Reid Denies He Was Willing to Walk
The Philadelphia Daily News - Eagletarian
Reid Denies He Was Willing to Walk
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
Just when things semed to be settling down in the land of the Eagles comes today's NFL notes column by the Los Angeles Times' Sam Farmer. Fifth item down is a bit of news that ought to keep local radio talk show hosts chattering for a while. Farmer cites two league sources as telling him that Eagles coach Andy Reid was ready to "walk away" from the team if he didn't get more personnel control this offseason. Farmer says Reid got what he wanted, and then he lists the Birds' moves so far. The implication is that some of the moves, like the re-signings of DeSean Jackson, Todd Herremans, Evan Mathis and Trent Cole are examples of Andy stepping in and taking care of his guys.
"As far as personnel control, I have had final say on personnel matters for quite some time here, and that's never been an issue or a point of contention," Reid said today in a statement released by the team, in response to the LA Times piece. "Our front office works very well together and that's one of our strengths."
Farmer also said Reid was willing to look into Peyton Manning when Manning hit the market, but as we know, Manning didn't want to play for a division rival of his borther Eli. That's not too shocking; you have to look into possible Hall of Fame QBs when they become available, whether you really see yourself acquiring them or not.
"We look into everything, as all teams do," Reid said in the statement. "And I have the highest regard for Peyton Manning. But as I said publicly last month, that wasn't the direction we were heading in. Michael (Vick) is our guy."
What to make of this? First off, Sam Farmer is a fine, trustworthy reporter. If he says two people told him this, they did. Did those two people really know what they were talking about? A tougher call, since we don't know anything about them.
We're further handicapped by the fact that the Eagles' front office hierarchy is anything but transparent. Officially, as was noted in the statement, Reid already had dominion over personnel; general manager Howie Roseman and team president Joe Banner are always careful to maintain that Reid has final say over moves. In recent years, the truth of this has been less than clear. Scuttlebutt has held that Reid ceded some control to Banner and Roseman back when he took that sabbatical to deal with his sons' legal problems in 2007, and the landscape was permanently changed.
As far as the statement, I wasn't really expecting, "yeah, that's exactly what's happened." Here is what I do know: I've perceived a bit of Banner-Reid friction ever since Banner's comments after the 2010 season about Reid needing to win the Super Bowl to get another contract, to replace the one that now has two years left. I interviewed Reid's agent, Bob LaMonte, last August for a story about the pressure facing the coach. LaMonte really, really didn't like Banner's implication. In fact, he said he felt the next move for Reid would be to add a title like "team president." That would be Banner's title.
But it also needs to be said that while Roseman and Reid have been in the spotlight, and Banner has kept an extremely low public profile lately, Reid has given no hint of dissatisfaction with anything, on or off the record, at least to us locals.
Not sure we're ever going to know the whole truth here, but it's interesting to try to read the tea leaves.
McNabb is our guy.
Kolb is our guy.
conVicktim is...
Not be fillin' him no more?— autolykos- Can't say it any better than dragoon6! Reid can never tell the truth!— younged
- Whether you support Reid or not, he's unquestionably a better judge of talent that Banner and Howie. I'm not saying Reid is great, I'm saying he's better than those two. So, if I'm him -- I'd demand control from those guys too. And, of course he looked into Manning. I mean, he looked into Vick, so if that's the case, he definitely looked into Manning. I think these stories are going to pop up until Reid gets an extension on his deal.— CMattyG
If this story is true and Reid considered dumping Vick for Manning then one would have to conclude that Reid is not entirely happy with Vick. So what it is that Reid would see in Manning that he don't see in Vick. Likely Brains, accuracy, and clutch ability. Naw, that would be too obvious for Reid to see.— Kioto- "I have had final say on personnel matters for quite some time here"
Not sure that's a good thing to say publicly.— Bruce87036 - yawn!!!a nothing report about nothing..— jabac
- Pee Wee Roseman, Joey Nickels, Gold Standard, Dream Team....times yours. What possibly could go wrong with this organization?— kelprod2
- PeeWee, Nickels, Gold Standard, and Dream Team. Hahahaha, hilarious, very original. Keep up the good work, we all look forward to your next post.
— DixonBunz - What's a "borther"?— The Dude Abides
- Los Angeles Times has a football reporter? How bored must he be?— Only in Philly...
- what a stupid article— phillynupe4
- The problem with reporters is that they think that the Eagles FO would act like a bunch of unprofessional morons because that's what they would do ( See McLane vs Bowen). Whether you like the job they do or not ( and fans would be quite justified in saying'not') ; they work professionally, make decisions by consensus, and they live with the consequences, with nobody blaming anyone else, and with Reid volunteering to take the blame for everything.— drbob1
- Whatever. The Eagles currently have more talent on their team than any teamm in the NFL. That was true last year as well. That's true this year. Something behind the scenes has changed? No impact on anything. We could use a safety and linebacker. That's it. Under the cap. Didn't need to dump contracts like Houston. Whatever they are doing, keep doing it.— MikeP
- Define talent. Use stats to back up your argument, not just abstract thoughts that pop into your head. — DixonBunz
