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Marrone's response to Pederson's criticism involves a book with a four-lettered word

Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone's outlook toward criticism may be shaped by his reading material.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone's outlook toward criticism may be shaped by his reading material.

Marrone's offseason reading list included "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F---: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life" by Mark Manson. On Tuesday, the head coach mentioned the book -without naming the title - when he was asked about criticism brought on by Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson in his new book "Fearless: How an Underdog Becomes a Champion".

Pederson took issue with the Jaguars' decision to take a knee before halftime of their AFC Championship Game loss to the New England Patriots.

"I’m just like, ‘Doug won a Super Bowl and Doug did a great job of coaching,’" Marrone said during his Tuesday press conference. "I’m sure there is a long line of people that have the same questions or feelings. It’s ‘what you are going to do?’ I read a book in the offseason by Mark Manson, number one bestseller by the [New York] Times. Those things happen and that’s it. I respect the hell out of him and his team. He won a Super Bowl. We lost. When you lose you question everything. I don’t have a problem with it.”

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The Jaguars were up by four points with 55 seconds remaining in the first half when Marrone decided to bleed the clock before halftime. Jacksonville ended up losing the game, 24-20.

"I was there thinking, 'You've got to be kidding me right now,'" Pederson wrote, via ESPN. "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 and Pederson will meet in London on Oct. 28 when the Jaguars host the Eagles at Wembley Stadium. They have yet to face each other as head coaches.

Follow Mike Kaye on Twitter: @Mike_E_Kaye.

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