THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
Andy Reid will be back as coach of the Eagles in 2009, and Donovan McNabb will be his quarterback.
Reiterating what he told the Boston Globe a week ago, Lurie said after the Eagles' 23-11 win over the New York Giants yesterday that he wants Reid and McNabb both to return for what would be their 11th seasons in Philadelphia. He wouldn't elaborate, other than to praise both Reid and McNabb for overcoming a rough start to the season to reach the NFC title game against the Arizona Cardinals.
"Whatever I said, I stand by," Lurie said. "I don't want to change anything, or elaborate, or answer any questions about it. It came out."
Lurie also wouldn't get into whether he's inclined to renegotiate McNabb's contract, which effectively runs through 2010. McNabb has hinted that he would like a new contract to give him stability within the organization so that he doesn't have to go through another season when his role is questioned.
"I don't even want to go there," Lurie said.
But Lurie was obviously thrilled with the Eagles' win over their NFC East rival and with being one game away from the Super Bowl. Since Lurie bought the team in 1994, the Eagles have been to four previous NFC title games - this will be the fifth - winning one in 2004 but losing in the Super Bowl to New England.
"This is our fifth trip to the championship game in eight years, and that's hard to pull off," Lurie said. "But, there's no celebrating, because we want to beat Arizona and have a chance to win the Super Bowl."
Lurie acknowledged that after the Eagles lost at Baltimore, 36-7, he thought the team was "in danger of not even making the playoffs," and he thought, "this is a pretty good football team." But he never got close to firing Reid, or even moving him onto the proverbial hot coach's seat.
"I think he's a very good coach, and I always felt that," Lurie said. "I don't think Philadelphia is any different than any other city in the country. When you're struggling, the coach and the quarterback are always the targets in the NFL. There's no secret there.
"But, I have to say, he's such a good leader. He's so resilient. He's not perfect, nobody is, and you can argue with play calls. . . . I have a lot of confidence in his ability. It's a lot of behind-the-scenes leadership. It's not how he addresses the press, or how he functions that way. That's not what's really the measure of the man. The measure of the man is what he's doing with the people he's working with, and he's been terrific for a long time."
Lurie also had praise for McNabb.
"He's been great," Lurie said. "There's so much on his shoulders, and he's just one of these athletes that finds a way to persevere and succeed."
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