Andy By The Numbers
Where Andy Reid stands in NFL coaching history -- on the front line or the sideline?
Andy By The Numbers
Bob Ford, Inquirer Sports Columnist
Just finished a column for Sunday's paper about the match-up with the Packers. Part of the story deals with the 12-year history of Andy Reid in the postseason and with his place in coaching history.
I'm going to post this to hopefully prevent some needless e-mail on Sunday morning from readers who -- not you guys, naturally, other guys -- don't necessarily read all that carefully.
There are a bunch of statistical points to be made about Reid's head coaching career, most of them positive, but there is also this, quoting one passage of the column:
"...Among coaches without a championship to their names, only two in the 90-year history of the league have won more overall games (regular season and postseason) than Reid while managing fewer trips to a title game, which means zero. If Marty Schottenheimer and Chuck Knox did the least with the most, Reid is in danger of being included in that conversation if his career drags on without a big trophy."
Stop, stop. Stop screaming about Jeff Fisher and Bud Grant and all those guys. Read the paragraph.
Let's start with Reid's record. He has 128 overall wins now. This season alone, he moved past Dick Vermeil, Mike Ditka, Jim Mora and George Allen, among others. Reid is now the 24th winningest coach in league history. (Good luck to anyone who wants to catch Don Shula and his 347 wins. Bill Belichick is highest active coach with 177.)
How many coaches on the list above Reid have never won a championship? Six. Schottenheimer, Dan Reeves, Knox, Grant, Marv Levy and Fisher.
How many NFL title games did each lead his team(s) to? Reeves (4), Grant (4), Levy (4), Fisher (1), Schottenheimer (0), Knox (0).
So, how many coaches without a championship have won more games than Reid, but advanced to fewer title games? Two. Schottenheimer and Knox.
The other numbers associated with Reid's success are obvious and the Eagles don't mind tell you about them. During his 12-year tenure, the Eagles have made the playoffs nine times, with only Indianapolis (11) doing better in that stretch. He's one of only 11 head coaches in NFL history to coach at least 200 games and have a better than .600 winning percentage.
The Eagles have been damn good nearly every season -- no one denies it -- but there is that big dusty spot in the trophy case.
All right. One more to chew on before Sunday, and I'd be lying if I said I knew what this means, or if it means anything.
Reid has earned a reputation as a great game-planning coach, someone who takes information and can form a strategy that will win you games. If there is criticism, it is usually about in-game decision making (run/pass ratio, time management, etc.).
That would indicate that the Eagles should do well when they play a team for a second (or third) time in a season, and the planning and adjustments have some real history on which to be built, and previous losses can be turned into wins -- hopefully. Such is the case Sunday when the Eagles play the Packers, who beat them in the opener.
Well, during Reid's tenure, the Eagles have met up in the playoffs against a team that beat them in their last (or only) meeting of that regular season.
It happened in the 2000 season vs. the Giants; in 2001 vs. the Rams; in 2006 vs the Saints; and in 2009 vs. the Cowboys. The Eagles record in those games: 0-4.
There have been a total of 12 postseason games under Reid in which the Eagles have played a team they met at least once in the regular season (win or lose). Their record in those games: 5-7.
Sunday is the 13th. Maybe it will be a lucky one.
win a stinkin' super bowl then worry about how his numbers compare the greats.— snakeplissken- Thanks for raining on my parade. One of the biggest arguments for getting rid of McNabb was to see if it was Reid or McNabb who couldn't come through in the clutch. I guess we'll see in the next few years.
Andy Reid is a very good coach who plans everything to the "T." I don't know if it's after the first 15 plays or a dubious call that inevitably happens in-game, though, Reid seems to have problems, especially with the clock. Something ALWAYS— kjuggs77- Instead of writing an entire article explaining one paragraph, you should have just edited the paragraph. And I think Reid’s biggest problem is consistency game-to-game.— BZI
It's funny how these stats work. They looks great until you look at how lonely you are WITHOUT the super bowl. But then if we win one or two in the next 5 years and suddenly he would have won enough games to be in consideration as one of the best of all time. PLEASE win one soon!!!
It was the lethal combination of McNabb and Reid that resulted in no SB wins. We have seen both make the most mind numbing decisions imaginable. A good part of Reid's success was due to Jimmy Johnson's schemes and Dawk keeping them in the game by stifling lesser talented teams. It is sad that Reid can claim to be one of the best Eagles coaches of all time and still not have a SB win. That is testimony to this franchise having the lamest coaches in the history in the game. We deserve better.
yea I agree eaglephanatic...guess who drafted Brian Dawkins ? NOT ANDY. IT was Ray rhodes. same with that pro-bowl middle linebacker Jeremiah trotter. Reid did not draft dawkins, trotter, bobby taylor, troy vincent , hugh douglas, and on and on...NONE OF THEM. He inherited alot of guys from Ray Rhodes and Jim Johnson coached them. You see how bad the defense has gotten with all-Reid picked teams. huge difference. The guy is over-rated and he throws it more then ANY COACH IN NFL HISTORY. that is why he has not won one even win one of the most dominant defenses of the time because 60-80% passing IS A STUPID IDEA THAT HAS NEVER WON A CHAMPIONSHIP IN ANY SEASON, IN ANY CITY, EVER. Until he is stripped of the playcalling and personnel decions he will NEVER WIN A SB. EVER.- Andy By the Numbers: zero.— Han Solo
- Folks, we're not going to the Super Bowl. And if we should somehow stumble into it, we're not beating the Patriots. We have a subpar defense and our QB, as exciting as he can be, is hurt and has been shown the past few weeks as being confused against alternating blitzes. I'm not positive that the Pack will beat us; we're at home, and Rodgers is banged up too. But we're not going all the way. Hey, Andy, Marv Levy went to the Hall of Fame anyway. Maybe you can join him in the wannabe wing. Or, else, we can rebuild what used to be a powerful defense and try again next year.— eman
- Reid will bring a superbowl here. this team for the next 4-5 years is going to be very salty. They have just about everything in place to have a great run.
— stewartIV - ...arrrgh
- Reid will never win anything, even if he coaches 20 more years, he
CAN'T ADJUST DURING GAMES! If you can't adjust, you usually go home from the playoffs, like Reid has every year, title-less. You can't compare Reid to Levy or Bud Grant. Grant lost to Miami, Pittsburgh and Okland arguably 3 of the best AFC teams of the decade. Levy should of beat the Giants, if not for a Scott Norwood choke, and he
went against the team of the decade in the 90s (Dallas) twice. While Reid lost to Tampa, Carolina, Rams, and Arizona, favored against all except the Rams, and of course the Superbowl loss to NE. I would group him where he belongs with Marty and Knox, "just good enough to lose."— mikey48 - Andy Reid is definitely a good coach. You can't take that away from him. If he were to ever leave the Eagles he would not have a problem getting another head coaching job. You can not have as many wins as he does in the NFL and not be a good coach. You just cant. Not over 12 years. The NFL is the NFL: professional football at the highest level.
That being said, one of his achilles' heels is in-game adjustments. I think this is a microcosm of Andy Reid's career here in Philly and will probably result in him never leading the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory.
He needs to take a step back, maybe a year or two off. Look at things without being the coach. I don't think he's ever adapted here as coach. He finds stop-gaps and and had a great defensive coordinator to prevent losing seasons, but I don't think he's made the adjustments season to season that can lead to a SB. Maybe pressure gets to him. It would make sense that he's better at gameplanning with more time to prepare. Bill Belichick went 5 or so years between head coaching stints- learned alot between those stints- and has been one of the best since 2000. Maybe Andy Reid could do the same. Will it happen? Probably not. So don't be surprised if he keeps repeating the close but no cigar routine for a long time to come.
— DegoPower - I agree with your closing of "close but no cigar." The reason we are close is Vick. No cigar because the rest of the WHOLE team (excluding the "skill" group) is mostly below NFL-average. We will not acquire enough high draft picks to fix the "D". We MIGHT fix the O-Line though. If....IF....that happens we might get to the Conference Championship game next year...with Vick OR Kolb. But still no Supe without some more studs on "D". — TBear
- Good article Bob! It certainly shows there's two sides to the statistics to all those Reid supporters that constantly bring them up. Unfotunately Reid values loyalty with no dissention over talent, that's why he has M.M. and S.M. as his coordinators. We all know how this will end folks. I wish I was wrong!
- in the last 9 years there have been 9 different NFC Champions - if GB or Atlanta win this year make it 10 - big deal - Andy has won the 16-team conference once in 12 years - so what - the NFC is horrible— jhjack
- What did everyone expect before the season, a "rebuilding year". What happened, division title and playoffs. Cmon, give Reid his due, he made the right choice on mcnabb, he (last year) brought in vick and coached him to the another level and took a young team this year, had alot of injuries and still made the playoffs. Reid is a very good coach and will win a superbowl in the next few years.— stewartIV
- Reid made the "right choice" 5 years too late. By that time. a majority of the fan base was screaming for McNabb's ouster. In that time, he could have developed and evaluated Kolb, his de facto first round pick. "The next few years" does not make up for the squandered opportunities as the past 12 years, nor will Reid and his results change.
- Ok playing my usual role of keeping it real...to the charge that AR is terrible at game time adjustments...can any of you haters explain how we have outscored opponents in the 4th Quarter 4:1 ??? If any stat is a testament to how a team adjusts, that has to be it. Just goes to show how your emotion clouds your logic.
- umm, yea its called Mike Vick Scrambling for 80 yards in the 4th quarter, compeltely disregarding Andy and Martys horrible play calls. what an accomplishment. And no , andy will not win one in the next few years, not any year, NEVER. He had the most dominant D in the league for 3 or 4 years, had the perfect opportunity, home championship games and a #1 or #2 seed from playing a crappy division and HE STILL COULDNT GET IT DONE. McNabb in his prime too. Reason why ? BECAUSE 60-80% HAS NEVER WON A CHAMPIONSHIP FOR ANY TEAM, IN ANY CITY, EVER. BECAUSE ITS STUPIDITY. REID WILL NEVER WIN THE SB IF HE IS IN ANY WAY IN CHARGE OF THE PLAYCALLING. IT WILL NOT HAPPEN.
- Recently I took a trip to Alaska. I was really looking forward to seeing the symbol of this great land, and of my beloved NFL team, live and "up close and personal." Well, I saw plenty of these majestic creatures. Beautiful to behold. But when one was really close by and let out a squawk, I was aghast. What is wrong with that eagle, I asked? Oh, that's just the way they sound, I was told. A pitiful, high pitched screech. I was expecting a fearsome CAW like a falcon or hawk. What I heard was a grating eeyawckgh. Funny how all my life I saw footage of these noble-looking creatures in savings bond ads and gov't propaganda etc., but never once in my life did they let me hear the true nature of their call.— perkele
- HeyCharlie garnet, I agree with you in the fact that when Reid took over the didn't have any talent Rhodes drafted just about all his best players. I have been saying this for years. Even look at the O line , Thomas and Mayberry were All -Pro's. Runyon came here with Reid, but thats when they had Modrak as the GM, so I believe Modrak was responsible for that move.— watsonmr
- Andy Reid---the 'Bobby Cox' of football----minus one Brave's championship in the mid-90s.— Romus
- Dallas-5
New York-3
Washington-3
Eagles-ZERO----sums it up.— Romus - Romus, you are obviously unaware that te NFL has had a champion every year since it started. That would give the city 4 NFL titles, 3 for the Eagles and one for the Frankford Yellow Jackets. Has it been awhile, yes it has. I imagine your stupidity will last just as long, or possibly longer.
- Right from the beginning a large number of so called fans have posted their negative comments on these boards. "This team won't win 5, 6, 7 games" and so forth. They did win 10 and the NFC East. They now have a well rested team and home field advantage this week. I think they will host New Orleans at the Linc for the NFC Championship. Once again, you read it here first!
- uhh, the saints just lost. to a 7-9 team that actually called a balanced game plan, fed the rock to a power rusher in marshawn lynch, and a losing team beat the defending champs. The saints running backs were all injured this year, so they had no run game, became one dimensional and threw it like 75% of the time..60 pass attempts for bress and only 22 rush plays. AND THEY LOSE. last year they ran it a decent amount and had a balanced 56/44...and beat the unbalanced colts who were 63/37. This year they go 75/25 and LOSE. UNBALANCED PLAYCALLING no matter how good your QB, payton manning, drew brees, Vick, Brady, it doesnt matter. IT DOES NOT WIN SUPERBOWLS. Bellichek mixes running plays in at around 55/45 and has won 3 superbowls..if he was stupid and forced Brady to throw it like 80% they would have LOST like Reid does EVERY YEAR.
- I love the Eagles, and yes, Andy is a winning coach, BUT these guys out here are right... too much passing is a losing combination, weak D or strong D. I hope we do win it all this year, but if we do, it will be solely because of Vick, period, and most likely if can break free and run. Other than that, it always has been and always will be a strong running game and solid D that wins championships, because it removes a lot of the variables. I'm not saying you don't have to have a decent passing game, you do, but you must be able to pound the ball and play D. Imagine how good Vick would be if, besides McCoy, we had a couple horses smashing the ball into the other D for the first half of each game. Our offensive linemen would really get into the game, and it wears down the other D while keeping them off balance. It is the only way to open up the big play consistently. Other than that, it's a gamble every game. And along with 4 light-n-quicks on D, can we at least 4 super-heavy-n-somewhat-quicks ? We need a front four that can get there, at least with only one other blitzer. The light-n-quicks are great for 8 games, and it's not their fault, but they get worn down after 16.— landt
- Way to polarize the fan base Bob. AGAIN. Like shootin' fish in a barrel.— vafan
- There are three MAJOR differences between our Iggles and the Patriots: 1) Bilicheck is better than our Andy. 2)Pats stumbled into a freaking Gold Mine with a fifth round pick named Brady.(He woulda been cannon fodder if their stating Qb didn't get hurt!) 3) SOMEHOW, the Pats acquire high round draft picks to keep their engine humming! We do NOT. Good Lord, the ONLY above NFL-average group we have is our skill guys! Three fifths of our present starting O-Line might not even be the #2 guys on another team! Our defense right now has FOUR starters out because of injury! And they weren't that good WITH them. You will not win playoff games with a sub-standard Defense in this League!..Just ask the Saints! While I am certainly an old-line pessimist about our team, I have every damn HOPE in the world that they pull off a win today!....FLY IGGLES FLY!!!— TBear
