Flashback Friday: Doug Pederson recalls his first training camp as a player

Younger Philadelphia Eagles fans may not remember Doug Pederson’s playing days, but he hasn’t forgotten the road that’s gotten him here.

In a Thursday afternoon presser Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson complimented the hard work of both his veteran and young players. He even took a moment to think back on some of his duties when he was the young guy at training camp.

Even if your destiny is to lead one of the most beloved teams in all of football to their first Super Bowl win against the greatest dynasty in the history of sports, a dynasty led by the greatest coach and quarterback in NFL history, it appears, even in those days, you weren’t immune to some rookie hazing.

Coach Pederson cracked a smile as he recounted those days fondly. What was his job in his first ever training camp. It kind of sounds like what you’d expect from a backup quarterback in the NFL.

"I was always with the offensive line, and I was always doing cadence. I got no reps as a backup quarterback my first couple of training camps. I threw a little bit of individual to backs and tight ends, never with the receivers. It was always ‘Doug, you go down with the offensive line and do one-on-one pass rush. That was my job. I remember being in Miami, the biggest thing was singing… We were at a college, saint Thomas University back then. we’d go eat in the cafeteria and, of course, there were students in there from Summer School… They would make us sing either during lunch or grab us at dinner and make us sing in front of everybody."

Pederson’s come a long way from those days. A playing career that had a brief stop in the World League of American Football as a member of the New York/New Jersey Knights also saw him back up two Hall of Famers, Dan Marino and Brett Favre.

It was with the Green Bay Packers where he’d meet Andy Reid, then a quarterbacks coach who’d eventually be named assistant head coach. When Reid took over in Philly, it was Pederson who’d start until a young Donovan McNabb was ready to step in.

Pederson’s coaching career would begin in high school with Calvary Baptist Academy in 2005. Reid would call him up again in 2009, this time to coach.

Pederson would climb from offensive quality control coordinator to quarterbacks coach in 2011. When Reid moved on to the Kansas City Chiefs, he took Pederson with him. The rest as they say is history.

Philly gave up on a former college football head coach who shall remain nameless. He returned to Philly, this time as their head coach and it’s his turn to ask the quarterbacks to work on cadence. He’s done a good job with them so far. Anyone have any audio of Clayton Thorson flexing the vocals? If you do, most of us would be glad to hear it.