Pederson On Clock Management, Coaching Staff

Andy Reid seemed to play a big role in the Eagles’ decision to hire Doug Pederson, from his stamp of approval to grooming his former quarterback as an offensive coordinator.

Although the team wanted to get back to a coach similar to Reid, he had his flaws. One of those was clock management, which was a problem for him on Saturday in Kansas City’s playoff loss to New England.

Down by 14 points with 6:29 remaining, the Chiefs needed to score quickly. Pederson, who confirmed Tuesday that he called plays on that series, however, took five minutes to reach the end zone. New England only had to earn one first down to run the clock out, which they did.

“It took us time because, number one: did not want to give Tom Brady the ball back,” Pederson said. “We knew we were going to score. We knew we had timeouts and time. We were also limited with the number of receivers — Jeremy Maclin was out of the game at the time. We were down numbers. We felt like, at that point, not to give the ball back to Tom Brady. We still had timeouts and time, even with the onside kick, to put ourselves in a position to tie the football game.”

Pederson added that he called Kansas City’s plays in the second half of every game since Week 7. Before Pederson took over second half play-calling, the Chiefs went 1-5. After, they finished the regular season with 10 consecutive wins. Philadelphia’s new head coach confirmed he will call plays for the Eagles.

However, Pederson looped back to the clock management issue, saying the Chiefs made many efforts to improve their handling of those situations.

“One thing we did in Kansas City is we actually streamlined our offense,” Pederson said. “We cut out a bunch of terminology. We gave the quarterback the flexibility, the keys to the car, so to speak. We, as coaches, put our players in the best situations possible on a game day to allow them to play fast, to allow them to play free, to use their talents.

“And those situations are worked in OTAs, they’re worked in training camp, they’re worked during the regular season. And it’s my responsibility as a head football coach to make sure those situations are covered and you make good of the time you have.”

Shortly before Pederson’s press conference, news broke that the Eagles hired Jim Schwartz as defensive coordinator. Pederson confirmed that news, and said he will retain Dave Fipp as special teams coordinator and Jeff Stoutland as offensive line coach.

“I’m excited to have [Schwartz], his track record, his defenses that have led the National Football League,” Pederson said. “I’ve had a chance to coach against him, and I’m glad he’s on our team now. I’m honored to have him to be a part of my staff.”