Players feel sad and guilty
Eagles players react to Reid's firing
Players feel sad and guilty
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
Cullen Jenkins could just shake his head and say, "He took all of the heat for all of our failures on the field."
And so it went, on the day Eagles fired coach Andy Reid.
The press was allowed into the NovaCare Complex at 11 am, an hour after Reid addressed the team following his firing. Several players said the team gave Reid a standing ovation when he was finished talking. Then, the ritual collection of belongings in trash bags began. Most of the players were gone by the time reporters entered the locker room.
For those who were there, several feelings were common and pervasive: regret, disappointment, sadness for Reid, guilt at the part that they played in his demise. But, as safety Kurt Coleman said, "I can't say I feel guilty because I gave everything I had on every play. But, as a player, do I feel I had a hand in it? Absolutely."
"He's meant so much to us," said rookie quarterback Nick Foles. "He's been our leader. He's been our rock. It's tough on the players. It's just one of those days, a tough day."
When asked about the final team meeting, running back LeSean McCoy said, "He had a lot of relationships with a lot of different players. It was definitely emotional, for me as well. The whole meeting was...We just felt his pain. Being in a place for so long, and being so successful..."
This firing was hardly unexpected. As the weeks rolled on, and the losses mounted, it was impossible for the players not to contemplate this day. Still, well..
I was hoping for the best," wide receiver Jeremy Maclin said, on a day that was the worst for the people in the Eagles' locker room.
Comments (53)
Coach Reid lost hindsight with the hiring of the coaching staff over the past 2 1/2 years. After Jimmy Johnson passed it was all downhill.
Since Reid's tenure many of his assistants went to other organizations in the NFL by promotions due to their skills and knowledge; and became very successful. All and all the problem with the two sons and one of them passing also must have taken away Andy's full concentration, not his commitment. Thanks for all the good years; it's a shame we got so close to a Super Bowl win and didn't get it. You, that team, and the fans of Philly deserved one. Good luck in the future Andy; I am certain you'll do well. The team members who say they put it all out on the line every game are only kidding themselves - if their sincere they belong somewhere else not in the NFL. It was evident this season who did their job only sometimes and every diehard fan knows who they are.
86 the losers; don't give them another chance to embarrass the city of Philadelphia. Until next year - GO EAGLES !— lionhead4- What a bunch of phonies crying crocodile tears. It was long past time for a new coach, but most of this group of loser mercenaries quit weeks ago, they showed no respect whatsoever for Andy. The gall of them to pretend they cared about Andy when the whole world saw them quit and they put no effort in whatsoever. 3/4 of this team needs to be gone...— Jangocat
- Note to players - had you played up to your preseason hype Andy might still be there with you and this team might be in the playoffs.— realtruth
what do you think howie baby learned if anything from andy reid?i know,iknow.when the new coach comes in and it starts off bad it'll be I've got to put my coach in a better position to put his players in a better position to succeed.- Keep the top 10 and sell the rest! Bye Marty!— NC Eagle Fan
- Anyone who give 14 years of his life to a town deserves respect. When all the injured players come back and all the bums are fired, the next coach will get to the playoffs at once.— BigMike100
- Hey 4in5out7gone you embody the definition of a dope. The whole team quit! Coach killer??? Save us all the time and just say you think Mike Vick got Reid fired. First, while he did have a hand in the matter, don't absolve Nhamdi, DRC, Babin, Cole, Coleman, Allen, Dunlap, Bell and Celek. It was a collective quit job yesterday. Go back and watch all the games and you will see the guys who quit. Afterwards, come back and post something intelligent for us to comment on.— PSU_Chuck
- So simple based on what we saw- When the center (the second Jason on the o-line) went down, the playmakers started getting busted up, one after the other.
The defense has lost every 4th lead game for TWO years , mainly on failed pass coverage.— saunhi - Reid was not running the ship in 10 and 11. JB and HR were making key decisions. AR will be a winner long before the Birds are again. JL can talk about HR's abilities as much as he wants, the truth is apparent for all to see. In 3 years, the Birds will have no one who can play and then we'll be back to square one. JL should sell the team and free the hostages (eagle fans).— casehop
I do not care what anyone has to say until around draft time. A new coach is a good start, but an O-line and D-line are the essential backbone of the great teams. Then add another QB and some young killers at line backer, as the rest of the team played to somewhat professional caliber.— Eagle1Vegas- This is a team full of me first players, Lesean McCoy is the only player that i can think of that doesn't fit that mold. These are really tough players to like. I like Coleman for his attitude, it is too bad he doesn't have the skill.— yourdaddy!
