Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson has tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the second NFL head coach to get the coronavirus.
Doug Pederson now becomes the second NFL head coach known to have contracted coronavirus, but he is the first one to do it in season, where it takes on a different meaning. In March, New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton revealed that he had tested positive. https://t.co/DPNlzerKYs
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 3, 2020
This news coming from the Eagles comes at a very uncertain time for the NFL and the rest of the sports world. The city of Philadelphia has watched the Phillies deal with COVID-19 the past week. Several consecutive Phillies games have been postponed, throwing the baseball season into doubt.
The NFL and Major League Baseball are linked in that they have not chosen to use a bubble system for playing regular-season games in 2020. A key difference between the two leagues, however, is that the NFL is still a month and a half away from the start of its own regular season. It could still get a bubble plan in place if it wanted to, for the Eagles and everyone else.
Baseball is too far down the path, or — if one wanted to take an alternate view of the matter — it would have to pause its season if it did want to implement a bubble plan. The NFL still has a measure of time to create a regionalized bubble format, with western divisions playing in western cities and eastern divisions playing in eastern cities. One wonders if Pederson's positive COVID-19 test for the Eagles might change the equation with the NFL's pursuit of a bubble.
Pederson's positive test — occurring in early August — is much closer to the start of the season than Sean Payton's positive test for the New Orleans Saints. Pederson's positive test result occurs as the Eagles (like other teams) are beginning genuine on-field preparations for their season.
This is a scary moment, to be sure; it will lead some critics to say the NFL shouldn't go forward with its season. Other people will counter and say that it gives the NFL a teachable moment and a chance to map out protocols, alongside the teams themselves, for what happens when a head coach can't be in the stadium on game day.
This story broke just after the Pederson story hit the wires:
Doug Pederson will continue to lead the #Eagles virtually, as much as he can, source said. Duce Staley will assume head coaching responsibilities at the NovaCare Complex in Pederson’s absence. https://t.co/98pAIkOTmY
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) August 3, 2020
We will see what's next.
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