“Frank was a big part, a big mentor in that room. so his voice matching up with my voice in that quarterbacks room became very important,” he said. “That’s what I was able to hand over to Frank at that time, obviously the game plans. But more importantly, because I couldn’t always be in the QBs room as much as I’d have liked to, Frank having that same voice for me was very important.”
Reich’s coaching calm also had a lot to do with Pederson’s hire, in the development of Carson Wentz, the second overall pick of the ’16 draft, and then, when Wentz was injured late the next season, in the nurturing of young journeyman Nick Foles heading into the playoffs.
“Frank is a great teacher. His demeanor, his personality, the way he comes across, he can be very calming during the week,” Pederson said. “That’s what you want around your quarterback, You don’t want somebody that’s always going crazy and maybe losing their minds all the time. Having that calming presence, that’s very important because the quarterback position is tough enough to play in the NFL. You’re always under a microscope, you’re always being scrutinized. It’s the quarterback and the head coach, right? So Frank was kind of that head coach for me in that room.”
Pederson and his DC, Jim Schwartz, had a lot to say about it, too, but Reich’s guidance of a top-10 offense (seventh overall, third in the run, 13th in the pass, third in points) and QB nurturing were keys in Wentz setting the stage, then for Foles to become a 538-yard, 41-point Super Bowl-winning QB, leading to Reich sailing on to his mostly successful first head coaching gig with the Colts.