How does an underdog become a champion? One of the most innovative,
gutsy, and dynamic head coaches in the NFL reveals the strategies behind
building the Eagles team that shocked the world by winning the Super
Bowl.
Doug Pederson is the very definition of an underdog. He was an undrafted
rookie free agent who would go on to play fourteen years in the NFL as a
backup quarterback. He was cut five times, yet kept getting back up and
into the fray. He would win one Super Bowl, with the Green Bay Packers.
When he retired, he decided to coach, but not at the pro level. Instead,
he was head coach of Calvary Baptist Academy in Shreveport, Louisiana.
After a successful four-year stint there, he returned to the NFL as an
assistant coach under Andy Reid with the Eagles and the Kansas City
Chiefs, where he was instrumental in the development of quarterback Alex
Smith and his string of 3,000-plus-yard seasons of passing.
When he was offered the job as head coach of the Eagles, he jumped at
it, though few thought he would succeed. In the first season, a year of
rebuilding, they finished 7-9. Some doubted his abilities, and before
the 2017 season, one "expert" called Pederson the least qualified coach
in thirty years. Plagued by the sidelining of seasoned players and
devastated by quarterback Carson Wentz's season-ending knee injury, the
Eagles managed a 13-3 record and home-field advantage in the playoffs.
Yet they were still the underdogs in every single game, including the
Super Bowl, against the New England Patriots, one of the greatest
dynasties in the history of the NFL. It wasn't until they stunned the
Patriots that people finally believed in Pederson and his team.
In Fearless, Pederson reveals the principles that guided him through
the ups and downs and tough times of his career, and what it took to
become a champion. Through it all, Pederson sustained himself with his
faith and the support of his family. He shares the defining stories of
his life and career, growing up with his disciplinarian Air Force dad
and his tender-hearted mom, developing friendships with Dan Marino and
Brett Favre, and learning from mentors, such as Don Shula, Mike
Holmgren, and Andy Reid, who helped mold him into the man and coach he
is today.
Fearless captures Pederson's coaching and leadership philosophies and
reveals the brilliant mind and indomitable spirit of a man who has
entered the pantheon of great coaches.
