Eagles head coach Doug Pederson recently sat down with Ron Jaworski and Brian Baldinger for an NFL Films study session about the Eagles’ use of the run-pass option.
The whole video is pretty good and it’s worth checking out.
The thing that really caught my attention, though, was how quick Pederson was to credit his predecessor with one element that has made the Eagles’ RPOs so successful around the 5:30 mark.
It started when Baldy brought up a good point. If a running back doesn’t get the handoff at the mesh point, he needs to get the heck out of the way. “The last thing you want is any indecision from the back,” Baldy said as the two looked at Darren Sproles get out of the way on an RPO against the Giants.
Pederson immediately agreed.
“So one of the things we do with our backs and this is something I learned being around Duce, being around guys who were with Chip Kelly,” Pederson said. “One of the things the backs always did, they disengage. They go through their footwork, ‘oh I don’t get the ball,’ now we disengage and we stay out of the way, stay out of the play.”
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This shows how little ego Pederson really has and it’s not the first time we’ve seen this from him. Pederson doesn’t care where a good idea comes from.
He’s acknowledged plenty of times that Kelly brought good things to the Eagles. That includes plenty of the sports science program, several assistant coaches and personnel members and concepts in the offense. In fact, at the owners meetings earlier this offseason, Pederson explained how he used a mesh concept brought from Kelly in the Super Bowl.
Ironically, one thing Kelly didn’t bring to the table with the Eagles was a selfless approach — the very thing that has allowed Pederson to use all the other good stuff long after Kelly has been ousted from the NFL.
It goes beyond Chip, though. Pederson is always willing to listen to outside voices. Ultimately, the decisions are his, but everyone has a voice. That included Frank Reich and it will include Mike Groh this year. And it includes his players; think back to the Super Bowl when he basically let Nick Foles call one of the gutsiest players in NFL history.
It’s Pederson's football team, but a good idea is a good idea. Ego doesn’t factor.