The Eagles just finished what many fans would call an upsetting season, according to die-hard Philadelphia sports fan Nicole Moffit, a sophomore at Cabrini. Moffit was born and raised in Philadelphia. She feels strongly about her teams. “I love Philly and every sports team, especially my Eagles, but I don’t know what to expect with the new head coach,” Moffit said.
Philadelphia is a city that is passionate about their sports teams. The Eagles, Sixers, Flyers and Phillies are known for being very successful. Within the past three years these four sports team have struggled. It has been hard for these die-hard Philly fans to watch their teams struggle. The Eagles have had a rough past two years. They missed the playoffs both times. This is something Eagles fans aren’t used to. “I’m used to football in January,” Danielle Pasqau, sophomore, said. The 2015 season especially was rough.
The Eagles started out with two losses. Then they managed to put together a pair of wins. However, the Eagles finished with a 7-9 record under former head coach Chip Kelly. The Eagles for some reason couldn’t put together a winning streak anywhere. Many fans blamed Chip Kelly.
“Kelly doesn’t belong in the NFL,” Pasqau said.
The Eagles fired their head coach Chip Kelly after three seasons at the helm, after leaving a successful stint at Oregon University. After the 2015-2016 regular season, the Eagles organization, as well as the fans of Philadelphia, wanted an answer.
They got one. A new head coach.
Doug Pederson, former offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, was hired as the Eagles’ head coach on Jan. 18th. Pederson has been with the Eagles before both as a coach and a player. Pederson was drafted by the Carolina Panthers, then traded to the Green Bay Packers. He then played one year with the Eagles and spent a short time with the Cleveland Browns. He ultimately ended up back at the Packers, where he was the back-up to Brett Favre.
Pederson retired in 2004. He started his professional coaching career with the Philadelphia Eagles as the offensive quality coach in 2009, and then in 2011 was promoted to quarterbacks coach. He left in 2013 and followed former Eagles head coach Andy Reid to the Chiefs, where he spent his last three years as the offensive coordinator. He is a familiar face with the Philadelphia organization.
While being with the Chiefs as their offensive coordinator he put up decent numbers. There DVOA(Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) numbers were pretty good over his three seasons. They were 15th, 12th and 6th. He was a part of the Chiefs making the playoffs twice in his three seasons.
The Chiefs could miss Pederson, but many Eagles players are happy to have him in Philadelphia. Brent Celek, a seasoned veteran with the Eagles, said, ”I am excited that Doug is here.”
Many former Eagles players as well as current Eagles players are excited. Some players that commented were former teammates Brian Westbrook and Donovan McNabb. Pederson even got amazing remarks from many Chiefs players wishing him the best of luck at Philadelphia.
The fans? Well, that is a different story. There are a lot of mixed feelings about Pederson.
“ I don’t know about this new head coach, I’m a little afraid for these next couple of years as an Eagles fan,” Saleem Brown, assosciate director of first year experience, said.
”I am excited for this season,” Pasqua said. “I am going to get behind Pederson and cheer him on.”
