“I’ll think about it when I want to think about it”. That was Andy Reid’s response to the question of when he would start thinking about his future as the Philadelphia Eagles’ head coach. While it may have been a fair question to ask, Reid’s response was very understandable.
The media is seeking immediate responses after a season that started with high expectations ended without a playoff appearance. With nothing to look forward to but off season transactions, the last thing people wanted to discuss was a meaningless victory over the Washington Redskins.
Nationally, the endorsement for Reid to retain his coaching position has always been in place. Locally, fans and media alike have resorted to the likelihood that he will return for 2012 whether they want him back or not.
One thing that has rarely been discussed is whether or not Andy Reid even wants to coach in Philadelphia for a 14th season. Because of his track record, decision making power and relationship with the players it is assumed that he will be on the sidelines in 2012.
Listening to Reid’s post game conference yesterday, he sounded like a man who has the final say on his own position this off season. No “Fire Andy” chants, banners outside the NovaCare complex or media/radio personalities will have any influence on that decision and his demeanor yesterday was a reminder of that.
What will play a part in Big Red’s decision are the conversations he will have with Owner/CEO Jeff Lurie and Vice President Joe Banner. Reid may not like what he hears during these discussions.
During his tenure in Philly, Reid’s success has resulted in a comfort zone and a level of power very few coaches get to attain. How does he react if those things are threatened?? Does he want to coach in 2012 knowing it likely will be a ‘win or else’ season? Is he willing to fire a defensive coordinator for the second consecutive year?
The ball is in Reid’s court because he knows if he decides to leave the Eagles he’ll need to hire a secretary to set up his immediate interview requests. It will be reminiscent of Larry Brown’s decision to leave the Sixers after the 2003 season.
Lurie, Banner and GM Howie Roseman would be left with a core of disgruntled players who are devoted to Reid. Just like Big Red must sell the lack of OTAs and ending the season on a high note, Lurie must sell the fact that the Eagles need him in 2012 even if it means keeping Juan Castillo as defensive coordinator.
I’m no Reid fan. I’ve wanted him gone since that loss to Baltimore in 2008 and was disappointed when he signed an extension in 2009. But, I understand that critical decisions require good timing and now is not the time to let Andy Reid walk.
The Eagles coaching staff and player personnel are constructed to his liking. If Reid were to leave now, it would cause more problems than solutions from a business and morale standpoint. It is up to Jeff Lurie to keep him interested in staying.
Rumour Mill burning up….
Coach AR in negoitiations with the San Diego Chargers about taking over as their GM… Coach MM in the mix as their next HC and the Rams also wanting to discuss Coach MM as their next HC …. Stay tuned…
Juan Castillo could become the next HC of the Eagles since Mr’s Lurie really likes him… Good Grief…
Good article Haran and this is what happens when you allow 1 man to much authrity over a Football Franchise.. Look at Denver when they got rid of Shanahan, just absolutely went into a tail spin for a couple of Seasons…
It happened to the Cowboys when J Johnson left, the Redksins when Gibbs left the 1st time (and they still ahven’t recovered) when Holmgrem left the Seahawks and will happen again when he levave the inept Browns..
The reason this doesn’t happen in places like Baltimore,Green Bay or Pittsburgh is their Stability with solid GM’s who are Football People who can hire and put together good people at the important decisions
Does anyone have confidence that GM Roseman or President Banner are competent to be able to do this… Coach AR leaving on his own would not surprise me in the least, but be careful what you wish for since this Roster would need a big makeover to fit a more traditional style of football and this Franchise would be set-back 3-4 Seasons of having 3-4-5 Win Seasons..
i somewhat agreed pman- if Andy left and took the good coaches with him (wasburn and mudd) we would not be in a good position. they would need to put MM in charge and pray we landed a serious DC. Im worried about next year anyway tho- 8 wins may be a dream for 2012… no cards and seahawk teams to kick around. oh wait… nevermind.
@pman – agree with the GM assessment…. the franchises you mentioned have star GMs who add talent year after year making the head coaches’s job a lot easier….Andy needs to go…..it will never change…he will never take a LB or S in round #1 regardless…. this needs to change….
