Andy Reid says son's death 'has nothing to do' with losing season
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
Andy Reid says son's death 'has nothing to do' with losing season
Zach Berman, Inquirer Staff Writer
Andy Reid is amid a difficult season that includes the death of his oldest son, Garrett, in August. That tragedy is more significant than anything that has occurred during the Eagles' 4-10 season. But Reid emphasized on Friday that the Eagles' struggles have nothing to do with his son's death and how it's weighed on him.
"That's not the reason the season is going the way the season is going," Reid said. "You handle your personal things separate. Nobody wants to lose a son. That's obvious. But that has nothing to do with how the season has gone."
Reid has coached in every game this season, including the preseason four days after Garrett Reid's death.
On a different topic, here is the news to come out of Reid's news conference on Friday:
**LeSean McCoy has not yet gone to an independent neurologist, which is the final step in getting cleared to play. He will go on Tuesday, after Monday's practice.
**Reid does not yet know whether Vick will be active for the final two games.
**Reid said "you can say" that Anderson earned a spot to keep a starting safety spot even when Kurt Coleman returns.
**On the blocked punt in the first quarter, Marvin McNutt was beat and Ryan Rau was not on the field, but did not get there. Rau had remained with the defense and did not run onto the field for special teams. "Rookie mistake," Reid said.
**On the personal foul penalty for the Eagles shouting disconcerting signals during a Bengals' field goal, Reid said the officials told him that one player on the Eagles said, "set."
"The problem is we jumped," Reid said. "I was trying to put that together how we said set, and we jumped. Wasn't sure how thay worked."
Here's a video report on Reid's press conference from The Inquirer's Jeff McLane.
harbor is a TE not a safety.....doies anyone proof read these things???— wahoos32- I lost a son to drugs in much the same manner that Reid did, that is, after he was "Going straight", but still taking pharmaceuticals and such. This is a man in total denial who has not yet dealt with his personal tragedy, and thinks he can pigeonhole those feelings into a compartment and not have it affect the way he does his job and lives his life. Man, it even effects the way you breathe. He should have recognized his humanity and emotions that go with that, bitten the bullet and taken a year leave of absence -- for his own good and the good of the team. Instead, he thought that he would be "manly" and take a couple days off and go back to work. Sheer insanity -- Lurie should have MADE HIM take the year off. IF he had, Reid and the Eagles would both be in far better shape today.— tbjama
- tbjama well said and my condolences on your loss. I can only assume how much it affects almost everything you do with a loss like that. Andy looks like the type that bury themselves in work or whatever to escape the pain of loss...jmho.— glove69
- Tbjama: good insight, good post. Could not believe AR didn't stop coaching to grieve. Had to have been a problem w his focus this year.— 76sixers
- i have also experienced tragedy in my nuclear family. and i firmly believe grief is personal and there is no formal timeline. that said, i find it shocking that andy went to work the day after the funeral and now claims it is entirely separate. he is denying his humanity. you cannot separate these things. the eagles need to get rid of Andy (and should have 4 years ago) and andy need to get rid of the NFL and be a human being.— jb99
- Jeez, give Reid a break, will you? He is being a stand up, classy guy, and saying "look, don't pity me because of my son, be honest and say I did a poor job this year." He 100% IS NOT "denying his humanity", but rather embracing the humanity of those around him and making it easier for THEM. He is making it easier for Lurie to remove him as coach at the end of the year, making it easier for the writers to write that he should be removed. Have any of you ever had even 1% of that self-less-ness?
What the h*ll is wrong with you people?
§
— Quixote II 
No matter what Andy says -- and he's not the kind to go public with strong emotion -- his son's death has to have affected his work. I'm sure he tries to keep his private and public business separate; and I'm just as sure that he doesn't succeed. No one could. For that same reason, I would hope that when the Eagles fire him, he takes at least a year off to focus on his non-football life -- or, if necessary, to GET a non-football life.- Condolences to tbjama and thanks for the insight in his excellent post on the loss of a son.
Unfortunately, Reid's message at this time comes across as directed towards potential future employers who will want to know if he is truly 'over it,' as if he could be.— Claudio Vernight - Proofread? Are you crazy? It's a Philadelphia paper aimed at reflecting the values of the community. Who has time to proofread when it's deadline time...closely followed by time to go home! These are hourly workers, yes? Salaried MIGHT care more...but I doubt it.
Reid is obviously in denial or very ignorant about the effect his son's death SHOULD be having on him and his occupation. This is not being strong like some will claim. I hesitate to say what it does reflect.— ocpizza - Tru dat...this team stunk last year too.— 2ndNlong
- Hey Zach, you probably mean Curt Coleman, not Clay Harbor. Good job of reporting the facts !— broad113
- Of course the daeth of Reid's son had ahuge effect on Reid's ability to do his job and should be a big factor in why Lurie should give Reid a yearto finish out his contract— Eagles1980
- sorry if this seems harsh. Ar had no business giving a 'job' with the Eagles to an individual with Garrett's unfortunate personal history and track record. He might have called a pal at BYU or someplace else--and seen if there was a friend who'd hire Garrett. Bringing Garrett's past and weaknesses into training camp was an error. We all love our kids and family---I feel Reid crossed a line--and even more sadly paid dearly for it. Certainly the death of an assistant at training camp effected everyone there to some degree. A coach is supposed to get his ppalyers ready for the season...I don't think AR was doing a good job with his decision to employ Garrett.— Smashmouth
AR should have been fired in 07 when he gave his boys access to Eagles while he "enabled" his sons drug activities (as Judge told him).
