Jaguars coach Doug Pederson hopeful of a happy homecoming in his Philadelphia return

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nick Foles made his return to Philadelphia this season to say goodbye. His partner in bronze is back this weekend, only Doug Pederson isn’t interested in feel-good farewells or taking a teary stroll down memory lane.

Instead, Pederson is coaching for his job with the Jaguars.

Pederson returns for a game in Philadelphia for a second time since the only coach to win a Super Bowl with the Eagles was fired just three seasons after hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, let go over a fractured relationship with the front office over decisions ranging from the rebuilding path to the draft to his relationships with star players.

Yes, the "2017 World Champions" banner flies at Lincoln Financial Field, but it’s outside the stadium where Pederson left a more free-standing mark on the franchise.

Foles and Pederson share a statue that includes Foles’ quote from the Super Bowl, “Want Philly Philly?” Pederson responded affirmatively, Foles caught a touchdown pass on fourth down, the Eagles beat the New England Patriots 41-33 and soon after, a 9-foot tall bronze statue that honored the trick play was donated by a beer company and remains a tourist attraction.

Well, for everyone but Pederson.

Pederson, with Jacksonville now 2-6 after consecutive 9-8 seasons, has yet to visit the statue commemorating the most famous play in team history.

“You want me to tailgate, too, and say hi to people,” Pederson said, laughing.

Pederson walked out to a standing ovation from Eagles fans in his first trip back in an October 2022 — yes, a Jaguars loss.

Beyond the Super Bowl and two other playoff appearances, Pederson's effect on the Eagles can still be felt today. He made himself available as a resource when Nick Sirianni was hired to replace him ahead of the 2021 season. Sirianni led the Eagles to the Super Bowl in his second season — they lost to Kansas City — but has routinely come under criticism for everything ranging from his off-putting fan interactions, his play calling, his pandering and his uneven relationship with Jalen Hurts.

He learned to take the hard parts of the job that come with coaching in Philadelphia in part because of his conversations with Pederson.

“I just felt like he was helpful to me with people on the roster and how the building is and just everything,” said Sirianni, whose Eagles are 5-3. “I think that’s what’s cool about the coaching fraternity: We all got here because of other coaches and the time that they put into us to help us get better. We need to pay that forward. I always admired Doug for that. And I’ll try to do the same.”

Pederson said his best piece of advice was for Sirianni to simply put his head down and keep plowing forward.

“I went over the media with him," he said, laughing. “It’s a tough business and I can appreciate a new head coach going in there and what to expect — just to be a resource to be somebody there that’s been it. I did it for five years, and I was an assistant coach there for a long time and really just to, if you had any questions, to just ask me. It’s just a respect thing. It’s hard enough to be a head coach in this league, and any advice I could give a new time or a first-time head coach, I was going to do it.”

Sirianni's best rebuttal to his critics has been his record. The Eagles made the playoffs in all three of his seasons and they are riding a three-game winning streak.

The Jaguars are on the verge of being eliminated from playoff contention again, even with Trevor Lawrence on a bit of an uptick in recent games. He has completed 72% of his passes over the last four weeks for 1,106 yards, with seven TD passes and three INTs.

Not bad.

But not good enough to lead the Jaguars into the playoffs — or earn him a statue with Pederson.

The Jaguars will be without Christian Kirk for the rest of the season following his surgery to repair a broken collarbone, forcing second-year pro Parker Washington into the starting lineup against the Eagles. Jacksonville played stretches last week without fellow wideouts Brian Thomas Jr. (ribs) and Gabe Davis (shoulder), but they were able to practice this week.

“It’s definitely, definitely a void to fill as far as the production and the locker room presence,” Lawrence said.

Jacksonville’s defense has been gouged by big plays, most of them through the air. The Jaguars have given up completions of 45, 51, 63, 65, 67 and 80 yards through eight games, a main reason why they rank 31st in the league in passing yards allowed and tied for last in TD passes surrendered (17). But Pederson won’t get more involved on that side of the ball.

“I leave it up to the experts over there,” he said. “I’m going to stay on the offense. When it comes to scheme and all that, that’s what they get paid to do and let them do their jobs.”

Back by popular demand, the Eagles will wear throwback Kelly green jerseys on Sunday. The Eagles wore the color as their primary uniform from 1985 to 1995, an era when the team won very little, but the aura of former coach Buddy Ryan, the late Reggie White, Randall Cunningham and others still looms large on the Philly sports scene.

The Eagles tried for years to bring back the color scheme as an alternate jersey, but it wasn’t until the NFL said ahead of the 2022 season that teams could wear two different helmets that the idea could become a reality.