The Eagles past 2 drafts have been flat out a disgrace!
@pman – oh and look at the franchises you mentioned and how well they draft in the early rounds, whereas, the Eagles are awful.
With late round picks too… Baltimore,Pittsburgh,GB has had great Drafts in recent years.. The Patriots has been disappointing to be honest, they havedrafted tons of Secondary & WR’s has resulted in very few good players and their DL picks have flat out been a disasater and not mch better at RB
By JACK McCAFFERY,
Times Sports Columnist
Click to enlarge
Below is an article from Jack McCaffery of the Delco Daily Times. This is the stuff that fans who live outside of the area do not appreciate, or take into account when evaluating this team and head coach.
PHILADELPHIA —- The Eagles’ 51st consecutive championship-free season had just ended and Andy Reid faced the most basic, the most civil, the most reasonable of football questions.
Why, he was asked, did his team miss the playoffs this season?
“Because we were 8-and-8,” he said. “And other teams? They weren’t. So they had a better record. So they made it.”
Thirteen years later, the same disrespect of the fans, the same arrogance, the same vivid belief that no matter what happens, or how, or how often, he never does owe the customers an honest reply. Sunday, on a holiday, for a formality of an NFL game, 69,144 of those fans paid to watch the Birds defeat the Washington Redskins, 34-10, to finish with a four-game winning streak. They would have preferred more and they deserved more given ownership’s verbal and literal expressions that this year it would be all-in for a championship.
Instead, Reid offered a flippant calculus lesson, that eight losses were more than seven.
Now the only question: Will he have that opportunity again after championship-free season No. 52? That, though, was not answered, for Jeffrey Lurie remained in hiding as he has for roughly the last half of the season. Never one to stay silent too long, the Birds’ owner is expected to address the fans sometime this week, more than likely to remind them that Reid will be back for a 14th try to win a championship.
If Lurie decides that —- and reports popping up Sunday were that he had —- it’s likely this time to come at least with a one-year expiration date, either said or implied. But in his determination to withhold information Sunday, Reid made some news. That he did by not indicating whether he’d thought about returning to coach the Eagles next season.
“I’ll think about it when I want to think about it,” he said. “All right?”
He can think about it when he wants, but it’s Lurie who has to do the real thinking now. And the owner has to know that it was Reid’s inability to form a workable coaching staff and that too many early-season bursts of on-field irresponsibility and the wrong mix of players were why his Eagles did not make the playoffs and have yet to begin his planned collection of Lombardi Trophies.
More, Lurie has to decide not just whether Reid is the right coach to push the Eagles to a Super Bowl, but whether the image he contributed to this season can continue to benefit the operation. Even Sunday, DeSean Jackson was complaining about fans booing. That was after an in-season blast from Jason Avant, who mockingly invited the fans to boo more, and came just weeks after Jason Kelce reportedly confronted some customers lugging a protest sign across from the NewsControl Compound.
On a football-only level, Lurie could sell Reid for one more season, citing the labor-stoppage last summer, Reid’s overall record, the late-season development of the team and the risk of change. It wouldn’t be popular. But he could sell it.
First, though, he will have to sell himself on the idea that his head coach is still capable of representing his vision of an organization’s relationship with and commitment to its fans.
Sunday, Andy Reid couldn’t even tell those fans that he would be back next season … or even if that were his desire.
“All those kind of questions, I have no answer for you,” said. “I haven’t thought about all of that. I’m not going to start right now. I’m going to enjoy this win and the new year.”
So a professional football coach, one who would have plenty of opportunities for work even if he did leave the Eagles, never thought about whether he would want to be back?
“Well, I think I just said that, but that’s all right,” he said. “You keep asking. Same answer.”
Same questions, same arrogance, same result, 51 consecutive times, 13 under a coach out of answers.
Follow Jack McCaffery on Twitter at @JackMcCaffery
I find this to be a very interesting possibility.
I remember reading a while back (was either Inquirer or Daily News) about Reid’s conflicts with mgmt over Vick. Again, was just one writer’s opinion, but article stated Reid did not want Vick and was pushed into the decision.
