Does Andy Reid appear overly-stressed?
Page: 2 of 3 View All
Job may be taking toll on Eagles' Reid
"I've never seen a team where everything starts and ends with the coach," Hughes said. "It's not the defense. It never starts with the players. It's amazing to me. It's whether or not the coach is going to do the right thing and call the right game plan, and the fans don't trust Reid to do that. They think he's too stubborn."
Needs an outlet
Childress used to smoke. Who knows why he started? Maybe it was stress or a mid-life crisis. Some men buy sports cars when they turn 40. Childress bought a pack of Marlboros.
DAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
The Eagles' Andy Reid is passionate about coaching, says Vikings coach Brad Childress, who is a longtime friend. But Childress is concerned about the stress this season has put on Reid.
So he gets it. Even though he sucked down his last cigarette outside of the Rose Bowl in early 1999, Childress understands that even the toughest or most resilient man needs an outlet.
"I could have gone to Philadelphia and gotten a cigarette anywhere I wanted," Childress said. "I thought 100 times inside the Vet, I could have walked out to any employee at any time day or night and said, 'Hey, can I bum a smoke?' and it would've been, 'Yeah, Coach, here.' "
These days, Childress will have an occasional vodka. He understands that Reid isn't a "closet put-a-dip-in-his-lip guy," but that he "loves to cook, loves to eat," Childress said. Everyone has something.
And Reid loves his job, no matter the stresses or strains.
"There's a juice to [coaching] that sitting behind a desk ain't going to get you," Childress said. "He's passionate about it. Everybody in that building knows he's passionate about it. He's a good man. He's a good football coach. He's got a great personality, can belly laugh with the best of them, can needle.
"You don't get into this thing because you've got thin skin."
Andy Reid at a Glance
Here are details about Eagles coach Andy Reid:
Hired: Jan. 11, 1999.
Named NFL coach of the year in 2000 and 2002.
Compiled the best win total (105), winning percentage (.606), and playoff victory total (8) in Eagles history.
Won five division titles.
Made four trips to the NFC championship game and one to the Super Bowl.
This season, Reid became the 37th head coach in NFL history to reach 100 wins, the 22d to win 100 games with one franchise, and the 17th to reach 100 wins in his first job as head coach.
Only Tony Dungy and Bill Belichick have exceeded Reid's .606 winning percentage among active coaches with 100 games coached.
Reid is the 18th coach in NFL history to remain with his original team for 10 or more years.
He was promoted to head coach and executive vice president of football operations on May 8, 2001. His contract was extended to 2010 in the 2004 season.
Reid was an assistant coach at Brigham Young University, San Francisco State, Northern Arizona, Texas-El Paso, Missouri and the Green Bay Packers.
