Eagles' Lane Johnson on Michael Lombardi: 'He'll eat his words'

PHILADELPHIA – It took months, but former NFL executive Michael Lombardi finally admitted he was wrong.

But there hasn't yet been a full-scale apology.

Lombardi, who has worked in football operations and as a broadcaster, famously said in September that Eagles coach Doug Pederson "might be less qualified to coach a team than anyone I've seen in my 30-plus years in the NFL."

Well, Pederson's Eagles advanced to the Super Bowl with a dominating 38-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

Lombardi backtracked ever so slightly last week by admitting he was wrong.

And Sunday, Lombardi said in a tweet that Pederson "won me over. Making (Carson) Wentz great was not sure it was him. Getting Foles to play this well is him. Hat off. Respect."

Not quite an apology, but Pederson, the team's coach and play caller, has earned the respect of many throughout the season. His aggressive offense helped Wentz turn into a bona fide MVP candidate and on Sunday made Nick Foles look as good as any quarterback in the league, executing the run-pass option to perfection.

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"I think the statements made by Lombardi earlier in the season, (Pederson) is never going to say it pissed him off, but I think it did and I think it’s an insult," right tackle Lane Johnson said. "For a guy to talk (expletive) like that and not have a clue what he is about. It is what it is. He’ll eat his words.”

Pederson and the Eagles have a chance to really make Lombardi eat his words when they meet the New England Patriots – whom Lombardi last worked for as an assistant to the coaching staff from 2014 to 2016 – in Super Bowl LII Feb. 4 in Minneapolis.

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"I think playing quarterback in the league for as many years as he did, and being around the players, he has a good feeling for the game, a really good understanding of the game," Johnson said of Pederson. "Not quite like what I’ve seen before."

Pederson, who is heading to the Super Bowl – Philadelphia's first since 2005 – in his second year at the helm, earned the trust of his players rather quickly. They doused him with Gatorade after a week-one win in Washington not long after Lombardi's comments.

Pederson has spent the following four months proving himself as one of the game's best coaches, helping to turn a 6-10 record in 2016 into 13-3 this season.

"People laugh when I use the term emotional intelligence, but that’s probably a really good way to describe it," Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said of Pederson. "I think in sports today there are many styles of great coaches. Bill Belichick, Bill Walsh, Sean Payton, the list goes on and on, Tom Coughlin. There’s a lot of great coaches. They all have their different styles, but the one common ground amongst them all is an absolute consistency and genuineness.

"Doug Pederson is just himself. And at times that’s very humble. At times that’s just very real. At times that’s very bright. At times it’s tough. But he does it in a true, genuine way and I think players really respond to that in today’s world."

Contact reporter Jeff Neiburg at (302) 983-6772, jneiburg@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @Jeff_Neiburg.