Eagles, Doug Pederson will not return to Lehigh Valley for training camp

Remember the good old days?

Back when Terrell Owens, Donovan McNabb,Brian Dawkins and others would ascend on scenic Bethlehem, Pa every summer back duringAndy Reid’s training camps at Lehigh Valley University?

When Chip Kelly took over the Birds in 2013, the team moved it’s camp to the team’s year-round training facility theNovaCareComplex, located just across the street from Lincoln Financial Field on South Broad Street.

Doug Pederson will oversee his first training camp as an Eagles head coach this summer, and though he has spent considerable time trainingninetyminutes(depending on traffic)to the north during camps as a quarterback (in 1999) and later an assistant under Reid,don’t expect the trek to return.

“I did briefly kind of, in the interview process, we kind of talked about that,” Pederson told reporters Tuesday.”It’s a great set up here. I don’t know all the ins and outs, yet, on that. That’s something that we’ll talk about as this offseason unfolds. But I kind of like the idea of doing it right here in our backyard and keeping it local where the people can come and it makes it more accessible to them.”

It’s a mixed bag. There is a long history of the team going away, as well as theunique experience of getting out of town for a few weeks that can help the players pull together. It also allows suburban fans to spend time much more easily watching the team in training camp.

But those in Philly have easy access to the team. And with the secretive nature of Kelly in the rearview, there may be more opportunities for fans to interact with the team in camp, as very few sessions were open to the public in recent years.