Andy Reid Era Coming To An End

The Andy Reid chapter in Philly is in danger of ending.

      The Andy Reid era in Philadelphia will most likely come to an end after this season. Reid has been the head coach for the Eagles for almost as long as I can remember, and has had a lot of success.
     During his 13 years with the Eagles, Andy Reid has a 129-86-1 record, regular season and playoffs combined. He has the highest win total, best winning percentage, and most playoff victories as head coach in team history. He led the Eagles to five NFC championship games, and even a Super Bowl appearance in 2004.
     Despite all of this success, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie put a lot of pressure on Reid coming into the current season. The Eagles finished last season with an 8-8 record, which was then deemed "unacceptable" by Lurie in a January press conference. The team also missed the post-season, for only the third time in Reid's tenure as head coach.

      But Lurie hasn't been the only person putting high expectations on this team. When the Eagles brought in all those big name free agents going into 2011 (Vince Young, Nnamdi Asomugha, Jason Babin, Cullen Jenkins, and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie), Vince Young said the Eagles were a "dream team." Quarterback Michael Vick then added fuel to the fire this off-season, saying the team had the potential to be a "dynasty."
     This Eagles team has failed to live up to the hype. Plain and simple. After a mediocre 8-8 finish to the 2011-2012 season, the team started the 2012-2013 season on a positive note at 3-1 (albeit a lucky 3-1). However, since then the Eagles have lost six straight, and have fallen to 3-7. The team is in free fall. Andy Reid's future with Philadelphia looks dismal at this point, given everything that has been said about the expectations placed on this squad.
      Reid definitely isn't solely to blame for the Eagles' struggles. Unfortunately for Andy, he basically tied his coaching fate to his faith in starting quarterback Michael Vick, who has been disappointing to say the least. Number one, Vick has health issues every season. It's hard to be a good, consistent quarterback in the NFL when you can't consistently be on the field. Number two, after nearly ten years in the league, Vick still doesn't possess the ability to read and decipher a defense pre-snap. He also isn't the same quarterback that he was in his days with Atlanta - he's aging. His legs can't bail him out like they used to. To top it all off, he's a turnover machine. In my opinion, Vick is no longer a starting caliber quarterback in this league. By the way, Nick Foles isn't yet either.
     There's a handful of other issues, too. The offensive line has been suspect, that's nothing new. LeSean 'Shady' McCoy has been grossly mishandled this season. Shady is too talented a running back to get less than twenty touches a game, but apparently offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg didn't get that memo.
     Another issue has been the Eagles' defense. Juan Castillo was in way over his head when they gave him the defensive coordinator job prior to the 2011 season. Can you really expect an offensive line coach to just snap his fingers and become a successful defensive coordinator? Castillo does have defensive coaching experience, but he hadn't been on the defensive side of the ball since 1989. Oh, and never on the NFL level. Anyway, the defense struggled from the get-go under Castillo, and never really got on its feet. This resulted in Reid having to fire his good friend in mid October of this season. Castillo was replaced by secondary coach Todd Bowles...and there still hasn't been really any improvement.
      At this point in the season, the team almost seems to have quit on Andy Reid. The last game they played against Washington was an embarrassment. Players forming cliques on the sidelines. Fighting with each other. Pointing fingers. Blowing assignments. They just seemed to play with no heart. Many people are saying he's lost the locker room. Reid doesn't have the control over this team that he normally wields.
     You have to wonder though if Andy's head is still, or if it ever was, completely in it this season. Just days before the Eagles' first pre-season game, Andy Reid's son Garrett was found dead in his room at Lehigh University. Personally, I couldn't imagine coaching a team after such a loss. Somehow, Andy mustered up the strength to come back and coach that first pre-season game. But you have to imagine at this point, maybe its weighing on him more than he let on in the early part of the season. It has to be. He seems to be lacking focus just like his players. Maybe he should've taken some time off. I've read a few articles suggesting he should have taken the entire year off. In any case, he didn't, and now on top of the tragedy that took place before the season, his job and lively hood will be in jeopardy come January.
     Some of you, such as myself, may feel bad for Andy Reid. On the other hand, some of you may say 'Well, too bad. You're contractually obligated to coach this team...and you chose not to take any time off.' Whatever side you're on, you still have to respect Reid's body of work at Philadelphia and the success he's had overall. Yeah, the end of his tenure isn't going to look pretty, but overall I'd say he had a damn good run. This coming from a Giants fan. That's gotta count for something.