- the players are sad because the majority of the them dont have the talent to make any other team.r4eid let alot of non nfl players make an earning; chad hall,reno maheand let a lot of nfl leave the eagle and have decent careers;bobby williams .],derrick burgess,austin howard,sheldon brown,winston justice ,mike mcglnn,aj shipley just because he couldnt judge talent. all is not lost. anyone who knows about football know you tend to play like your coach and thats why the eagles players play with no emotion no sense of urgency,false of security,unreal preceptions of themselves, all the things that reid was.this is why after every loss all of the players to a man would say i have to look at the film to see why we lost instead of realizes that the game is played on the field! i dont care who the next coach is just as long they dont bring the traits that reid brought ie...im smarter then everyone else and i think im better than really am.times ours!— swgaston
- Sorry about the three-peat, everyone. My bad.— Scorekeeper
- Coleman get his all every play? if that is really true he should be the first contract thrown in the trash this afternoon. Guy was a huge part of why this Defense got torched EVERY WEEK!— FROM THE BEACH
- Andy is a smart man who made big mistakes. When smart men make such big mistakes, they learn from them. Andy will go somewhere else and do very well. He could even win it all one day.It wasn't going to happen here. He needs a clean slate. He'll get it.— Scorekeeper
- Andy is a smart man who made big mistakes. When smart men make such big mistakes, they learn from them. Andy will go somewhere else and do very well. He could even win it all one day.It wasn't going to happen here. He needs a clean slate. He'll get it. (HTML deleted)— Scorekeeper
- Andy is a smart man who made big mistakes. When smart men make such big mistakes, they learn from them. Andy will go somewhere else and do very well. He could even win it all one day.
It wasn't going to happen here. He needs a clean slate. He'll get it.— Scorekeeper - You think they are sad here. In Chicago several players want to leave football over Lovie Smith firing.— Drew777
- You think they are sad here. In Chicago several players want to leave football over Lovie Smith firing.— Drew777
- the players are sad because half them would not have made past the second game in preseason if they played for another coach.reid let a lot of non-nflQ— swgaston
- AR thanks for the high points, dedication and 130 wins. The next coach really has his hands full with a roster where starters are on the way down at some spots, very young at others or not talented enough. Aso, DRC did not buy in. There are other strategic decisions. In a league where small receivers and DBs are out and big is in, where tackling from the LBs with speed is a necessity and heart, discipline, toughness and above all smarts are needed this is a very thin roster indeed.— oldBird
- Is Nnambi still on the team? If he is it's a crying shame!— vietnamvet
- The film doesn't lie. Namdi and Cromartie are low effort frauds. Start over in the secondary. Don't keep 1 single player who dogged 1 play.— mlogan49
- This is what happens when a coach will not change his ways! HIS TEAM QUIT ON HIM!— lost eagle
- This is what happens when a coach will not change his ways! HIS TEAM QUIT ON HIM!— lost eagle
- This is what happens when a coach will not change his ways! HIS TEAM QUIT ON HIM!— lost eagle
- This is what happens when a coach will not change his ways! HIS TEAM QUIT ON HIM!— lost eagle
- The coach killer strikes again. Who will be the next dumb arse coach to put his job on the line with the coach killer. Probably Rex Ryan.— 4in5out7gone
- Good for you Andy - get out of this butthole town and find a nice place in the sun somewhere where they might appreciate your talents. Try going back to the days when you used to pick "character guys" instead of the buttheads you've left behind for the next sucker who takes this job and tries to win in philly.....— bigdaddyG
- Andy Reid will be the next ex-Eagle that does better elsewhere. How come he wasn't that good when he was here? He was. You were just too stupid to understand what was going on.— MikeP
- Hey Foles, you need a better "rock!" And in another town.— peacefrog33756
- Now the hard part...actually rebuilding the team, and especially the defense, from the ground up. Whoever steps into this job is looking at a three to four year rebuilding period, easy.— jstgator
- I'm sure I'm in the minority here, but I don't think Andy Reid is a coach who will have success elsewhere, if success is defined as winning the Superbowl. And really, what other measure of success is there? Andy's shortcomings as a game day coach, clock management being the most glaring, will always keep him from winning the Superbowl. There are too many fundamental decisions that he gets wrong throughout a game; decisions that many of us can make and get right most of the time. He is consistently outcoached in big games. Being outcoached once in a while is understandable, but it's been 14 years of the same mistakes over and over again. At some point one would think you could learn. Andy never could. I honestly don't get the fascination with him. This is completely unsolicited, but I would offer this advice to Andy; take a year off, coach vicariously by watching a lot of football, and play a lot of chess.— ProudKenso
- f the players cared they would have played harder...plain and simple...talk is cheap. Andy made a laundry list of bad moves started with letting Dawkins go...then letting a horrible QB come onto the team with a bad attitude and work ethic.....Washburn, Babin, Juan, Mudd...burned time outs....run/pass ratio...and his love of Marty. BEAT IT!!! Take your act somewhere else.
