The fans are clamoring for the end of Andy Reid’s 13-year – sometimes tyrannical – reign on the Philadelphia Eagles’ organization.
Listen to sports talk radio, read the message boards or look at the signs being paraded around town: the Eagles faithful are sick and tired of Reid’s act.
“We need to start coming with ideas on how to get rid of Andy Reid,” wrote one fan in a message board on the Eagles’ official website. “Protests, letters to management … Reid has destroyed this football team for years through poor draft selections and general moves. Somehow as a fanbase we need to stand up and be counted.”
Reid has failed again and again to win the sport’s ultimate prize, the Super Bowl. His saving grace over the years has been that the Eagles have always been competitive. They’ve always seemed to grasp the fundamentals and respond to adversity.
Not this year.
The Eagles, at 1-4, don’t seem to have a clue. And it starts at the very top, with the head coach.
“There’s nobody to blame but me. That’s how I look at,” Reid said after Sunday’s 31-24 loss to the Bills.
While ownership won’t comment on the job security of the coaching staff, there are whispers. Quietly, behind closed doors, people are talking about there being no leaders on defense. Without naming names, players are even questioning the play-calls. Publicly, however, no one is pointing fingers – at least not yet.
“Coaches coach, they do a good job emphasizing what we need to do and what we don’t need to do,” said receiver DeSean Jackson, who had five catches for 86 yards and a score against Buffalo. “As far as being on the field playing for us, they can’t do that. All they can do is put us in the best positions and at the end of the day, all we’ve got to do is put that to perfection.”
“I think, at this point, it’s out of the coaches’ hands,” said quarterback Mike Vick, who went 26-of-40 for 315 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions. “I think it’s the players because we’re the ones that are out there. We’ve got to go out and put it all together and take control. The coaches are not in the moment, so there’s not too much they can do.”
“We don’t blame anybody,” said defensive end Jason Babin. “We take responsibility on ourselves individually and collectively, so that’s up to somebody else.”
When one reporter tried to bully Jeremy Maclin into selling Reid down the river, the Eagles receiver became extremely agitated and abruptly ended his media session. If this Eagles team is indeed a sinking ship, they intend to go down together.
“It’s not just one thing; it’s a whole group effort,” Maclin said. “Coach isn’t turning the ball over. We made mistakes, simple as that. You don’t turn on somebody because you turn the ball over. We’ve got to go back to the drawing board and get this thing right.”
