So, by no means have they expressed anything [negative] to me; it’s been positive and very supportive.”
For Pederson's long-term job security, their slide may actually be a net positive. It's a lot more difficult to improve on a 10-6 year-over-year than it is to improve on a record of, say, 6-10.
Just ask Chip Kelly.
