Jaguars book review: Fearless

“I’m here to do a job and I think the best way to be successful is to make sure you’re prepared and relaxed and enjoying the moment.”

Summary

How does an underdog become a champion? One of the most innovative, gutsy, and dynamic head coaches in the NFL reveals the strategies behind building the Eagles team that shocked the world by winning the Super Bowl.

Doug Pederson is the very definition of an underdog. He was an undrafted rookie free agent who would go on to play fourteen years in the NFL as a backup quarterback. He was cut five times, yet kept getting back up and into the fray. He would win one Super Bowl, with the Green Bay Packers. When he retired, he decided to coach, but not at the pro level. Instead, he was head coach of Calvary Baptist Academy in Shreveport, Louisiana. After a successful four-year stint there, he returned to the NFL as an assistant coach under Andy Reid with the Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, where he was instrumental in the development of quarterback Alex Smith and his string of 3,000-plus-yard seasons of passing.

When he was offered the job as head coach of the Eagles, he jumped at it, though few thought he would succeed. In the first season, a year of rebuilding, they finished 7-9. Some doubted his abilities, and before the 2017 season, one “expert” called Pederson the least qualified coach in thirty years. Plagued by the sidelining of seasoned players and devastated by quarterback Carson Wentz’s season-ending knee injury, the Eagles managed a 13-3 record and home-field advantage in the playoffs. Yet they were still the underdogs in every single game, including the Super Bowl, against the New England Patriots, one of the greatest dynasties in the history of the NFL. It wasn’t until they stunned the Patriots that people finally believed in Pederson and his team.

In Fearless, Pederson reveals the principles that guided him through the ups and downs and tough times of his career, and what it took to become a champion. Through it all, Pederson sustained himself with his faith and the support of his family. He shares the defining stories of his life and career, growing up with his disciplinarian Air Force dad and his tender-hearted mom, developing friendships with Dan Marino and Brett Favre, and learning from mentors, such as Don Shula, Mike Holmgren, and Andy Reid, who helped mold him into the man and coach he is today.

Fearless captures Pederson’s coaching and leadership philosophies and reveals the brilliant mind and indomitable spirit of a man who has entered the pantheon of great coaches.

Review

Admittedly, this was not the book I intended to review this month, but I’m glad I did. Reading Fearless was like having a cup of coffee with Coach Pederson. I enjoyed reading about his football journey, from playing both quarterback and kicker during his senior year of high school to winning the Super Bowl with both the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles.

I learned a lot from stories about being cut from the Miami Dolphins while standing on a field with Jim Carrey and Pederson riding the Nickelodeon-themed rides in the Mall of America before the Super Bowl. It was interesting to see familiar names and ties to the Jaguars. I did not know he was a player in the expansion draft, and Pederson gave his thoughts on the Jaguars’ play calling at the end of the second quarter of the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about Doug Pederson as a person, but also his coaching style. He goes into depth about who his mentors are, and how he’s integrated their lessons into his locker room. There were several parallels between his time in Philadelphia and here in Jacksonville. Have you read Fearless? Share with us your thoughts and favorite Jaguars-related books in the comments.