Former Reid Assistants Speak Out About Former Boss
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Former Reid Assistants Speak Out About Former Boss
PALM BEACH, Fla. -- I had an opportunity to spend a few minutes with two branches on the Andy Reid coaching tree – Browns head coach Pat Shurmur and Ravens head coach John Harbaugh -- Tuesday morning at the AFC coaches media breakfast at the NFL meetings.
Shurmur, 46, and Harbaugh, 49, spent a combined 19 years as assistants on Reid’s Eagles coaching staff. Shurmur worked for him from ’99 through ’08 before leaving to become the Rams’ offensive coordinator. Harbaugh was on his staff from ’99 through ’07 before the Ravens hired him. I asked both of them about working for Reid. This is what they had to say:
Shurmur: "There’s so many things I’ve learned from him. He’s very consistent. He has a plan and a vision for what he wants to do. I think he’s an outstanding head coach because he hires people, gives them direction and lets them do their jobs. That’s a rare quality.
There’s a quiet confidence there that rubs off on his players. They feel good about playing for him. Players emotionally are going like this (makes an up-and-down gesture) all the time. Andy’s steady. I think that’s something that’s reassuring for a player."
Harbaugh: "I’m an Andy guy. Whenever the Andy Reid era eventually ends in Philly, Eagles fans are going to look back on it and say that was a great run."
Some fans may beg to differ with Harbs, but that’s another story.
Harbaugh’s thoughts on Eagles defensive coordinator Juan Castillo: "Having a year under his belt, having a full offseason to prepare this year, that’s going to be huge for Juan. You’re either getting better or you’re getting worse. And if you know anything about Juan Castillo, you know he’s always getting better. He’ll be that much better this season because of what he learned last year. He’s a great coach. I have nothing but respect for Juan."
The owners will vote Wednesday on whether to expand the current playoff overtime rule to the regular-season. The proposal is expected to pass, and competition committee co-chair Rich McKay has said it has the support of the league’s coaches. Not all of them, though.
Harbaugh doesn’t like the overtime rule, which allows the kicking team a possession in overtime if the receiving team kicks a field goal.
"I think sudden death is fine," the Ravens coach said. "I think sudden death is what makes the National Football League great. I probably shouldn’t say this because we had a seminar yesterday where they told us if you wonder if you should say something, you probably shouldn’t say it.
"But I like sudden death. I don’t know how the Ravens are going to vote. But my two cents says (stick with) sudden death. It’s been around forever and it’s worked pretty good."
1st.— osi is hurt boohoo- The Eagles haven't won a championship in 52 years. Guess which coach is responsible for 25% of those failures.
Worse yet, he's back for yet another season. - This is it man!
- Reid is gone after this year if the Eagles don't make it to the Super Bowl.— farley
Comment removed.- Publicly they love each other.— 4in5out7gone
- Andy's the best - appreciate him now...— robinlupe
- This will be the last year for Reid & Obama and their will be joy in Mudadelphia.— 5280philly
- Obama wins easily because Republicans consist of religious zealots and tea party loons, and not much else. They've never seen a fact they won't discard to meet their ideology. Being stupid is a good thing for Republicans. They'll drive the country off a cliff to prove how cool they are, as they did with the debt extension discussions. The Republican party is great if you're a white, evangelical male. For everyone else--not so much. It's an extremist party that is out of step with American tradition in every possible respect.
- Obama hater? check. Spelling or grammatical error in post? check. — bc3030
- This is the example of the stereotypical Obama-hater. Uneducated, racist, and totally-irrational with blind racism as a catalyst. — essell
- imagine if you failed to achieve the goal you set for yourself in 13 straight years at work? not your bosses goal for you? your goal for you! would you still be employed? would you be able to show your face everyday?— jb99
- I think if most companies had 31 competitors and you were the one responsible for consistently positioning your company among the top of that list then, yes, you would still be employed.
And if they fired you, a significant number of those competitors would be falling all over themselves to hire you, just like they will be in the NFL if Andy Reid is ever available.— bc3030 - These are the best of days. One day Andy Reid will leave Philadelphia and we'll be back in the muck with a new Rich Kotite or Ray Rhodes every few years, hoping we can just beat Dallas to soften the pain of our 5-11 records. We will fondly look back at the time when Eagles fans could complain about not winning Super Bowls rather than complain about not making the playoffs for 8 years straight.— bc3030
- That'sthe way its worked in sports. The ups and downs are hardly news to anyone who has watched sports. Losing will happen, in fact, losing is usually the harbinger of a coaching change. If memory serves, last season was nothing to build a career on. I'd welcome some losing seasons because moving on from the overrated oaf would be the first win for the real fans of the Eagles - not those customers who are easily distracted by regular season accolades.
— Atomic Fury