Reid and MW are solid “football people”, and they have coached 2 future HoF Qbs. (though I never a fan of Favre – perhaps most overrated qb ever) If they leave, they’d be sending a very powerful meassage about the Eagles’ current franchise QB….a very different message than the public droning on about how MV can be better than Steve Young if he wants to be. (I can’t believe Morningwheg can even say that shit with a str8 face BTW)
hmmm wasnt it MM that was raving about Vick?
wasnt it reid that was raving about what he could do with Vick back when vick was with ATL?
wasnt it McNabb that sold Vick on Reid and Reid that sold Jeff and Jeff that sold to Mrs Jeff?
Vinnie- we do a gree on 1 thing….. Favre is overrated.
Reid will end up getting an extension out of an 8-8 no playoff year
Nice article Greenfan
Lot’s of validity to Coach AR’s surly and arrogant tone and repsonses at his press-conferences..
Vinnie, I hope your not putting #05/McNabb in the HOF CAtegory, we’ve had this conversation way too many times in the past.. McNabb Good QB Yes,
Hall of Famer, No… Coach AR a good NFL Coach, Yes, a Hall of Fame Coach, No….You have to be able to make rational decisions objectively at Players and Coaches that were “Good” during their Career from the Players and Coaches who were “Great and EIite” during their Careers
Heard Coach AR and a group of his close associates have put in an Offer to buy out the financially struggling TastyKake Company.. I also was tweeted that Mrs Lurie is behind him 100% and the Eagles will start wearing a Butterscotch Krimpet Patch on their Home Jerseys and Peant Butter TandyKakes Patch on their Road Jersies.. The man is an absolute genius if nothing else…
I certainly am not putting McNabb in the HOF category….he was good…even very very good for a couple of years….the 2 I was talking about were Favre and Young.
Stevo…just because MM was singing MV’s praises in the media and telling anyone he could be as good as Steve Young…or better (god what a joke) doesn’t mean he actually believes it.
I mean think of it. To compare MV to Young is completely and utterly asenine. I do not think MM is an idiot, and yet those statements were pretty idiotic…he was just spouting praises becasue that’s what he has to do.
As for Reid “selling” Vick to mgmt….how do you know what happens behind closed doors? Who was selling/promoting whom? Frankly, I do not believe Reid has anywhere near the power in the org you guys think he doee…at least not anymore……..I’m only recounting what I read from a reporter who actually gets inside the bldg. He said that it was Roseman who pushed Vick on Reid, not the other way around.
Reid will be back. He won’t get an extension unless they make it back to the SuperBowl. The Eagles will be much improved next year, but not good enough to win it all. Lurie’s big decision will be after next season.
Well had we not brought in Mike Vick we would have glass joe to build off of. He is a stinking powder puff.
Vick needs to cut some of those turnovers out…bring the picks down to 10-9 in a season. Some balls just get tipped and or receivers cause em. Yesterday he just made a bad decision. If we’re gonna win the division next year and look to get a top seed he’s GOT to take care of the pill. Oh,and how about hand the ball to our 1st team all-pro tailback. He would help.
Offense is fine…dont change anything cept #10’s contract. Maybe draft another back cause the drafts deep.
Take a stinking backer in the first round…or if theres a cant miss d-tackle thats ok for me too. More bigguys in the middle are cool.
I’d like them to address the safety position via FA ….bring in the Oakland kid who played with Nam. Guy can flat out play. Let Nate and Kurty fight it out for the other spot.
They will all be back next year and a Superbowl appearance will be a MUST. Now that our offensive line seems to be in tact, we should be good to go from a protection standpoint.
I’m now looking forward to the improvements in the offseason.
I was a supporter of Kolb when he seemed to be the one that would replace Mcnabb……but in hindsight, getting Vick was a blessing in disguise. This offense and our future would be absolutely pathetic with that baby-armed clown trying to dictate this offense.
Injury proned goober needs to drink more milk.
