Andy Reid's final defeat
Giants 42, Eagles 7
Andy Reid's final defeat
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- For years, I had this vision of how Andy Reid would walk away. I carried it until pretty recently, until about 2010. The way I figured it, the final camera shot would go like this: Reid finishing the press conference after the Super Bowl, finding his wife, Tammy, in the crowd of reporters -- she always goes to his post-game press conferences -- and walking away with one arm around her and the Lombardi Trophy in the other.
It was cinematic and Hollywood, yes -- but didn’t the law of averages have to work for Reid at some point? Didn’t it? That was the theory, anyway. In the last 2 years, though, the vision changed. We all know the reasons -- Michael Vick, a couple of bad drafts, a failure to replace Jim Johnson at defensive coordinator despite repeated attempts. And while it was easy to see it ending badly, it was hard to predict the last day.
Sunday was the last day.
It was cold and miserable and buffeted by a bitter wind. It was sloppy and inept. And when it was over -- historians will record the final final score for Reid as the Eagles’ coach was Giants 42, Eagles 7 -- the black-clad coach left the sidelines for the last time. All that remains is the press conference where he will be fired, presumably on Monday.
He will be known for how much he won, and how much his quarterbacks threw the ball. He will be known for “time’s yours” and taking responsibility and needing to put his players in a better position and looking forward to the privilege of playing everyone. He will be remembered for being the best coach the Eagles ever had at the same time he is remembered for failing to win the the Super Bowl.
The final indignities of the final Sunday -- the bad tackling, the terrible secondary play, the erratic quarterbacking of Vick, the deserved fourth-quarter benching of cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha -- will not linger, mostly because almost nobody was paying attention. But the answer to the trivia question will be this: Reid’s first quarterback was Doug Pederson and his last quarterback was Trent Edwards, who mopped up Sunday.
There was no spotlight on the players, not on this day. All eyes were on Reid, with the rolled-up play chart in his left hand and the red challenge flag in his back pocket and 14 years of memories locked inside. As he walked off, for the last time, that is where those memories remained.
When the rules of the game changed, the birds went from a smart hard nosed team, to a fast soft team. Howie and Andy built a team to lose, and that is what they did.— camasbud- I don't care how much it counts against the cap we have to get rid of Namdi or anyone else associated with the "dream team"
- We need to try harder.— Disco Dave
- Cap hit for nnamdi only 4m. He is gone.— fman727
- PhillySubsMac = Troll not Eagles fans and that goes for any who think like him
— realtruth - Andy,it is true you've been the best Eagles coach since Vermiel.Remember the litany of Ryan,Kottite,Rhodes.Andy,you did a great job for many years.Your failures.One,not winning the super bowl.Two,going too long with Donovan.Three,and the most fatal,going with Vick and his $14 mill salary.I wish you the best Andy.Adios,amigo.— streak1
- Look, if Big Red is fired, I'll say goodbye and not shed a tear. But here is my reason to not fire him, at least not yet. The Eagles have a HORRIBLE history of following good coaches with TERRIBLE ones. 1960- Buck Shaw...last NFL Championship in Philly. Followed by? Joe Kuharik- YUCK. Jerry Williams- 2X YUCK! Ed Khayat- So bad he doesn't merit a yuck. Mike McCormick- So forgettable I had to add him after the fact! Then came the Vermiel years. Steady improvement until he burned out. Next? Marion Campbell- So bad we yearned for McCormick. The Buddy Ryan, who wasn't a great head coach, but had great defensive teams. He gets fired and is replaced by a pair of mistakes named Kotite and Rhodes. 7 years of total BS brought us to Reid, and I have visions of the Eagles hiring Norv Turner (shudder). Sorry, I'd like to think Andy is better than any other recycled coach they'd bring in.
— thomasg - So by your logic, Andy should never be fired. That way they can't hire a terrible coach to succeeed him.
Wow.— The Truth Hurts - Finally it's over.— 4thand10
- Most points allowed in the history of the franchise.— bobcitydoc
- People will hate on the guy as though he had never done anything, but he was a very good coach for ten years. The last four were mediocre to bad, which means he should be gone. He gave us more good football than any coach in my lifetime. Let this show, though, that winning a title is not about the "laws of averages." It's about having a coach who is adaptable enough to take advantage of opportunities when they are presented. This is what separates the good coach from the great. Once in a while a guy like Brian Billick gets lucky, but usually not. Now lets hope the Eagles have the smarts to do their homework and find the guy who can win something. No college coaches or retreads. Find that hungry coordinator who is ready to make a name for himself.— Hemingway
- Its not a good sign that stories are leaked to the press about Reid being fired, citing a "source", but no real word from Jeffrie Lurie in months. Im not sure what that owner feels about Philly fans.
— keithf35 - bye bye Big Red...You were bad even when you won. Outcoached, out played, and finally assasinated by the current team YOU built. Big Red will never find success again as a coach, so I hope he winds up as a coach in the NFC.
— phillyfan19335 - bye bye Big Red...You were bad even when you won. Outcoached, out played, and finally assasinated by the current team YOU built. Big Red will never find success again as a coach, so I hope he winds up as a coach in the NFC. (HTML deleted)— phillyfan19335
- bye bye Big Red...You were bad even when you won. Outcoached, out played, and finally assasinated by the current team YOU built. Big Red will never find success again as a coach, so I hope he winds up as a coach in the NFC. (HTML deleted)— phillyfan19335
