Defending Eagles Coach Andy Reid: An Open Letter to Philadelphia

I hear a lot of fans criticize Andy Reid and the way he does things in Philly. Mainly, people complain of his stoic ways and very political press conferences.

But think about it...do press conferences mean anything to us fans? Do we really need to hear why Reid thinks the Eagles lost, or what he thinks about the opposing defense?

Would we agree with him anyway? If you’re being truthful as an Eagles fan, you know you wouldn’t.

I believe I have pinpointed the origin of this situation, and maybe identifying it will help us address it.

Reid really gets under the skin of the mainstream Philly media because he doesn’t give them the juicy headlines or reactions worthy of a Coors Light commercial.

So Philly fans log onto philly.com or tune into 610 WIP and listen to the media bash Reid. But those people are only bashing him because they don’t like him. Or, more specifically,  the way he operates with them.

We Philadelphians let the sports-radio and other Philly media whip us into a frenzy to the point where we’re ready to grab our torches and pitchforks with the sole purpose of running Andy right out of the NovaCare Complex forever.

And for what? Because the Philly media feels spurned by Reid. He doesn’t cry for them, like Dick Vermeil, or create infamous quotes, like Buddy Ryan’s “I’d trade him for a six-pack, wouldn’t even have to be cold.”

I hear things all the time along the lines of "Andy Reid insults our intelligence as fans because of the interviews and press conferences he gives us."

What?

At what point did the press conferences become a reflection on how he feels about the fans and not simply about how he obviously doesn’t trust the Philly media? He only wishes to avoid them misconstruing something he says to trying to make a story out of it.

Now, yes, Reid has come out and publicly said that he doesn’t really care about fan reaction. But you know what, Philly?

I’m okay with that. In fact, I applaud it.

Ryan once said that if a coach listened to the fans, he would wind up sitting in the stands with them. With that, Ryan hit the nail harder on the head than when he nailed Kevin Gilbride.

Another well-respected coach, Tony Dungy, talked about how at one point in a press conference he said, “Our defense played soft against the run today,” and that somehow led to the headline “Dungy Calls Defense Soft.”

Now is that what he said? Of course not. But is that what the media heard? You bet.

It’s just an example of how any coach who gives the media anything on a Sunday after the game will pay for it Monday morning in the papers.

Reid does what he does because he believes it’s the best thing for this football team. He bleeds green just like the rest of us. He stays up until late hours of the night working and working just to see his team on the winning side come Sunday night.

The front office may be another story; I’m not exactly sure how I feel about them anymore. I’m just as confused and angry as everyone about some of the things that have gone down this offseason.

But the one thing I will never do is say that Andy Reid is somehow this lying, coniving, evil man who is just out to irritate and annoy Philly-nation.

He wants that Lombardi just as bad as we do. It kills him just as much as it kills us when we lose in the playoffs.

We may not agree with how he handles the team sometimes, and he deserves criticism just like everyone else, but to somehow imply that he doesn’t care about this team or the city is just plain wrong. That impression cannot be allowed to continue to run rampant through our wonderful city.

So, I beg you, Philly, yell at him because you don’t agree that our receivers are fine the way they are. Yell at him because he doesn’t run the ball enough (I’ve lost my voice more than once doing that). Even yell at him just because we lost; he’s the head coach, and that comes with the job.

But whatever you do, don’t yell at him because the vindictive Philly media tells you to. Continue to bleed green, Philly-nation, and let’s go Eagles!