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Jacksonville Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence talks during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith, center, celebrates with teammates after catching a long touchdown pass from quarterback Jalen Hurts during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024 in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Jacksonville Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence congratulates Brian Thomas Jr. after a touchdown catch during the second half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) reacts after teammate Jalen Hurts (1) scored a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024 in Cincinnati. The Eagles won 37-17. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson watches during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni leaves the field following an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Cincinnati. The Eagles won 37-17. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

New England Patriots head coach Doug Pederson addresses the media after an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in London. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni looks on during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024 in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson watches during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some 8,000 North Korean soldiers are now in Russia near Ukraine’s border and are preparing to help the Kremlin fight against Ukrainian troops in the coming days, the Biden administration said Thursday.

The new figure is a dramatic increase from a day earlier, when Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin would only say some of the troops had moved toward Ukraine’s border in the Kursk region, where Moscow’s forces have struggled to push back a Ukrainian incursion.

That also would mean most of the North Korean troops that the U.S. and its allies say have been sent to Russia are now on the border with Ukraine.

The U.S. has estimated a total of about 10,000 North Korean troops are in Russia. Seoul and its allies assessed that has increased to 11,000, while Ukraine has put the figure higher, at up to 12,000.

Of the 8,000 in Kursk, “we’ve not yet seen these troops deploy into combat against Ukrainian forces but we would expect that to happen in the coming days,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a news conference in Washington with Austin and their South Korean counterparts.

Russia has been training North Korean soldiers in artillery, drones and “basic infantry operations, including trench clearing, indicating that they fully intend to use these forces in front line operations,” Blinken said.

North Korea’s efforts to tighten its relationship with Russia has raised concerns around the world about how that may expand the war in Ukraine and what Russian military aid will be delivered in exchange.

It’s become a key topic as U.S. and South Korean leaders met this week in Washington, fueling concerns that the presence of those soldiers will further destabilize the Asia-Pacific region and broaden Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul condemned the deployment “in the strongest possible terms” and called for an immediate withdrawal of the troops. North Korea’s belligerent actions not only places the European continent but also the Korean Peninsula under threat and that Seoul agrees “to take necessary measures accordingly,” he said.

Blinken and Austin said the U.S. is talking with South Korea and allies in Europe about next steps and noted that additional military aid for Ukraine would be announced soon. The U.S. has provided more than $59 billion in military assistance to help Ukraine fend off Russia.

Austin reiterated that Moscow has provided the North Korean troops with Russian uniforms and equipment, another indication they are likely to be used on the front lines.

“Make no mistake, if these North Korean troops engage in combat or combat support operations against Ukraine, they would make themselves legitimate military targets,” Austin said.

However, he said the injection of North Korean troops was unlikely to cause Ukraine to lose ground in Kursk: “This 10,000 won’t come close to replacing the numbers that the Russians have lost” in the fighting to date.

The U.S. estimates that more than 500,000 Russian forces have been killed or wounded in the more than two-year-long conflict.

The U.S. and South Korean leaders called for China to engage, saying Beijing should be deeply concerned by the movements and the possibility it will further destabilize the region.

There are questions about what new military technologies North Korea might get from Russia in exchange for the deployment and whether it might lead other nations to send their own forces to fight in the war.

North Korea test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile Thursday for the first time in almost a year, demonstrating a potential advancement in its ability to launch long-range nuclear attacks on the American mainland. Some experts speculated that Russia may have provided technological assistance to North Korea over the launch.

As the U.S.-South Korea ministerial meeting in Washington was underway, the U.S., South Korea and Japan released a joint statement condemning the missile launch as a “flagrant violation” of numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions and criticizing the deepening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, particularly the deployment of the North Korean troops.

“We strongly urge (North Korea) to immediately cease its series of provocative and destabilizing actions that threaten peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and beyond,” they said.

In a dramatic moment during a U.N. Security Council meeting earlier Thursday, the deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Robert Wood, first noted the number of North Korean troops near Ukraine.

“And I have a very respectful question for my Russian colleague: does Russia still maintain that there are no DPRK troops in Russia? That’s my only question and final point,” he said, using the acronym for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or North Korea.

Russia's deputy ambassador to the U.N., Anna Evstigneeva, shook her head from side to side indicating she did not want to respond to the comment at a meeting called by Moscow to discuss the flow of Western weapons to Ukraine.

Besides troops, North Korea also has provided munitions to Russia, and earlier this month, the White House released images it said were of North Korea shipping 1,000 containers of military equipment there by rail.

Lederer reported from the United Nations.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speak during an event with Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo on the Economic Benefits of U.S. Travel and Tourism on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024 at the State Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, left, speaks during a joint press briefing with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, right, at the Pentagon on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un pose for a photo during a signing ceremony of the new partnership in Pyongyang, North Korea, on June 19, 2024. (Kristina Kormilitsyna, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun speaks during a joint press briefing with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin smiles during a joint press briefing with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun at the Pentagon on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, left, speaks during a joint press briefing with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, right, at the Pentagon on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, welcomes South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, left, to the Pentagon on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)