Rich Hofmann | Will family crisis be a sea change for Reid?

HIS FAMILY'S crisis has given Andy Reid an opportunity. None of us knows whether he will take advantage of it, including maybe even himself. It is the classic we'll-see moment in a public man's career. Will Reid be able to decide to do less so that, in the long run, he can do more?

His sons, Garrett and Britt, have given him this opportunity. They had done it in a terrible, shattering way. Both arrested at the end of January - Garrett facing misdemeanor drug and DUI charges, Britt facing a felony gun charge and misdemeanor drug charges - it is fair to say that they shook their father in a way that he has never been shaken. He took a 5-week leave of absence as the Eagles' coach and acknowledged at least the fleeting thought of walking away completely.

But now Reid is back, having had some time to think. Now he is back to run his football operation. The question that confronts him was always going to confront him, at some point. Time and age would demand it soon enough. Now, though, this.

The question: Can he put in less time, can he work more sane hours, and still be the best coach in this franchise's modern era?

When asked it yesterday, at his first press availability since his sons' arrests, Reid was typically evasive.

"I really haven't even gone there," he said. "I haven't gone there with that. I'm excited to be back, and that's where I'll leave it, and we'll see how things work down the road."

Reid spoke at an impossible time, in many ways. His sons' legal cases remain open, and there was no way he could discuss them. At the same time, he has never been publicly introspective, even in the best of circumstances. The notion that he would open up and allow everyone in during such a difficult personal time was folly.

Still, saying that the thought of quitting at least flashed by for a second was something for Reid to acknowledge. Cutting back his hours is another issue altogether. It has nothing to do with parenting, or the pop-psychological examination that this hard-driven football coach has undergone in some places. I'm not going there, and you really shouldn't either - because none of us knows what Reid's family life is like, and it is intellectually dishonest to pretend that we do.

"I'm not going to go into that," Reid said, when asked whether he felt any personal guilt. "I work hard here, that's part of the job, and I think that's important. At the same time, you take a lot of pride in your work and take a lot of pride in being a father. There are

going to be things that

happen, and I think that it's important when something happens, you hit it head-on and do what you have to do when it deals with family."

I work hard here, that's part of the job, and I think that's important. He has been called a "grinder" in the past, a description in which he always seemed to take pride. Andy Reid outworks people, and he enjoys that reputation.

There is working, though, and there is working smart. A couple of years ago, I asked him about sleeping in the office and such, and he simultaneously acknowledged it and asked me not to mention it in the story. He said he hated when coaches bragged about the hours they worked.

But it is the culture in which he lives. It is what NFL coaches do, and it is insane. I can remember telling Reid a couple of years ago he would never last as a coach until age 60 if he couldn't cut back the time commitment. He just kind of shrugged it off.

Well, here we are. Reid turned 49 this week. This will be his ninth season as the Eagles' coach. At this point, after everything with his sons, he wouldn't be human if he hadn't done a complete personal inventory. You have to believe he has wondered whether he could work less, but work smarter.

It is time for him to find out. It is not a question Andy Reid should fear. *

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