Reich should complement Pederson

MOBILE, Ala. - Hands in pockets, the two former backup quarterbacks stood alone together high in the north end of the bleachers at Ladd-Pebbles Stadium. Doug Pederson and Frank Reich spent a good deal of Thursday morning's Senior Bowl practice just talking, but there was also football to watch.

And, boy, do they know how to watch football. Pederson and Reich spent most of their former NFL lives just observing the game from the sidelines.

Head coaches and offensive coordinators come from all walks of football, but most of the successful ones never achieved greatness as players. Does that mean Pederson and Reich, the Eagles' new head coach and offensive coordinator, will have success running their offense in Philadelphia? Hardly.

But they didn't reach this level without reason. And having former backups who speak the same language, as long as they aren't too closely aligned, could be beneficial as the Eagles begin a new era.

"I think from a backups perspective, you're kind of that coach on the field to the starter. You see things differently," Pederson said Wednesday. "You're not in the stressful role as the starting quarterback. I think being the backup can help you. You're processing the information just like the starter."

But you don't have to go out there and actually do it. Pederson and Reich won't have to as coaches, but their jobs now are as stressful as the starting quarterback's. Reich, best known as Jim Kelly's backup with the Buffalo Bills, has already been fired as an offensive coordinator. He was let go earlier this month after two seasons calling plays for the Chargers.

There were several reasons for the end of his tenure in San Diego, many not all his fault. But the bottom line was the Chargers went 4-12 this season and the offense, particularly the run game, declined the last two seasons under Reich's stewardship.

And someone had to go since Chargers brass decided to keep coach Mike McCoy, even though the offense was largely his. But Reich did a lot of good in San Diego and most of it involved his play-calling in the passing game, in particular on plays designed to go downfield.

The numbers didn't always reflect it because the Chargers' offensive line was abysmal and quarterback Philips Rivers often had little time to throw. And Reich's tilt toward the pass was Eagles-era Andy Reidesque. But the vertical concepts should counterbalance Pederson's comfort in the short passing and run games.

"Some of the things they did in the passing game down the field, I think can really benefit what we do with our talent and our personnel," Pederson said. "And then the things that we did in the run-pass part of our offense really can be a good blend and a good mix in keeping defenses off balance."

Pederson will call the plays. Reid gave him the second half of the Chiefs games starting in Week 7 this season, but this will be his first full-time role. He always has Reich to lean on if there are tough stretches, but Pederson will rely more on him and quarterbacks coach John De Filippo - another former coordinator - in devising the offense and game-planning.

"Doug's the kind of guy that he's open to ideas," Reich said. "He brings guys in and we kind of add a little bit of our two cents, but he's the leader of the show."

While Pederson is most familiar with the West Coast offense, or at least the watered-down versions that he learned from Mike Holmgren and Reid, Reich has played and worked in several systems.

The Bills were one of the first NFL teams to have success with the hurry-up offense. When Reich filled in for Kelly, he still preferred to huddle. But he understood the concepts as well as anyone, having viewed it all those years.

Reich went on to play for three other teams before retiring and then started his coaching career with the Colts. He worked under Tony Dungy and then Jim Caldwell, but always with quarterback Peyton Manning. He then hooked up with Ken Wisenhunt with the Cardinals and followed him to the Chargers in 2013 as quarterbacks coach.

Whisenhunt left the following year to take the Titans coach job and Reich was promoted. The passing offense was nearly as productive, but the run game went from 12th in the league, per rankings by Football Outsiders' DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average), to 25th in 2014 and 31st in 2015.

"There's a lot of factors that go into it," Reich said. "We were so successful passing the ball this year, and even in the previous year, all of our drive stats and all that stuff was very positive."

But the Chargers had trouble sustaining drives without a consistent run game, and Rivers, despite eye-popping numbers through the first eight games, struggled down the stretch. San Diego was held to just three points in three of its final seven games with Rivers dropping to throw 64 percent of the time.

But the Chargers were shorthanded, with No. 1 receiver Keenan Allen done for the year and, again, an offensive line that limited Reich's play calling.

"In this league you learn that if you just try to have one shtick and say we're only doing this, you're going to die, unless you're so superior personnel-wise," Reich said. "There's so much parity that you have to be varied, you have to be multiple in your attack. You have to keep teams off balance."

Pederson and Reich not only speak alike but they have similar bodies. They first met in 1995, when both were selected by the Panthers in the expansion draft. The former was released a month later and eventually became Brett Farve's backup with the Packers, but a friendship was formed that continued when they became coaches in the same division.

"We just connected then early," Reich said, "and then from there just in the coaching profession you just connect with guys, and we'd always talk before games."

The conversation continues with the Eagles. They hope it's a lasting one.

jmclane@phillynews.com

@Jeff_McLane