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Pederson's big decision: Who'll direct Eagles defense?

If Doug Pederson learned anything from Andy Reid - and the Eagles had better hope it wasn't only time management - it should be how to select a defensive coordinator as a new head coach.

Reid got it right with the Eagles and the Chiefs when he tabbed Jim Johnson and Bob Sutton, respectively, to run his defense. In both cases, he went with veteran coaches who had mild success as NFL coordinators but impressed Reid when his teams faced their defenses.

Johnson and Sutton were also beyond the point of being considered future head coaches. They had strong personalities and were beloved by their players, but they would never do anything - consciously or not - that could be viewed as a threat to Reid.