Making sense of Lurie's comments
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Making sense of Lurie's comments
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
There was a point during Jeffrey Lurie's press conference today where I thought he might actually shock the world and fire Andy Reid.
"This season was without question the most disappointing season since I’ve owned the team," Lurie said.
He used words like anger and frustration and unacceptable and dismal and unfathomable.
But eventually, Lurie explained that he had gone through his evaluation process and determined that Reid is the best coach to lead the Eagles going forward.
"Is this the right coach next year to maximize the talent we have and the opportunity we have?" Lurie asked. "And for our fans, it’s really a very confident yes in my opinion. He’s got all the ingredients to take the team to the playoffs and take them far."
That's really all it comes down to. This is the 13th straight offseason Lurie has had to ask himself the same questions about the coach he hired back in 1999. And while perhaps the decision was more difficult this time around, he came to the same conclusion.
Throughout the press conference, Lurie did his best to not make excuses for 2011. He didn't use the lockout, the shortened offseason or the team's "young" players as reasons for the Eagles' failures. Lurie even acknowledged that the four-game winning streak at the end of the season wasn't exactly against the league's stiffest competition.
At one point, he was asked the question that every player in the Eagles' locker room and every coach on the Eagles' coaching staff has had to answer: Why? Why did a team that won the division last year and added talent come up so small?
His response was probably the most telling of the entire press conference.
"I think maybe there was a miscalculation in terms of implementing big scheme changes in a lockout situation," Lurie said. "To me, I don't know why, I would've thought we would've been able to, during the abbreviated training camp and preseason, adapt to some of those schematic changes. They were bold changes, but clearly the team was not jelling and maximizing those scheme changes in the first half of the year. That’s one that comes to mind right away.
I would hold everybody accountable that's responsible for the scheme changes, yet there’s a payoff once it takes effect and you jell and have it. I think we saw tremendous benefits in the two lines, offensive and defensive, as the season went on and we will benefit from that as we go forward. But the first half of the season, it’s just ridiculously unacceptable to have a fourth-quarter lead and blow all those games. And if we just blew one less game, we’d be playing Atlanta next week, so that’s where it’s at."
That would seem to be a direct indictment of Reid, the man who hand-picked Juan Castillo and added Jim Washburn and Howard Mudd to his staff. At the same time, Lurie seems to legitimately believe the Eagles got better as the season went on and can compete for a Super Bowl next season without making a lot of changes. He made it clear that Castillo's future is in Reid's hands.
"Was he [Castillo] put into a situation where he couldn’t succeed early in the season? That’s for all of us to have answers to," Lurie said.
I wrote about this last week, but it bears repeating. Castillo's failure is Reid's failure. He's the one who decided to hand the defense over to someone who had never done the job before.
At this point, I'm not sure that Reid has even decided on Castillo yet. If he's going to replace him, Reid needs to have a logical successor in mind. You don't just fire Castillo and begin a prolonged search like you did after letting McDermott go last season. If you want Steve Spagnuolo and are certain you can get him, that's when you make the move.
Howeve, Lurie did acknowledge that making Castillo the defensive coordinator last offseason was not Reid's first option.
"He [Reid] made a list of all the top people he was looking at to replace Sean McDermott as defensive coordinator and things happen, circumstances happen, changes don't happen on other teams, certain coaches aren’t available," Lurie said. "And he became very, very interested in Juan because he knew what he could accomplish. Whether he could accomplish it fast enough was an interesting question, and he didn't. The whole team didn't, in terms of early in the season. The second half of the season, what was it? A 6-2 record? And regardless of the competition, you’re playing."
The final point to ponder is this: Will it be Super Bowl or bust for Reid next season?
"Every year, the goal is to win the Super Bowl," Lurie said. "I think we’ll let the process play out. There’s no ultimatums. That’s our goal, and every year that’s the plan."
Post-2012 seems like a natural breaking point. Reid will only have one year left on his contract, and the team can part ways with Michael Vick if it chooses.
But I'm not ready to say it's definitely Super Bowl or bust. Lurie clearly has a fondness for Reid and a unique relationship with his coach. Reid could be back in 2013 and beyond, even if he doesn't win a Super Bowl. If the Eagles make the NFC championship in 2012, could Reid be back? What if they suffer a bunch of injuries, win the NFC East and make it to the divisional round of the playoffs? Reid could still return to give it another shot in 2013.
