Doug Pederson, Sam Bradford
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, left, calls back the group with quarterback Sam Bradford, right, beside him during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 28, 2016, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
(Chris Szagola)
PHILADELPHIA -- One would easily excuse Eagles fans for assuming first-year head coach is a jovial, happy soul at all times based on his aw-shucks persona at the press conference podium. However, as Peter King divulged in this week's Monday Morning Quarterback column, that isn't necessarily the case behind closed doors.
The Eagles first practice in pads took place Saturday morning at the NovaCare Complex and according to King, that is when head coach Doug Pederson let loose just before his players took for what he perceived to be a bit of a lackadaisical preparation:
And on the subject of whether Pederson can be tough enough: "You didn't see me yesterday," he said Sunday morning, via King. "We have a 10-minute specialist period at the start of practice, and players catch punts and kickoffs out of the JUGGS machine. So the whistle blew for practice and two guys were still getting taped up and ready. Well, I lost my mind. I was like, 'WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS ON SUNDAY, ARE YOU GONNA BE TAPING YOUR HANDS WHEN THEY'RE GETTING READY TO KICK THE BALL OFF IN THE GAME?'"
That is the side of Pederson that the fans and media do not see and the former backup quarterback only shows his team and likely will need to do so sparingly after the grating personality of former head coach Chip Kelly turned off many within the locker room over the past three seasons.
Matt Lombardo may be reached at MDLombardo@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattLombardo975. Find NJ.com Eagles on Facebook.