I agree about Coach AR not having the Power & Authority that everyone in the Local and National Media presume that he used to have and it started a few years back when he had the family issues with his kids.. I think Banner & Lurie realized then that they need to strip some authority from him and then if someththing crazy were to happen to AR (Health,family, or something else) that they were not very well prepared to deal with the after-life of Coach AR.. Plus I do think they realized that he probably had too many responsibilities on his plate… So Banner pushes out Heckert who was a yes-man for AR and replaced him with his own yes man in GM Howie Roseman, they hire Draft guru Phil Savage to work and train him who was supposed to be a 2 year deal, though Savage left after only 1 year of working with the club and the stroy has still never come out why… They place the Scouting,Player Personnel Depts to report directly to Roseman but the biggest problem is that Roseman doesn’t know what he’s doing which the last 2 Drafts are pretty indicative of that…
Look at the ending of Brian Dawkins who Coach AR knew was the heart and soul of his Defense and an extension of Coach JJ…
Then the shenanigans of should we trade McNabb or not, then the shenanigans of should we fire DC McDermott or not.. and now with the move of Castillo… I am not sold that there were entirely Coach Ar’s sole decision and would no be surprised if these moves were all made with a real push from the Front Office and now with the disappointing season of 2011, their basically has been no sight or sound from GM Roseman, Pres Banner or even Lurie since the beginning of the Season.. quite odd isn’t it.. I think the Front Office has been splintered for a few years now and everything has come to a head… Unforutnately for Coach AR, his leverage and time have just about run out but like I have stated numerous, the wrose thing about it is that major decisions about Football operations and personnel will be left to
GM Roseman and Pres Banner which to me is a scarier proposition which is why I continue to state that without a real football GM, this Franchise will never win a SUper Bowl, and no GM is going to come to Philly while AR is still the Coach for it would be too awkward of a situation and Pres Banner will not relieve Rosman of his duties unless he specifically directed by Owner Jeff Lurie to do so, but Lurie simply does not have the spine to make that Decision amnd does not want that could of involvment in Football matters..
It’s Joe Banner vs Andy Reid, always has been and always will as long as their both working for the Eagles…
To Birdo, how do you say the OL is intact, LG Evan Mathis will be cashing in on his good Season and look for a big-time Contract in Free-Agnecy that the Eagles are likely to balk at… If they don’t signe him shortly after the Season is over, then they will have to regroup for next Season and move Herremans back to LG making a revolving door at RT Again.. They have WJ under contract and in their back pocket.. their best move is to Signe and probably have to over-pay for LG Mathis,keepl Herremans at RT and offer Dunlap a deal to keep him around as the #1 OT back-up in case of Injury for Peters or Herremans, by doing this, it will allow them to trade or flat out release WJ and can get some of their $$$ back…
Resolving LG Mathis status is the most important decision they have to accomplish Offensively and yes, this even includes the decision on what to do about D-Jax (WR’s are a dime a dozen) even though no one will report on it for it’s not the sexy story… OL continuity is huge for the 2012 Season to protect Vick as 2012 will be Howard Mudd’s final Season regardless of what happens to AR so there has to be a succession plan on who takes over the OL beyond 2012 in house and having the same 5 Players along the OL with expereice with each other is invaluable in terms of future progress
Under the assumption that they re-sign Mathis, the offensive line is intact PMan, what don’t you understand?
Our offensive line dating back to the second NYG game has been absolutely fantastic. They jelled well. I’m not afraid to say confidently that we have the best O-Line in the NFC East as is.
How do you go from the OL “seems to be intact” without mentioning the Free-Agent Status’s of LG Mathis and their Top Back-up at OT in King Dunlap
to now stating “under the assumption that the re-sign Mathis” .. C’Mon Man.
I just want the facts. Everybody has an opinion, but nobody knows jack. The defense was an issue this year, was it the scheme or the players? Did the players not “buy in” until later in the season? Did it take awhile for Castillo to get up to speed calling the game from the sidelines? Were the players in position earlier in the year and failing to make the plays? Or was it that they were not being placed “in a position to succeed? Garry needs to spend some time breaking down the tapes, give us some answers. Get in touch with some players, start them talking, on or off the record, and find out the score. Please. G, you have a press credential I would assume. Use it to get us real actual truth, not just guesses and speculation.
