Thoughts on What Comes After Andy
Like everybody else, I'm trying to think about what the Eagles might do when this disappointing season ends and Andy Reid's 14-year coaching tenure presumably ends.
Thoughts on What Comes After Andy
Les Bowen
Like everybody else, I'm trying to think about what the Eagles might do when this disappointing season ends and Andy Reid's 14-year coaching tenure presumably ends.
I'll be really surprised if the choice is some guy who won a Super Bowl elsewhere -- Jon Gruden, Brian Billick, even Bill Cowher, who tends to be more highly regarded than Gruden or Billick in NFL circles. A couple of reasons there: 1. Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman think of themselves as bold, innovative people; they are unlikely to settle for trying to recreate what someone did somewhere else, and more important, 2. IT NEVER WORKS. How many coaches have won a Super Bowl somewhere, then gone somewhere else and won another? The answer is nobody, never, ever. Not Vince Lombardi, not Bill Parcells, not Mike Holmgren, who came closest, not Mike Shanahan.
This last point is something too few people in the fan base seem to understand. The objective here is not to hire somebody who will give us entertaining press conferences, or somebody who once beat the Eagles in an important game.
One caveat: I'd make an exception for Sean Payton, who would be available under unique circumstances that might make him different from the other retreads. But I really don't think Payton is leaving New Orleans, and if he does, he has strong ties to Dallas.
I'm pretty sure Lurie and Roseman will go for a "bright young man" type. Of course, that has its risks, too. A lot of those guys look less bright, once they're in charge. See Steve Spagnuolo, Todd Haley, Ron Rivera, Tony Sparano, etc.
The guy that everybody is talking about, in regard to every potential NFL coaching vacancy, is Oregon coach Chip Kelly, who certainly is a successful innovator. I am leery. Kelly has never spent a minute in the NFL, as a player or coach. "Pure" college coaches have been really, really unsuccessful in the NFL lately -- Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban, Bobby Petrino. Yes, Jim Harbaugh and Greg Schiano have been good hires, but both had strong NFL backgrounds, which they took to college coaching, before returning to the NFL.
Besides, Kelly is the guy who, when a disgruntled Ducks fan wrote him demanding a refund for traveling to a loss at Boise State, sent the guy a check for $439. The Eagles have a much larger, more critical fanbase. I see looming bankruptcy for Chip if he comes here.
And it would be hard to keep up with uniforms that would change constantly.
More seriously, Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer is not a bright YOUNG man -- he's my age, 56 -- but Zimmer, the longtime Cowboys d-coordinator, sure knows defense.
Dirk Koetter, the Atlanta offensive coordinator, is going to be a hot name if the Falcons' success holds up into the playoffs. He's 53, has been a college head coach, unlike Zimmer, who is a career assistant.
It also might be relevant that Roseman's agent is Bob LaMonte, Reid's agent, and the guy who sometimes seems to orchestrate NFL coaching moves. Jon Gruden is a LaMonte client, as is his brother Jay, the Bengals' offensive coordinator.
But really, the hottest guys will be the top assistants on the teams that get to the Super Bowl. That game will be played more than a month after the Eagles' season concludes. (I'm assuming, I think safely, there will be no Andy-job-saving run into the playoffs).
Will the Eagles have hired a coach by then? As somebody who's going to have to cover this, I think that would be nice, but it's unlikely. I would anticipate a meticulous search, with Lurie and Roseman seeking advice from people they know across the league, weighing variables, holding multiple interviews. One goal here is to go another 14 years without having to do this. There is no need to rush.
It's all a moot point with Howie Roseman running the show. But if we can dream......John Harbaugh should never have been allowed to get away from here, so he would be a favorite should the Ravens fall in the playoffs again. Sean Payton would find this ownership more stable to work under then Jerry Jones in Dallas. Brian Billick would be interesting, too. But my first priority would be a top notch GM to replace Roseman. I believe Tom Donahoe is with us in an advisory capacity. I would feel better if he were elevated to the GM spot....— DelawareRiverRat- What if Andy follows Andy? Everyone is acting like this is a forgone conclusion. Are you really confident that you can predict what this organization will do? Just saying.— gho_matt
- Andy and Marty are not going anywhere. They both passed Andy's bye-week assessments.
Time's your's— BornOnTheWrongSide_of_PA - Can I just add how tacky it is that there's such an obsession with talking about Reid getting fired every single week, the constant conjecture on who will replace him. How about he gets fired 1st, before that, there's plenty of substance to talk about with the Eagles. It's really some repugnant stuff.— Phila Phans
- I can see Andy getting one more year since he s already paid for. Otherwise, josh McDaniel gets the job because Laurie sucks patriots pipe.— djack10
- Bring back Rich Kotite— killamagilla
- Thank you Coach Reid for the many successful years with the Eagles. The recent issues with the team have not all benn your fault, but in light of current circumstances, which are all inclusive and systematic wide, a coaching change and potential overhaul of the team is necessary. Silver lining is that the Eagles have a lot to offer a new, top caliber coach...super loyal fans, big payroll, supportive management (Lauires gave Reid 14yrs...pretty patient), decent existing talent pool, ability to bring in entirely new system and coaching staff and ( unfortunately), the Eagles will likely have high draft choices in next years draft.
— elixmusic - All is well...Pee Wee Roseman and Jeff "Gold Standard" Laurie are on the job. What could possibly go wrong with that combination? Times yours.— kelprod2-freemarket
- we need to do a better job coaching— pr0f3ss0r
- What about Jimmy Johnson? He built that team from scratch and turned them into a real dynasty, unlike the eagles.— nonshad
- Were your parents cousins?
— DixonBunz - As long as Brownoseman has any say in the makeup of this team this organization will continue to be a laughingstock. The only real question is how long can Lurie continue to bilk the Kool Aiders out of their hard earned money. My guess is a long long time.— Scope33
- "Brownoseman"? Really? Did you get any sleep yesterday, or were you up all night thinking of that comedic gem? But seriously, your jokes are terrible, and in the future you should keep them to yourself. — DixonBunz
- "A couple of reasons there: 1. Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman think of themselves as bold, innovative people;"
They're bold, innovative people alright. They boldly innovate new ways to add to the Eagles championship drought.— Atomic Fury - The only coaches that will come here with Mailroom Howie in charge are unknowns desperate for a HC job or mediocre retreads. No serious candidate is going to look at Howie's record of horrible drafts and FA signings and answer to someone so clueless about football.
I don't care how smart Lurie thinks Howie is, smart doesn't mean knowing jack about football. Stephen Hawking is pretty smart and he'd make a lousy GM, too.— Only in Philly...
