Enough time has passed by now that everyone in the Delaware Valley knows that Andy Reid’s contract has been extended for an additional 3 years, as both head coach and VP of football operations. For a man that helped make the Eagles relevant again at the beginning of the ‘00s and keeping them in the playoff picture for almost all of this decade, one would expect that this move would be heralded by all.
Nope. Wrong.
For the life of me, I don’t get the Andy Reid haters. They expect perfection. It’s a Super Bowl win or bust mentality for them, and that’s fine. It’s perfectly reasonable to have high goals for this team because over the past decade they have consistently put a top quality product on the field. Until the team gets that elusive Super Bowl win – which isn’t going to be easy – there will be detractors.
As fans, we’ve come to expect the best out of them, but some of us have a tendency to nitpick and zero in on some of Reid’s negatives, like his clock mismanagement or play-calling. These are all fair criticisms, both of which have been recently addressed in varying degrees. Looking at the plays from the games against Chicago, Washington, and Atlanta, you’ll see a mix of pass and rush plays that hover around 50/50.
There may be other, “bigger” names out there that can assume the helm in South Philly, but not even the best coach hits the ground running. There are new systems and tones to implement. The new coach wants to bring in his people and start working out of his own playbook. A few bumps in the road are almost expected.
The Birds have no reason to move on from Reid and every reason to keep him around longer. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will have coached the team for 15 years once the current contract is up.
One often over-looked aspect of his job is the man’s ability to draft top talent, and as well, to sense when it’s time for a veteran to pass the baton. Brian Dawkins aside, he’s made some excellent decisions in his tenure. When the entire city, including then-mayor Ed Rendell was clamoring for Ricky Williams (not that the organization cared), the team chose Donovan McNabb in the draft. Randall Cunningham may have brilliantly played for the Eagles for ten years, but #5 is our franchise QB.
Look at the Eagles current offense and consider this, Did you know who any of these guys were three years ago? Probably not.
The Eagles may have spent most of this decade without a play-making wide receiver, but now there’s DeSean Jackson who’s recognized as both a big play threat and the last guy you’ll ever understand on Twitter. Add in rookie Jeremy Maclin, and you have two weapons that look to be a big part of this team’s future. Then pepper in other young guys like Celek, McCoy, Avant, and Justice. Things look even brighter.
On the other side of the ball, Trent Cole, Gocong, Demps, Mikell, Jordan, and the injured Stewart Bradley, you have a new generation of ball-players that are set to lead the defense for several years.
Drafting smart may not be sexy, but it’s something that takes natural football smarts and hours of research, Reid has done well in spades. Consider a guy like Celek. He didn’t have an immediate impact, but given time to develop and the right coaching, he’s turned into one of the best tight ends in the league.
One thing that does concern me about this extension is the timing. The Eagles, currently tied for first place with Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys, are headed into a very important Sunday night match-up in New Jersey against the Giants.
All eyes need to be on the proverbial ball for this one, and while this extension has seemed like a foregone conclusion for most of this season, negotiations demand attention and are frequently stressful.
This could have easily been an off-season discussion, being used to give Reid an incentive to go the extra mile and prove he’s still the man for the job.
Andy Reid has presided over the most successful decade of the Philadelphia Eagles, and one of the most successful decades of any football team. His numbers have been brilliant – 105 regular season wins with a winning percentage of .614, and an additional 10 playoff wins. Take a peek at his stats courtesy of Wikipedia:
Keep in mind, this is only what he has done so far. Call me an optimist, but I think the best is yet to come. I can’t say whether or not he’ll guide this team to a Super Bowl win, but between what he has done and the current team, he remains the best man for the job.
