Mike Holmgren: Pederson was coaching material as QB

SAN FRANCISCO - Andy Reid has been the closest thing to a mentor for Doug Pederson, but Pederson may not have ever met the former Eagles coach had it not been for Mike Holmgren.

In 1996, Holmgren took a chance on the journeyman quarterback. He signed Pederson, who was named the Eagles' new coach last month, several weeks into the season to be the Packers' third-string quarterback. Pederson never took a snap that season playing behind Brett Favre and Jim McMahon, but he wound up a champion when Green Bay won the Super Bowl.

But Holmgren, looking back now, said he saw the seeds of someone who could eventually be a head coach.

"As the backup quarterback, not the starter, you're learning a lot,…