— RealizticFan - Please,I watche these bums in Florida all season, start now and get rid of the G.M and how do you spell Osenwaun and Crowmartie both do not know how to tackle or play their position. I could not believe these guys are pro players, To much money and no performance, blow the team up and start over, Laurie sell the team back to the car dealer because you don't belong in the football business.— Dick Faunce
- Many of teh current players are simply dogs. Besides being vastly overrated by temselves and some of the media, this team didn't even live up to the expectations of a mediocre team, let alone one that was supposedly a conference contender. It was time for Reid to move on for many reasons, but this current group was one of the biggest gathering of malcontents and underperformers not see here in decades!— hvitoloco
- Their words ring pretty hollow to me. I will say Vick (as much as I am glad to be rid of him as our starter) gave it 110% every time he was on the field, regardless of whatever motivation or performance he had. McCoy, same thing. Evan Mathis showed what a character guy he is as well, pushing through when every one of his linemates went down or sucked. I hope the cut list goes like this: Vick (for financial reasons),then I hope Asomough and King Dunlap are out of here on the first thing smoking. Demeco Ryans is the only defender who I legitimately felt bad for...he deserves better than this garbage. I'm definitely not sad...very optimistic for the future and the housecleaning coming up!— kjuggs77
- They really did suck. Played horrible. Haven't seen them look this bad since the Roman Gabriel days! But at least they won 5 games!— phillynupe4
- No comments from Vick?— newzeegal
- vick did comment and he looked like he was about to cry and sounded like he wanted to fight a couple of teammates while he was cleaning out his locker. was on nfl network — bigjay215
- BOBSG,
I disagree. On a human level its is ok to feel bad for the man. If you are a fan, remember you watch this game for fun, but this is how AR put food on his table. Firing AR was necessary, but lets not rob him of his dignity.— keithf35 - Actions speak louder than words and after yesterday's "who gives a f--k" performance, it is quite clear the only thing 95% of these players cared about was getting the game over and going on their merry way. Hopefully, a lot of them will not be back. I am not happy with Roseman staying however.— Marie Elena
- Yeah right. If these guys cared, even a tiny, tiny bit they wouldn't have played the way they did this year. Heck, if they had even a little bit of self-respect they'd have played better.— fightonphilly
- Yeah right. If these guys cared, even a tiny, tiny bit they wouldn't have played the way they did this year. Heck, if they had even a little bit of self-respect they'd have played better.— fightonphilly
- Maybe Reid fired himelf, but he waited too long to do it. He should have been gone about two or three seasons back. At last...— Getinline
- if they cared so much...then why did they quit on the field every wek?!?!?!?!?!?— psualum
- Players always blame themselves after a coach is fired. If they had played the way they were supposed to, coaches wouldn't be fired. But, if a coach cannot get his players to play, then he does deserve the blame.— mike l
- If Andy Reid had left after 2009, he would have left being more highly regarded than he goes now. Too many "reaches" and cute moves that blew up in his face --- hiring Washburn before a coordinator, passing on the obvious draft picks like Earl Thomas, poor coach replacements, and two consecutive horrific draft years ('10 & '11).
He fired himself.— yobill626 - See you in Arizona Andy— phillyaz
- Given what these people make in salary, I don't feel sorry for them at moments like this. Coaches are paid to win games and Andy did not win games the last couple of years; he had to go. Players are paid to make plays and the Eagles players did not make plays the last couple of years so they will be evaluated and the bums will have to go. In regard to the players, they thought they could make more money elsewhwere so they played it safe this year and didn't play hard so they wouldn't get hurt; unfortunately for them, they lost a year (or two) in what is a very short career and they will probably have to face a bleak future.— BobSG
- You can only take them at their word. Unless you are a mind reader, of course.
— carmendmv - The players don't care. They can say whatever they want when the mic is on but their play over the last few weeks has shown them for who they really are: frauds with zero character. I don't care how much you hated Reid, he deserved better than this.— CaptAwesome
- i would like to hear from the players in reid's heyday - trotter, dawkins, mcnabb - what do they have to say about reid? how would they sum up reid's tenure? — zwarte piet
1
Popular Posts
Classifieds:
Site Services:
Partners:
Powered By:
