Irreconcilable Weaknesses

This is why the Eagles should fire Andy Reid.

by Brian Hickey

If you were to say Andy Reid is the best head coach in Philadelphia Eagles history, I wouldn't put up much of an argument.

And if you were to maintain that Andy Reid is coming off what was unquestionably his finest season, I'd be down with that.

But if you're going to take up the cause that Andy Reid should still be in charge when the 2007-8 season kicks off in September, well, that's where we'll part ways. Because — and it can't be stated more clearly — Andy Reid should be relieved of his sideline duties. No more extenuating circumstances. No more excuses. Fire him immediately, Mr. Lurie. It brings me no great pleasure to say this. In fact, it brings less pleasure than was delivered Saturday night as I wore a path in the sidewalk, pacing, muttering about the fix having been in, wondering why the football gods had again forsaken us.

By the end of the weekend, I'd been through the stages:

Denying that the season ended in such abrupt fashion.

Directing venomous anger toward the referees, who ensured that the powers that be got the feel-good, made-for-big-ratings Saints-run-to-the-Bowl that America wanted.

Trying to make a karmic deal that would ensure a parade at the end of next season.

Wallowing in a sort-of depression that made it impossible to watch the early Sunday game and all but the fourth quarter of the late tilt.

Yet acceptance still hasn't been found. And it's not going to arrive anytime soon. For, at the end of the day, it's impossible to deny that, again, our head coach's inability to thrive when the pressure's hottest cost the Philadelphia Eagles a legitimate shot at the Lombardi Trophy. That can't be permitted to happen again. You know, fool us thrice.

Let's go back to 1999, the season Big Red arrived. Aside from the TO-imploded season of 2005, it would be the last time the team finished with less than 10 wins. Impressive by any statistical standard. But what's notable about the start of the Reid regime isn't that he ignored the fans' cries and stuck to his draft-McNabb guns, but the rationale upon which he was hired.

By toting crates of playbook binders to his interview, we were led to believe he was the most organized, well-thought coach on the market; his reputation was staked on having done enough research to handle any situation. Though they went 5-11 that season, Reid's binders lifted a moribund franchise out of the cellar and earned it playoff victories in all but one subsequent season.

This is why it's fair to argue that he's the best coach in Eagles history. But roll that phrase around for a minute and the irony becomes apparent: Since the Eagles have never won a Super Bowl, it's not as if he's besting any legends. And, in this particular city, during this particular sporting-championship drought, what Reid's accomplished isn't enough.

By coughing up Super Bowl XXXIX because he couldn't manage the clock — a prerequisite for Pop Warner-level coaches, even if their quarterback has an upset tummy — and, instead of taking an admittedly long shot to win Saturday night, handing the game to the Saints like a horny frat boy dispenses beads in the French Quarter, he's earned two season-ending strikes. Know any Eagles fans who can take a third? Didn't think so. And therein lies the problem: Has Andy Reid proven that he'll ever thrive on the biggest stage in his sport? I wish the answer was yes.

Now, Reid apologists maintain that going on fourth-and-15 was a dicey proposition at best. That the team overachieved to even get this far. And that if not for an injury to offensive lineman Shawn Andrews and a flu bug swirling in Brian Dawkins' stomach — two developments that have me convinced some voodoo was involved — they'd have won.

Maybe. Maybe not.

But what's certain is this: After the game, Reid, asked about the Punt that Will Live in Infamy, said, "I guess maybe we should have [gone for it], because we didn't get the ball back. I figured they would run the football and we might be able to stop them and get the football back."

Having faith in his players to perform earns Reid some respect, to be sure. (And they deserve some in return for not ripping his decision.) But even if you ignore the fact that anybody from the Superdome to a Fairmount taproom knew the D wasn't up to the challenge, what Reid said the following day was the final straw. Paraphrased: The team's playbook didn't offer many options for the situation they were in. This, after a fourth-and-26 miracle that will forever live in Eagles' playoff lore. And this, after he'd convinced an NFL team that they were hiring a coach who'd be prepared for every situation imaginable. Well, he wasn't.

So it's time, Mr. Lurie, to thank Reid for everything he's done for this franchise — maybe even retain him as general manager — and hire a coach who can instill a championship swagger rather than make us wonder how your team will choke next.

(hickey@citypaper.net)