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Often it is the case that the skills required to get to the top are different than the skills required to stay on top. I am afraid that this is the case with Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach Andy Reid.
When Coach Reid arrived in Philadelphia in 1999 the Eagles were a 3-13 team. His attention to detail along with his administration and delegation skills helped turn around the team. The Eagles record improved to 5-11 and then 11-5 with a spot in the play-offs. The players were sufficiently motivated simply by the fear of being cut and the desire to show the rest of the league that they were not as bad as everyone thought. I mean really, a player released from a 3-13 or 5-11 team is rarely highly sought after by successful teams. So the players had no problem buying into Coach Reid's "system" and getting the most out of the "system."
Today things have changed. The Eagles were successful, they went to four straight NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl but last season they were just 6-10. This season they are 5-5. In the name of salary cap management, the team has given players long-term contracts. It is no longer easy to just cut players if they are not performing. When a player is cut any bonus money not accounted for then falls due in the current year. This is why Jevon Kearse, for example, has stuck around. If he was cut before the season started then the Eagles would have taken a serious cap hit (about $9 million).
Compounding the salary cap issue is Coach Reid refusing to change his hallowed "system." Offensive tackle Jon Runyan has said several times that the Eagles don't change and that the players just have to execute the plays properly. Linebacker Jeremiah Trotter said before last week's game with the Titans that the Eagles don't game plan for teams, that they have one game plan for all teams. Do you think opposing teams have learned to deal effectively with the Eagles' predictability? It sure looks like they have learned how to handle the Eagles.
To make matters even worse still, the Eagles seem to make personal decisions based on spite. If a player refuses to sign a contract or contract extension offered by the team then the Eagles have several ways to deal with them. One way is to slap the franchise tag on the player at the beginning of the free agency period and then removing it after other teams have spent all of their salary cap money. If the player still has not seen the light then he is released and bad-mouthed in the media. For example, Corey Simon. One month the Eagles franchise tag him (essentially saying that he is in the top five in the league at his position) and then a few months later they release him and say that he is fat and out of shape. Really? He went from an elite player to a tub-of-goo in such a short time?
Number one draft pick Brodrick Bunkley is a recent example of the Eagles' spite. In the team's opinion he was slow to sign a contract and this season he has not played much at all. Jerimiah Trotter was seen recently on the side-lines of a game yelling at Coach Reid to play Bunkley more. Another recent example is Rod Hood who refused a contract extension and then he was de-activated for the game with the Titans. I am sure that these cases are just a matter of coincidence, right?
In short, Head Coach Andy Reid has lost the players.
Can the Eagles be turned around? There is more talent on the Eagles than their 5-5 record would indicate, however I do not think Coach Reid has the necessary skills to turn them around. A veteran head coach with experience motivating veteran players is needed. How about Jon Gruden? He may be fired from Tampa Bay after the season is over.
Anyway, this is what Philadelphia fans are reduced to - waiting to see just how bad the Eagles will get under Andy Reid before owner Jeff Lurie replaces him. I have said before that I feel Mr. Lurie will wait a season or two too long before he fires Reid. That's where we are now, waiting and hoping that Reid can turn the team around.
