Doug Pederson checking in.

The only head coach to win a Super Bowl in Philadelphia, he joined John Clark’s Takeoff podcast recently to discuss a potpourri of Eagles topic. A smorgasbord, if you will. Doug was in sunny south Florida during recording, while we’re stuck up here in the crappy and cold Delaware Valley, but it is what it is.

Anyway, Doug P was asked about Jalen Reagor’s rough sophomore season and had this to say:

“It’s pressure from the outside, from the media, from fans, from himself, to perform and perform well. You get in situations where you start to tighten up and he needs to learn to relax. He’s another young player with a lot of talent and a lot of ability that can help that football team win. He needs to control it somehow, some way. It comes through growth, but at the same time I’d suggest he stay off social media, don’t listen to the news, try to block out as much as you can and focus on your craft and skill, and continue to work hard every single day. I’ve got a lot of faith and confidence in him.”

Doug benched Agholor during his second year, 2016, in late November, coming off a game with three targets but zero catches. Obviously Nelly went on to have a then-career year when the Birds won it all in 2017, and Doug drew some parallels there:

“I can kind of relate it to Nelson Agholor. He was getting beat up in the media, he was getting booed out of the stadium every time he walked out. It was unfair to the player. It really felt like at that time with Nelson I thought the best thing for him was to take a week or two. ‘Let’s take one week, you aren’t going to play, you are going to work on the service (scout) team, take every rep there.’ Feel comfortable and be relaxed. Open yourself up to the game, free your mind, free your body and soul and lets see what happens. Obviously it really impacted his life. Even at the end of the season how appreciative he was. And it was a little bit later in the season, it was probably around this time when we did that, and it made a big impact in his life. You can see the career he’s had and still having. Jalen (Reagor), he might be in the same situation right now. Maybe take a step back and see it from a clearer picture. That 30-thousand foot perspective so to speak. Maybe that would help him. You have to continue to work with the kid, work hard in practice and meetings, and whatever he can do to help with this setback right now in his career.”

It’s a good discussion with Doug P, who has massive cajones. Yeah, Nick Foles suggested “Philly Philly” in 2018, but Doug agreed to do it. Pederson was aggressive all year long. He wasn’t gonna let anybody out coach him en route to the Super Bowl.

Full podcast here: