PHILADELPHIA — Eagles coach Doug Pederson has tested positive for the coronavirus, the team announced Sunday night.
Pederson convened an unscheduled team meeting Sunday to share the news with his players, according to sources, before the team made the announcement. He told the team after receiving a second positive test result, confirming the diagnosis.
Pederson, 52, is asymptomatic and doing well, according to the team, which added that he’s in self-quarantine and communicating with the team’s medical staff.
Quarterback coach/passing game coordinator Press Taylor was sent home from the facility as he’d been in close contact with Pederson, sources said, adding that Taylor has tested negative to this point.
The team said “any individuals in close contact with Pederson at our facility have been notified and will continue with daily testing procedures and compliance with all protocols before returning to the facility.”
Pederson, who is believed to have contracted COVID-19 outside of the team’s training facility, needs to have multiple negative tests before he can return to work.
Pederson will continue to lead the team virtually to the extent that he is able. Running backs coach/assistant head coach Duce Staley will head the day-to-day operations, according to a source.
Pederson is the second NFL head coach known to have contracted the coronavirus, but he is the first one to do so in-season, when it takes on a different meaning. In March, New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton revealed that he had tested positive.
During a video conference with reporters earlier in the week, Pederson said he felt “extremely safe” reentering the work environment.
“This is our bubble right here at NovaCare. I can’t control everything. We can’t control everything,” Pederson said. “There probably are going to be some things that come up down the road, but right now, I feel extremely safe, and this is a great environment for our players to succeed in.”
Pederson is entering his fifth season at the helm of the Eagles, a tenure highlighted by winning the Super Bowl after the 2017 season. He is 38-26 through four seasons, and the Eagles made the playoffs the past three years.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter contributed to this report.
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