What Lurie has to decide if he wants keep going down this road. I think Lurie will ask him to relinquish personnel control and Reid will bolt. If we go with Reid we might be in the playoffs next year but I would doubt the superbowl. How would Lurie justify keeping Reid again. Then on top of that Reid will probably want a extension at that point because he would have one year left.We won’t with Vick and Reid.
They know what they got…re’em up. Ink Djax and draft d. Its that simple Paul. No need to diatribe and blog your entire thought process and yadda yadda.They’re o-line is pretty nice right now. Kelce /Watkins will be better. Bookends for years.Mathis gets a nice deal.Might even franchise him if they dont use it on #10.
Shennanigans
The bottom line it is a perfect time to make a change. Your sitting really well with talent. You will have cap space and you have a good amount of draft picks for this off season. The thing of it is Reid is one of the best coaches but it might be time for a change for both the organization and coach Reid. If you do not make a change and you wait another year you might not be in such a good position. Now’s the time to do it. This team needs a change.
I definitely see them Franchising Mathis instead of D-Jax and stated so a few weeks back and would be the smart move to make for the Club
The Eagles were unbelievably healthy along both OL and DE when you think about it.. Out of about 20 players on both sides of the ball only DT A Dixon missed substantial time due to major injury.. a few players missed a game here or there and a couple like B Graham and WJ should have been IR to begin with and were never really counted on due to returning from injury from late last year.. Hopefully that good fortune will continue
Sorry Erock
Was trying to think of a “Mummers’ term that everyone could understand… ha
Paulman, are you saying that they are going to pay journeyman Evan Mathis the average of the top 5 offensive guards in the league? I REALLY have a lot more appreciation for Joe Banner after reading that.
Wasting a franchise tag and that kind of money on Mathis would be a terrible decision.
I found this onlline the other day. Amazing Story. Roy Halladay for the save? Only in the Amazon. (And not the online one.)
Halladay, runner-up for the Cy Young Award in the National League, showed he could tame the deadliest of rivers just as effectively as he tames opposing lineups for the Philadelphia Phillies. On a recent fishing expedition to Brazil with buddy Chris Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals (and former major league closer B.J. Ryan), the Good Doctor helped to rescue a local fisherman who had been wounded by — gulp — an anaconda.
Top that, Clayton Kershaw.
Bassmaster Skeet Reese broke the news his blog that he and Halladay saw a man sitting “bare naked” on a tree by the side of the river. But he wasn’t there scouting major leaguers who just happened to float by:
What we were able to figure out is that he was fishing in the river for tropical fish to sell for aquariums when he got attacked by an anaconda.
The snake apparently bit him on the [butt] but he was able to free himself before the snake wrapped him up. Instead the snake wrapped around his motor on the back of his little 14 foot dugout canoe and tore it off the back of his boat. Doc and I helped him gather his gear and flip the boat back over and then towed him home. You could definitely see the bite mark on his [booty], but he was able to fight it off; amazing.
Man, that’s better service than AAA. Now, anacondas aren’t venomous, but that’s only because it would be so unfair. They’re among the longest snakes in the world, and they … well — you’ve seen the movie — they squeeze you ’til you’re able to fit in their belly.
Already like Indiana Jones in so many ways, Halladay surpasses him as an adventurer because he’s apparently unafraid of snakes.
You also might be wondering: Where in the world was Carpenter while all of this was going on? Was he like Marlin Perkins chilling in tent while Jim Fowler wrestled tigers out in the bush on “Wild Kingdom”? Not quite. Now, don’t get too excited by this, Cards fans, but Carpenter injured his toe on the trip, banging it on the side of the boat. He also caught some nice fish — apparently everyone did — and he shot a caiman (a cousin to the American Alligator). Shot it. Take note, Nyjer Morgan!
