La’el Collins
Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy said he didn’t have an issue with OT La’el Collins‘ ejection for throwing a punch in defense of QB Dak Prescott.
“LC did exactly what you’re supposed to do there,” McCarthy said, via NFL.com. “We all understand the challenges of officiating, whatever you thought of the play all the way around. This is a game and obviously very competitive, the fact that it’s your quarterback or whoever, so you know these games will be chippy, they’re division games. Once it got going, I thought both sides did a good job of locking everything up and moving on. It happens in these types of games.”
- Collins clarified it wasn’t the late hit that upset him, he felt Washington DE William Bradley-King was rolling towards Prescott’s leg, putting the quarterback in danger: “It was uncalled for. I’m just here to protect my quarterback at all costs, and that’s the bottom line.” (Jon Machota)
- Collins will not be suspended after being ejected for throwing a punch Sunday. His actions will be reviewed for a likely fine. (Ian Rapoport)
Daniel Jones
- According to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, Giants players don’t expect QB Daniel Jones to play again this year with a neck injury.
- The Athletic’s Dan Duggan says Jones is not expected back this week following a visit with a spine specialist. Jones remains week-to-week and Duggan says nothing has been ruled out beyond that.
- ESPN’s Jordan Raanan also reports Jones hasn’t been cleared to play this week despite positive reports coming back. The team is erring on the side of caution and remains hopeful he’ll be able to return.
Doug Pederson
Former Eagles HC Doug Pederson admitted he didn’t necessarily expect to be fired just three seasons after leading the Eagles to their first-ever Super Bowl win in franchise history. But he added the timing and being able to take a year away from the game gave him a much-needed break.
“It was a surprise. It was a shock,” Pederson said via Pat Leonard of the NY Daily News. “But at the same time, the timing of it, being able to go through it with my brother, having the time away from football to spend with him and be with my family and do those things, I think that’s just where I’m at peace with the whole thing.
“Would I love to still be the head coach of the Eagles? Yeah. But I’m at peace with everything, and I’m really focused and motivated for my next opportunity where I can take my mistakes, take the things I did well, and learn from and use them in the next job somewhere.”
Pederson is one of the more experienced coaching options available for teams in the coming cycle and should generate some strong interest given his resume. He interviewed for offensive coordinator positions with the Jaguars and Seahawks last offseason but says he wanted to hold out for another head coaching job.
“Emotionally, I felt like I just needed to take a break,” he said. “My mind, everything just needed to take a step away. And I just felt like I couldn’t offer the best of Doug Pederson to either Seattle or Jacksonville. So that particular time I said why don’t I take a year, recharge, refresh, refocus, and make a run… I definitely wanted to also be a head coach again. I didn’t necessarily want to come back into a coordinator’s job at the time.”
Pederson adds the way his tenure ended in Philadelphia, with a lot of jockeying for control over the roster, coaching staff and in-game decision-making, will influence how he goes about his next head coaching opportunity.
“You live and learn even with players,” he said. “I’m not saying that players are mistakes. But you want to build your roster a certain way and have that hands-on with them and even with the coaching staff, being hands on with them and maybe engaging with players and coaches a little bit more that way. I learned from those things, and I think looking forward to the next opportunity I’ll be a better leader because of that.”
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