Philadelphia Eagles: How does Jim Schwartz feel about Doug Pederson?

Let’s put any rumor about Jim Schwartz trying to usurp power from Doug Pederson to bed because the Philadelphia Eagles are a team united.

When Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz spoke with the media on Tuesday, He discussed well-time blitzes, the cornerback position and all things related to his side of the ball. It may have been what he said about Doug Pederson that will stand out in our memories from his most recent presser however.

Schwartz, for once and for all, put any rumors of any coaching dysfunction in Philadelphia to bed. He even told us a story about a time he was in the team cafeteria and Pederson wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

Here’s said story:

"Coach Pederson has a rule where you can’t wear tank tops or no sleeves in the cafeteria. Coach Pederson has a rule where you can’t wear tank tops or no sleeves in the cafeteria..Well he wasn’t in the cafeteria but I was. I saw an offensive player with no sleeves on so I tapped him and said you gotta get out, you gotta get sleeves on. Now I know when I was a head coach, I wanted people around the building who were enforcing my rules and I did that for him. I respect the position. I’m going to execute the job the way he outlined it for me. Anything else we can’t really worry about."

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This comes about a week after one Eagles staffer wrote a story on the possibility of some dissension growing in the coaching ranks. Jeff McLane released said story via The Inquirer on Philly.com. In it, he gave us a direct quote from one member of the Eagles team who asked, along with two other teammates, to remain nameless. The statement was in relation to a theory that was growing among some members of the locker room.

“He walks around the building like he thinks he’s the head coach”. That statement implied Schwartz is waiting to usurp power from Pederson and eventually take over the head coaching duties. It didn’t help that this came up around the same time Mike Lombardi was making not one, but two statements about his feelings on the Eagles’ coaches.

In one, he blasted Pederson. In another, he praised Jim Schwartz. As mentioned, the Eagles’ defensive coordinator took the time to address his relationship with Coach Pederson.

Here’s more of what he said on the topic:

"I’ll say this and I’ll say this unequivocally. I am very comfortable with my relationship with Doug Pederson and I know he’s comfortable in his relationship with me. What I do here is, I work extremely hard to execute the defense the way he has outlined it for me, OK? And I’m very comfortable with that. Not everyone is privy to those instructions. So if anybody misunderstands or misinterprets any actions, just know this: Coach Pederson is aware of everything I do in this building [and] outside the building."

That settles that. Now there’s a game to prepare for against the Kansas City Chiefs. Let’s move on and start talking about that.

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