Philadelphia Freedom

The disaster that is the Philadelphia Eagles should be no surprise this season. We all knew Andy Reid was coming back as head coach.

I recently watched a video of the debut game for Terrell Owens as an Eagle. I remember watching that game like it was yesterday and it brought back positive memories from when this franchise was in it's glory days (even though I still wish that game went differently, as we know, I am a Ravens first and foremost, and that game took place against my boys. The scene of Ray Lewis chasing down TO is only made better by the TO! TO TO TO! TOOOOO, TOOOO! chant and remembering "Yea, this didn't work out at all. And Ray Lewis still plays.").
Growing up some twenty minutes from Philadelphia, and as a Ravens fan first but Eagles fan second, this was a great period in my sports life (in my personal life, I was in a phase were thumbtack wars in school were cool, so, take that as you will). Baltimore was still competitive and only four years removed from their Super Bowl win and Philadelphia was coming off back-to-back NFC Championship Games, albeit losses, something that was unfamiliar for this football team and city. Owens scored a touchdown on his first play as a bird, and brought this team to it's first Super Bowl in a quarter of a century. They lost. They should have won. Those two sentences could be put together by my four year old sister, but they could not sum up how the years after that loss have followed any better. 

Andy Reid will probably not finish the season, and that should have happened long before it got to this point. 

We all know how the Owens Era ended in Philadelphia, with an ugly breakup between quarterback and receiver, as well as situps out front of TO's house in New Jersey. Seasons past and Donovan McNabb moved on, with poor talent surrounding him but carrying the burden of the city as usual.They made a miraculous run at the NFC Championship Game in 2008, and lost to the equally miraculous Arizona Cardinals. That loss made them 1-3 in NFC Championship games in the decade, in a span of eight years even. Apparently that was enough to keep Reid as the head coach.

McNabb would leave Philadelphia for division rival Washington. Although he was traded and it really was out of his hands, it was disturbing the way he left Philly and was now playing a few miles south in DC after his double digit years tenure here. Kevin Kolb would make way for Mike Vick would make way for Nick Foles, and one playoff game later, here we are. The Eagles have been staying stagnant ever since they brought in Vick. Now I could write seven more blogs about times when Philadelphia should have fired Andy Reid, one year after the Super Bowl loss, after the 2008 NFC title game loss, the year after that, and so on and so forth. But now it has gotten ridiculous. The Eagles are 3-8 as I write this, and in such desperate need for a change. Change is a part of life, and it needs to be a part of the Eagles come January.

I do believe the Eagles should let Andy play out the season. Coach firings in the middle of a season should be held for coaches with little tenure, maybe less than three years, or extreme cases, like spying on other team' private practices (whoops, did I say that out loud?). Jeffrey Lurie and Andy Reid have been together for a long time. Reid has been the head coach since before September 11. A gallon of gas cost $1.22 when he became coach. MySpace was officially introduced to the internet in 1999. Does MySpace exist anymore? (Too late, it does! Check this out! run to class because you're late?- "hell no, i walk even slower" ) 

Also, the fact that Andy Reid's son did just pass away from a drug overdose plays a role here. They can't let Reid coach forever because of that, but at least give him the honor of finishing out the season. Reid probably realizes his time is done here and the team needs a new direction, so he may even step down at season's end. However it happens, it can not happen during the season. This year is lost, they will not run the table with the team and with the effor they are putting on the field every week. The honorable thing to do would be to let Andy finish out the season, acknowledge that he has been a huge success during his time in Philadelphia, and part ways respectfully. 

But the time has been here for him to leave. The biggest problem with this whole situation that I have been waiting to address this whole article is what I've heard from many different people. The popular opinion that Andy Reid is being disrespected by this whole ordeal is absurd. People defending him, claiming that "he has brought this team to four NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl!" or "the Eagles have won so many games this past decade!", those people are ludicrous. Those people probably still use the VCR to record their shows because "Hey! It was such a vital thing in the early 2000's!". Andy Reid did bring this team to four title games, but he lost three of them. He did bring them to a Super Bowl, but he lost it. Reid has had tons of regular season success, but that means nothing in this sport. No one cares how many regular season games you've won. How many rings do you have? And the bottom line, Andy Reid has none. 

Philadelphia needs to move on. 

Andy Reid will probably end up coaching San Diego next season, as Norv Turner has all but dropped dead coaching that team. Who ends up coaching this mess of a team is beyond me. I don't think they should bring in a veteran guy like Marty Schottenheimer or Bill Cowher, because honestly this team is not built to win now, and that would be the only reason I could see defending a hire of that like. They need to bring in a guy who can handle time management, something Reid could never do. They need to bring in an energetic and charismatic guy, something Reid never was. And they need someone who understands that they have a great running back in LeSean McCoy coupled with a bad offensive line and quarterback controversy, and realize there is a fixable problem there, something Reid never could handle. 

How Philadelphia handles not only the rest of the season, do they lost out for a high draft pick or not, but also how they handle the offseason will be interesting. This is the only year they can opt out of Vick's insane contract, and if I were Jeffrey Lurie, I'd have to be popping pills with Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan not to take that route. Nick Foles might not be the answer, but neither is Mike Vick. The Eagles should start next season with a new head coach and a new quarterback, a first since 1998. Whether or not they actually do that is dependant upon the stubborness that is Jeffrey Lurie. Fly Eagles Fly.