Overall, Lurie's strategy today was clear: Don't make excuses, voice frustration and disappointment over the team's failings in 2011, and do your best to explain to the masses why Reid is getting another chance.
The rest is now up to the head coach: Make a decision on Castillo, and start taking whatever other steps you deem necessary to make a run in 2012.
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Definitely the right move. I know a lot of hot headed fans on here would like to see Reid go, but that's pretty irrational. He's a great coach. And Lurie is a great owner. How soon we forget just how dreadful this team was before Lurie bought it and hired Reid. We, as fans, have unrealistic expectations sometimes...which are a direct result of the phenomenal success this regime has had over the past dozen or so years.— bpgavin1- What metric are you using for success? I would call super bowl wins the only one that matters. Numbers don't lie, Reid isn't going to get it done for this franchise, so if that is the case, and you truly are committed to winning the Superbowl every year, why is this staff back? currently they are what 0/12? — xlGmanlx
- What metric are you using for success? I would call super bowl wins the only one that matters. Numbers don't lie, Reid isn't going to get it done for this franchise, so if that is the case, and you truly are committed to winning the Superbowl every year, why is this staff back? currently they are what 0/12? — xlGmanlx
- The ONLY RIGHT solution......get rid of Andy, and you lose Washburn AND Mudd.....bring a new DC in, and you lose Washburn and all that the defensive line accomplished - not only Babin's sacks, but the first year in several that T. Cole didn't "wear down."
And the only people really "upset" about Andy Reid's press conferences are the media, who don't get the easy answers they want or they can't score with the "gotcha" questions.....Let's face it there are only two kinds of coaches who "love" the press conferences - the ones in the first head coaching job, and the one's trying to con the media into printing what the coach wants by buddying up to the media.....Andy sees right through them, so he cuts them off.....
— drmangham - One Super Bowl appearance in 13 or whatever seasons. Zero playoff wins in 3 years. The Castillo fiasco. The lost 4th quarter leads fiasco, which actually made history. That horrible Seahawks loss. That horrible Niners loss. Never running enough when having a lead despite employing tbe best RB in the NFL. The handling of the Desean Jackson situation. We have to endure more of this type of stuff? Man ,I am actually depressed right now.— paulydak
Comment removed.- All season ticket holders need to file a class action suit against the Eagles for fraud and for being delusional— shawnmac
- Another year of the best college team in the NFL. Was truly shocked when another poster pointed out how few points the D gave up. Methinks the incredibly shrinking O is getting an unwarranted pass for pooching the season.— 2ndNlong
- We will know Andy's fate in 10 months,....no extension talks mean no return after 2012.— Romus
- We fans will learn the facts as events unfold. I don't need the media prying info and then the writers and "fans" lambasting the details that were garnered(25). I like Andy and how the team respects him. Give him another 3-4 years if we keep knocking on the door. Jeff's a good guy, much, MUCH better than Norman Brahman, that guy in France.— tommy_the_k
- Andy is Andy. You will all miss him when he is gone. Maybe not him but the winning. There are alot of teams with a very rich history that go into a very rough period when that fire a coach like him. He is what he is and that is the best coach we have had in a very very very long time. I wanna win a super bowl as bad as all of you do. This coach with all of his worts is our best shot at that.— eaglessuperfan
- Ya think no mini camps and a short training camp minus the two a days had a factor in that mess we call the first half of the season. I do. A full no B/S camp and bring in some serious talent at linebacker and safety will prove Lurie right about keeping Reid around. ps- and somebody has to get in Vicks mind about staying healthy.— bigphillydad
- I wonder if the brilliant, sensitive and all-knowing Lurie has ever discussed the "L" word with Andy...that dreaded, not-spoken-in-polite-company, avoid-at-all-costs "L" word...linebacker!— dasher
- How many years can this go on?
— Keep The Change - Shows the owner has no clue. No need to care about the fans because they will still spend their money. Show us fans have no clue!
They should all be fired for the last two drafts alone.— Ssteve115
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