Doug Marrone takes subtle dig at Doug Pederson, shrugs off Eagles coach's criticism in book

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Marrone had a subtle response to being criticized in Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Pederson's recently released book.

In the book, Pederson was critical of the Jaguars' decision to take a knee before halftime of the AFC Championship Game loss to the New England Patriots. When asked about Pederson's opinion, Marrone's reply included a reference to a book he said he recently read.

The title? "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F---: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life."

Pederson writes in his book, "Fearless: How an Underdog Becomes a Champion," that he was astounded that the Jaguars took a knee with 55 seconds remaining in the first half of the AFC title game. The Jaguars had a 14-10 lead and two timeouts remaining at the time.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, it was the first time in the 2017 season that a team had taken a knee with more than 50 seconds remaining in the first half. The Jaguars should have been aggressive, Pederson wrote.

"I was there thinking, 'You've got to be kidding me right now,'" Pederson wrote, according to ProFootballTalk. "It made me mad because Jacksonville had New England right where they wanted them. I was screaming at the TV in my office. When they knelt right before halftime, inside I was like, 'I'll never do that.' It fueled me. They could have least tried for a field goal. They took it out of their quarterback's hands, and they didn't give to their big back Leonard Fournette. I thought, 'If they lose this game, this is why.' Sure enough they would go on to lose the game."

Marrone said Tuesday that he had no problem with what Pederson wrote, but his comments included a seemingly out-of-place reference to a book he read during the offseason by Mark Manson.

Marrone didn't name the book, though.

"Hey, Doug won a Super Bowl," Marrone said. "Doug did a great job of coaching. I'm sure there's a long line of people that have the same questions or feelings. It's just what you're going to do.

"I read a book in the offseason by Mark Manson, the New York one, No. 1 bestseller on the Times [New York Times' bestseller list], so those things happen and that's it. But I respect the hell out of him and his team and he won a Super Bowl. We lost, and when you lose you question everything so I don't have a problem with it."

The Jaguars and Eagles play in London on Oct. 28.