Say, did they get any video of this trip? Not because the tale is unbelievable, but so we can release it as an “Anaconda” sequel. As Zoo with Roy noted, the only thing that would have made Halladay’s and Carpenter’s trip better would be Cube saying:
“There’s snakes out there this big?”
Speaking of hip-hoppers, Game the rapper is going to write about Halladay on his next album, too. The legend of Roy Halladay just grows as his career ERA reduces.
And another thing: What’s with all of these major leaguers taking potentially dangerous vacations in the offseason? Halladay and Carpenter on the Amazon … R.A. Dickey scaling Mount Kilimanjaro with Kevin Slowey … Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman rappelling again. Is the excitement of a pennant race not enough?
I’m with Birdo, our online was a pleasant surprise in the 2nd half of the season and continuity will only help them next year.
I also agree with erock that we better take a LB in the first. I don’t care if they don’t value that position or not. I would be ok with a safety as well.
In free agency, I’d like to see them get Stevie Johnson, assuming DJax walks. Stephen Tulloch is another free agent I would target.
E-Money
The smart teams use the Franchise Tag on players who they feels fits into their long range plans and that they want to lock-up long term.. The Goal is not to Franchise them to have and to “Rent for 1 Season” for that rarely every works in the Team favor and I am not so sure that D-Jax factors into the long-range plans with his attitude issues so protecting against the loss of Mathis may be deemed more importatnt to them as they move forward….
Paulman, I understand how the franchise tag is used, I simply can’t remember it ever being used on an average journeyman player like Evan Mathis, nor do I feel it makes the least amount of sense. Mathis will sign for average money because he is an average talent in this league. The Eagles should have no issue locking him up for 3-4 years. If the Eagles slap him with a franchise tag, there would be little incentive for Mathis to sign a deal because the franchise tag is going to guarantee him more than any signing bonus he would ever receive. If you can find my another guy of his talent and history (4th team in 6 years) that a (smart) team franchised, I’ll stand corrected, but I don’t think you will.
E-money, stop wasting your breath explaining things to that moron Paulman.
Paulman, you idiot, assuming we go in with the same o-line next year, we will have the best o-line in the NFC East, hands down.
It’s no surprise that Vick started playing better as he took less hits — that all starts with the offensive line.
I agree Birdo, no argument from me, I said 2 months ago the strength of the EAgles OFfense was it’s O/Line and not it’s overrated QB & WR Xorps and I stand by it which is why they would want to lock in Mathis at LG< if not, then you have to get a new Guard or shifdt Herremans fro Rt back to LG and close thru the Revolving door of last Summer Camp trying to find a RT..
To E-Money, Of course all teams will want to negoitiate first on players they want to retiain and exhaust that avenue first before slapping a Franchise Tag simply for the large committment of $$$ it will take
An example on a marginal player who was "Franchised" The Bengals a few Seasons ago put a Franchise Tag on OL "Stacy Andrews" and kept him for that 1 Season, he ended up playing halfway decently and then decided to become a Free-Agent the Following off-Season where the Eagles way suckered in and was over-paid for him
I don’t give a f^#@ what this @$$clown wants! It shouldn’t be up to him. If Lurie & Banner had any balls, & weren’t happy with the status quo, because their pockets will always be fat regardless, he’d be gone already!
QB AJ Feely is a Free-Agent, If AR and MM come back, is Feely a safe back-up who knows the system, is cheap and can start you a couple of games if/when Vick gets injured… just throwing it out there…
Paulman, the example you came up with proves my point, average player franchised by a poorly run organization. The Bengals paid $7.5 million to a player that wasn’t worth half of that. I’m guessing that the Patriots and Steelers of the world aren’t making moves like that to keep marginal talent for a year. If they can’t get a reasonable deal done for Mathis, let him walk.
if reid is not out of here today, he must have blackmail pictures on this owner.
We absolutely cannot and WILL NOT let Mathis walk. I think he gets an above average deal for a guard and stays with us for the next 3-4 years.
Could be Andy ‘outta here like Vladimir.’
Hell, he multi-millionaire and can coach someplace nice like San Diego, and make his wife so happy, she might forget that he weighs 400 lbs when he get in a romantic mood.