As football fans have witnessed for many years now, pairing a quarterback with the right head coach can get a team a long way. That’s what the Jacksonville Jaguars are hoping for after hiring Doug Pederson in February as he will now get to coach up 2021’s No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence.
Pederson, who took last season off, will enter his second tenure as a head coach after a notable run with the Philadelphia Eagles. While there, he accumulated a 42-37-1 overall record and was able to go to the postseason in three of his five years as a head coach. Of course, in 2017, his postseason trip ended with a Super Bowl victory, giving the Eagles their first championship in team history.
In the process of his run as a head coach (and even before), Pederson showcased his ability to coach quarterbacks, which is why many are excited to see him work with Lawrence. In Philadelphia, the Eagles invested a first-round selection into Carson Wentz and Pederson was able to get him to perform at an MVP level the year they won the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, Wentz wasn’t able to finish that season due to an ACL tear, but Pederson made that season even more impressive as he was able to finish it with backup quarterback Nick Foles.
Of course, many football analysts haven’t forgotten how impressive of a season that was for the Eagles, including NBC Sports commentator and Pro Football Focus headman Cris Collinsworth. In an episode of the “Ari Meirov Football Show,” Collinsworth said he believes Pederson is the perfect match for Lawrence (or close to it), and as a result, the Jags will be set to make an extra jump this season after winning just three games.
"It's a match made in heaven to be honest with you. … I would expect a major jump." ~ @CollinsworthPFF on Doug Pederson and Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville pic.twitter.com/PuiY6NAGS2
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 8, 2022
“I think it’s a match made in heaven to be honest with you,” Collinsworth said. “It’s a great choice. Trevor is a tough kid. The only time I saw him in person last year was in Cincinnati on a Thursday night. He runs — he runs hard — and he has a real element of that. He’s going to have (Travis) Etienne come back sort of as his safety valve kind of guy who didn’t play at all last year. Do I think that they’re going to go and win the division? Probably not, but I would expect a major jump.”
[H/T to Clemson Insider for transcribing this]
Collinsworth is probably right about Pederson and Lawrence being a good match. After all, the Jags paired who analysts believe was the best quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck with a Super Bowl-winning coach that has played quarterback on the NFL level. Simply put, it’s hard to find a bunch of better options than that.
As for the support around Lawrence, it’s better than it was last season. As Collinsworth pointed out, Lawrence is getting back the running back who went to battle with him at Clemson in Travis Etienne. Additionally, the team added a receiver who can help them down the field in Christian Kirk, as well as a former All-Pro and Pro Bowl guard in Brandon Scherff.
With those additions, plus a few others, Lawrence at least has a good chance to double the Jags’ 2021 win total. Then maybe next season, we could really start to see him take off with Pederson as both will have a full season together under their belts.