The Philadelphia Eagles have yet to win a Super Bowl under second-year head coach Doug Pederson. Heck, they've yet to even win a playoff game. Or even make the playoffs.
But Coach Pederson has received a Gatorade shower during his short tenure in Philly.
That drenching happened Sunday after the Eagles' Week 1 win over the Washington Redskins — a win that snapped a five-game losing streak against the division foe.
My immediate reaction to hearing about the bath? "That seems dumb," I tweeted.
You've literally won one game this season. Whatever happened to the "act like you've been there before" mantra?
But after giving it a day to settle, I'm less annoyed by the gesture. It clearly was something of a rough week for Coach Pederson after some in the media tore him apart for his lack of coaching bona fides.
That said, for whatever heat Doug is taking from some in the media, his players are clearly on his side. They've said all the right things in support of their coach in the lead up to and immediately following the season opener. And perhaps this little gesture of a Gatorade shower was a nice show of support and solidarity from the team with their coach. And, of course, there's probably some tongue-in-cheek nature to it that we all don't get to see up close.
Fans at home didn't even get to see the shower in its entirety, simply the aftermath:
Pederson said following the game that he was "appreciative," albeit a little sticky.
ESPN's Tim McManus spoke to linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill, who along with defensive end Steven Means, were responsible for said shower.
NFL
"I saw Means go over there and grab it, and I was like, 'Hell yeah.' Huge win, divisional game, first game, so let's get it rolling," Grugier-Hill said. "Great job by Coach getting us ready and getting us prepared, and we're rolling now."
"He gets us prepared every week, he knows how to connect with us, he's been through it. I think personally he's a great coach. So whatever other people are saying, they can eff off, because this is our house and we're going to back him no matter what he does."
So I don't know. I didn't love the bath upon first hearing about it but after giving it some thought, and after a tough week for Pederson, I'm kind of glad his players are showing him some love. It's certainly better than them leaving him out to dry after the media attacks him.
As long as the Birds keep winning, the sideline antics don't really matter.