Doug Pederson calls out Jags in book for lack of aggression vs. Patriots

After winning a Super Bowl as a player and coach, Doug Pederson is entering a whole new arena with the 2018 season approaching.

The Eagles' head coach authored a book titled "Fearless: How an Underdog Becomes a Champion" that documents his team's road to Super Bowl glory and provides advice about football, coaching, and play-calling.

He also critiques other teams, calling out the Jacksonville Jaguars for a perceived lack of aggression during the 2017 AFC Championship Game. Jacksonville led 17-10 against New England entering the fourth quarter but lost 24-20.

"I was there thinking, 'You've got to be kidding me right now,'" Pederson wrote in the book, according to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. "It made me mad because Jacksonville had New England right where they wanted them. I was screaming at the TV in my office. When they knelt right before halftime, inside I was like, 'I'll never do that.' It fueled me. They could have at least tried for a field goal. They took it out of their quarterback's hands, and they didn't give it to their big back Leonard Fournette. I thought, 'If they lose this game, this is why.' Sure enough, they would go on to lose the game."

Pederson's Eagles would defeat the Patriots 41-33 in Super Bowl LII.

"I don't want to be normal, I don't want to do what everyone else is doing,” Pederson told The Ringer's Kevin Clark of his commentary in the book. "I believe in being aggressive. If you want to go 8-8, 9-7, that's OK. Those are good seasons, but I don't want to be in a box."

Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone didn't seem upset about Pederson's critique.

"Hey, Doug won a Super Bowl," Marrone said, according to ESPN's Michael DiRocco. "Doug did a great job of coaching. I'm sure there's a long line of people that have the same questions or feelings. It's just what you're going to do. ...

"I respect the hell out of him and his team and he won a Super Bowl. We lost, and when you lose you question everything, so I don't have a problem with it."