Philadelphia Eagles: If Lurie Lost Patience with Banner, Reid Should Be on Alert

That Jeffrey Lurie was willing to finally end Joe Banner's 18-year run as president of the Philadelphia Eagles indicates that the team's owner is willing to jeopardize or even sacrifice personal relationships in order to ensure that the organization is moving in his preferred direction.

Lurie has been nothing but patient with the regime that has called the personnel shots in Philly for more than a decade, but it appears he's growing tired of contending yet falling short on an annual basis. 

And it also appears he wants the public's perception of his team to improve. 

In Banner's defense, he helped keep the team competitive and balanced the budget like a ninja for nearly 20 years. But Lurie obviously felt it was time for a change. Banner had been on the staff for almost two decades and the Eagles seem to believe Howie Roseman and/or Don Smolenski can handle the duties he left behind.

Banner is a ruthless businessman with a lot of enemies, and I'm not entirely sure that jives with what Lurie wants during this new era of Eagles football.

Andy Reid hasn't exactly been known as a media-friendly head coach, but things are changing. Take, for example, what Jeff McLane wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer a few weeks ago, before we knew that Banner was out:

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Andy Reid has been more accommodating, Howie Roseman has been nudged into the spotlight, and Joe Banner has taken a step back behind the curtain.

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And this also might have been about repairing the team's reputation among players, agents and other NFL peers. Take this from Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News:

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At the [LeSean] McCoy signing, agent Drew Rosenhaus kept talking about how different it was doing business with the Birds these days. Rosenhaus described a negotiation done with Reid and Roseman, and spoke of having had an opportunity to "visit with" Banner. Rosenhaus described Reid's heavy involvement as unprecedented.

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Maybe Lurie opted to keep Reid over Banner. Maybe it wasn't that cut-and-dry. We might never know. But aside from potentially bolstering the team's image, one other thing this move does is fire a warning shot at Reid himself.

Entering his 14th season, Reid's now the elder statesman of this front office. How much time does he have left to deliver before Lurie loses his patience? Personal relationships be damned, because Lurie and Banner were childhood friends.

If you're willing to fire your former summer camp pal, you're willing to fire anyone. Reid might have even more control today than he did yesterday, but it's also probably now or never for him.

Otherwise, he'll be the next to go.