In Crossing Broad’s Philadelphia Eagles Media Field of 64, John Clark is the #2 seed in the Reno Mahe regional.

You could make a STRONG case that Clark earned himself a #1 seed, however, by virtue of the fact that he landed the first interview with Doug Pederson, post-Eagles firing.

It’s in podcast format at NBC Sports Philadelphia, and we’ve shared the audio at the bottom of the page, but do John a favor and subscribe to help the show take off. (get it? take off? because his nickname is “Airport?” and the show is called “Take Off?”)

Right, so Doug was actually on the show with his son, Josh, a 23-year-old tight end coming out of Louisiana-Monroe, where the elder Pederson went to school (it was known as Northeast Louisiana back then). The show is about 30 minutes long, and here are a couple of relevant snippets:

  • Doug is relaxing in South Florida with his wife and waiting to see what God has planned for his next move
  • he thinks his son is a better athlete than he is, “more well-rounded as far as athletic skills go”
  • Josh Pederson has talked to the Eagles ahead of the draft, there’s been contact with player-personnel folks
  • Doug says he’s found some closure after being fired. “I just think about those great times and great moments I had in the five years… I focus on the good times, relationships, people I’ve met, and that gives me closure on whatever decision was made
  • he’s proud of what he did here in five years, bringing a championship to town
  • he says he would have loved to have the opportunity to fix the 2020 season and right the ship, but understands were Jeffrey Lurie is coming from
  • on the idea that Lurie didn’t like his coaching suggestions, Doug just said that he will “continue to stand up for the guys” that he surrounds himself with, says a coach should have the opportunity to surround themselves with loyal guys who support each other
  • he says he’s moved on, water under the bridge, excited about supporting his son and going to his pro day
  • there’s been an outpouring of love and support, which keeps him going and helps with the closure perspective, says people from around the league have reached out, and he thinks that shows the Eagles and his staff did things the right way

On his relationship with Carson Wentz, here’s the full quote:

“The only thing I will say, and I understand where Carson’s coming from, because it’s difficult; when you’re the starter and things like this happen and you basically get benched. Our season wasn’t going the way we wanted it to go and it’s difficult. It’s difficult for any player to go through that. I did it with Nelson Agholor my first year, obviously a different position and all that, but you’ve got to have the conversations, and you’ve got to have the open-door policy, and you’ve got to communicate, and I felt like we did that.

I do believe that there’s a little misnomer out there where Carson and I were on such bad terms, and I’ve never felt that way. I’ve always felt like I was going to do the right thing for the Philadelphia Eagles, and yet I understand what he was feeling and what he was going through. I know there was frustration there. I still have a lot of respect (for Carson), and we drafted him five years ago to be the guy and I’m excited to see what he does with the Colts now. And he has a fresh start, too. I think that’s something that players go through in their careers. They get opportunities to go other places through free agency or trades. You get cut one place, you get picked up another. It’s another opportunity, and I know that’s what he’s looking forward to and I’m excited to watch his career moving forward.”

Doug was also asked about Jalen Hurts, and thinks he can be the guy. He says he has a great leadership style and thinks players gravitate to him:

“He’s a proven winner, been a proven winner in college… I know he can do that in the National Football League. He’s young and eager and will out-work everybody on the football team.”

Full audio here: