For Eagles, Now What?
The Philadelphia Daily News - Eagletarian
For Eagles, Now What?
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
So, here we are, 8-8, season over. What now?
It’s interesting that Eagles players, most of whom held forth at length after Sunday’s season-ending 34-10 victory over the Redskins, are scheduled to talk again Monday, as they clean out their lockers, and that nothing else is firm. A team spokesman said Eagles chairman Jeffrey Lurie will speak later in the week – it’s unusual for there to be a formal Lurie address at the end of the season – and then head coach Andy Reid will speak sometime after that.
I know the Eagles wanted to avoid a repeat of last year’s debacle, when Reid spoke the day after the season ended and strongly endorsed defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, only to show McDermott the door – he finessed McDermott’s departure for Carolina – later in the week.
But I think if everybody’s back and nothing is changing, you don’t build up suspense for that. For that, you have Lurie or maybe team president Joe Banner available in the postgame locker room Sunday, even if just on background, and you make sure that message gets out, with the appropriate organizational spin. This sounds more like a pending organizational announcement.
If Reid is leaving, a lot of players are going to be really, really shocked. But it wouldn’t be at all shocking if the Eagles decide not to put a happy face on Juan Castillo’s year as defensive coordinator, even after allowing just 46 points over the final four games.
Castillo was not available to talk to reporters after the game, which seemed significant.
Reporters, even some of the ones who thought they knew Reid pretty well, were surprised by the tone the coach took after the game. “Snotty” would not be an overstatement. You figure, you miss the playoffs despite a truckload of talent, show enough down the stretch to make it clear you had the horses but just ran a bad race, maybe at the end you’re contrite or apologetic or at least humble.
Reid seemed quite ticked that reporters wanted him to talk about the season, instead of about Chad Hall’s touchdown catch, or whatever.
A bland question from your Eagletarian, asking Reid why he thought the Eagles missed the playoffs, elicited this response, delivered with a smirk: “Well, we’re 8-8, and the other teams, they weren’t. They had better records, so they made it.”
Reid said he had no answer about his future because he hadn’t thought about it yet. He was asked if he thought he deserved to be back, and when he wouldn’t answer that, he was asked if he wanted to be back. Reid chose to pretend he had been asked the same question twice and chided the reporter who asked the second question, instead of answering it.
“I’ll think about it when I want to think about it,” Reid said, when pressed for a timeframe.
Other uncertanties loom:
*Offensive tackle Todd Herremans said he has spoken with 69-year-old offensive line coach Howard Mudd, and Herremans said Mudd intends to return.
*Cornerback Asante Samuel didn’t play in the finale because of a hamstring injury. Samuel was not available in the postgame locker room. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie played in Samuel’s spot against the Redskins and did well, tipping a Rex Grossman pass to Nate Allen for an interception. The Eagles might trade Samuel in the offseason to clean up their corner situation.
*Wideout DeSean Jackson was conciliatory after the game; for the first time in a while, it seemed like Jackson really wanted to stay with the Eagles. Asked if being franchised for next season would be all right with him, Jackson said: “Why wouldn’t it be?”
If the Eagles don’t franchise Jackson, he could leave as an unrestricted free agent.
“I think I’ve learned a lot about how this is a business, and professionally, how to come to work and not let things affect me,” said Jackson, whose 62-yard touchdown catch against the Redskins was the Eagles’ longest TD catch of the seasson. “I can admit to certain things affecting me during the season. I just want to apologize. I could have handled things a little differently.
“Now, sitting here after the season is over, I can sit here and say I was able to to put things behind me (eventually) and fight for my teammates and this organization. I know that something good will come out of this situation. I was able to get to that and move forward. We’ll see how it plays out.”
*Running back LeSean McCoy finished with the same total he had when the day began, 1,309 yards, fifth-best on the franchise’s alltime list. McCoy’s bid for the NFL rushing title officially ended when he was deactivated with a sprained ankle, after telling reporters he was going to play. (And after Reid said on Friday that McCoy should be able to play.) Reid said after the game that trainers were not able to get the ankle to the point where McCoy could cut.
Reporters gathered around McCoy’s locker stall for an explanation after the game, but they didn’t get one.
“I just told you – you didn’t hear me? I just told you I didn’t play today, so I don’t have anything to say,” McCoy said, while an Eagles spokesman affirmed McCoy’s right not to talk to reporters because he was “an injured player.”
McCoy seemed no more injured than he’d been on Friday, when he held forth about how important it was for the Eagles to go out and finish as a team against the Redskins, McCoy included.
McCoy’s insistence on not talking Sunday was strange, puzzling and frustrating for anyone seeking answers. But those adjectives applied equally well to the Eagles’ season.
People who think Reid is going anywhere need to have their heads examined. If you want him gone you are an idiot too. Overall 3rd in Offense and 8th in defense. They don't turn the ball over we win the division going away. Eagles will be one of the NFC favorites to go to the Super Bowl next year. That is with Big Red!— Philly Squid- People who think Reid is going anywhere need to have their heads examined. If you want him gone you are an idiot too. Overall 3rd in Offense and 8th in defense. They don't turn the ball over we win the division going away. Eagles will be one of the NFC favorites to go to the Super Bowl next year. That is with Big Red!— Philly Squid
- People who think Reid is going anywhere need to have their heads examined. If you want him gone you are an idiot too. Overall 3rd in Offense and 8th in defense. They don't turn the ball over we win the division going away. Eagles will be one of the NFC favorites to go to the Super Bowl next year. That is with Big Red!— Philly Squid
- The Eagles should fire Les Bowen.— thefadd
- Quixote -- the amount of time you spend critiquing writers on here is laughable. Les Bowen is awesome and his tweets show he's a real dude with a sense of humor. Why do you even read the articles if 7 out of 10 are going to be, in your opinion, of subpar quality? I wish I had as much free time to tear into sports writers with as much gusto and frequency as you.
— Matt321 
Comment removed.- Reid goes out in a blaze of arrogance. What an A-hole. All year, the fans have suffered his abusive, conceit, waiting for him to show some contrition, some kind of remorse for the disaster of a season. He's so obnoxious, he can't even fake it. Sounds just like another A-hole, Ray Handley, when he completely ruined a Giants season years ago. He was gone within the week. Guess what, Andy? We'll think about you continuing as our head coach when we want to think about you continuing. In the interim, don't let the door hit you in your big posterior on the way out. A-hole.— farside37
- The season is over, thank God. I am going to bury it and forget it until the preseason. Maybe by then we will have a new coach, a new quarterrback and all new assistants.— mario1239
- SNOTTY??? What on earth do you people smoke before you go to these press conferences? Reid was doing his best to treat you with an undeserved level of respect, delivering answers as best he could, even if you repeatedly asked unanswerable questions. "Does the glass feel half OPEN or half full right now?" What?
This town deserves better sports writers.— croozn - Gentlemen Andy acted at his press conference as always....who cares? I am sure we will finish Andys contract here as the team is making money and it is, after all a business. I would like to see MeSean locked in but that wont happen, with out luck theyll trade him to the redskins. I dont want to hate but it would sure be nice to have at
Least a chance at theLombardi trophy someday. I just dont think Andy has the tools to get us there.— joeyrofrano - AN EAGLES LAMENT:
Red is the color
Of opportunity lost
Over the fence of time.
— portmatilda - Quixote: Please go comment somewhere else. Are you related to Andy Reid? The man has fully earned whatever contempt the writers choose to express about him.— Dave Clemens
- If Les Bowens and other writers in Philly don't get Pulitzers, Ohio State Awards and other journalism prizes every year should they be fired too? The opinion sports writing masqueraded as NEWS by this paper is criminal. Every team has good and bad years. The way these idiots spin it, every coach not in the SB should be fired. Eagles will be fine if biased writers are fired and cannot mislead fans with BS stories.— allworld2
- It's a shame how many of the "fans" in this blog don't seem to get it at all. One says that nothing needs to be done with the team and another says Andy Reid is, essentially, the best thing since sliced bread. So let's review - no championship in 13 years under Reid. Andy still gets outcoached on a regular basis. Andy had to have players like Mike Vick - a convicted criminal with no business in any franchise, a guy who won't last long taking all the hits he takes, and a guy who had a sub-par season. Andy promoted Juan Castillo to a job he obviously wasn't ready for, apparently not because Andy was thinking about the team but because Andy wanted to be loyal to Castillo. Final point - Andy was an unknown quantity, relative to a head coaching job, when he was brought here; it's pretty certain there is other untapped talent out there and bringing in someone who will actually not be a SNOT at his press conference, by itself, will be refreshing.
Folks want to make a big deal out of the fact that the Eagles won their last four games. Let's see, weren't they all against losing teams? I'm pretty sure that Andy's comment, after the Redskins game, about this team playing good football and able to beat anyone, was met with laughter in Atlanta, New Orleans, New England, Pittsburgh, and other places where there actually are good teams. This team is BAAD and it showed all season long. They're poorly coached and took bad and unexplainable penalties that hurt them. But some of you folks just plain won't admit that, apparently because you either have no football sense or because you're just too proud to admit the truth.— ratterman - right on ratterman, people dont get of what it takes to win a superbowl, all the other coaches are winning more sbs less than ten years on their team and reid is just a lame duck. i dont care if spags becomes the new head coach on this team, we have talent on this team, we dont need high powered coaches, we just want a coach that will plug in the right holes in this team, running the ball and win.— lonewolf83
