Before the Jacksonville Jaguars formally announced former Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Pederson as their seventh full-time head coach in franchise history, he had the opportunity to meet with the hopeful franchise quarterback in Trevor Lawrence.
Lawrence, who had a disappointing first year overall but flashed moments of brilliance that illustrated why he was the top pick in the 2021 NFL draft, said that the first meeting between the two was productive. It’s clear that he’s very excited to work with the new head coach, who replaces Urban Meyer — the legendary college coach whose foray into the NFL ended unceremoniously after just 13 games.
“We’re really excited… [Pederson] just seems like a really great guy, obviously he’s had a lot of success, his résumé kind of speaks for itself,” Lawrence said in a video posted by the Jags Twitter account. He’s an offensive guy, he played quarterback in the NFL, all those things make me really excited and something that I’m excited to get to work with him and see what he brings to the table.
“Everyone’s really excited, everyone’s really relieved that we got our guy, and to be able to move forward and just go to work now is a good feeling.”
.@Trevorlawrencee is ready to hit the ground running with Coach Pederson.#DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/YyaXGbArTV
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) February 6, 2022
The two spoke on the phone on Thursday night shortly after his deal with the team was finalized, but Saturday morning was the first time the pair met in person. Lawrence said he got a good idea of Pederson’s vision for the team moving forward.
“Just getting to know each other, that was the first part of the phone call,” Lawrence said. “Then after that, just talking a little bit of ball, kind of his philosophy, things that he likes to do. Obviously, he played the quarterback position so he sees it through my lens more so than a lot of coaches who haven’t played the position.
“That was really cool to talk to him and hear his take on a lot of things and just vaguely his plan, obviously you can’t get into all the details. But just really excited, he seems super prepared like he’s got a great plan, and I think it’s going to go over really well with the whole team.”
It certainly seems likely that Lawrence will benefit from an offensive-minded hire in Pederson, especially one who has a history of both playing and coaching the quarterback position, specifically. Pederson spent most of his playing career as a backup to Hall-of-Fame quarterback Brett Favre before coaching for the Eagles, later following coach Andy Reid to Kansas City to serve as offensive coordinator.
However, the gem of his coaching career is his victory over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII with backup Nick Foles as his quarterback. That game set up an interesting coincidence, as Pederson was invited to speak at a Clemson practice just after Lawrence enrolled early as a freshman.
“I’ve heard a lot of great things, he’s actually really close with a lot of people at Clemson, actually the first time I saw him in person, we didn’t really meet, but I was a freshman, just got to Clemson in spring practice,” Lawrence said. “That was after they won the Super Bowl in Philadelphia, so he was there, coach (Dabo) Swinney invited him to speak at one of their clinics and he came to practice and talked with the team.
“Apparently, he told me on the phone, coach Swinney told him then, ‘Hey, watch out for this guy, he’s going to be a good one one day,’ and now he’s the head coach here and we’re on the same team. It’s cool how everyone comes full circle, it’s a small world, and just really excited to work with him.”
The two ended up together after all, and both Lawrence and Jaguars fans will hope the duo leads the Jaguars to the best days in franchise history after a decade of futility.