Is Andy Reid on Thin Ice in Philly?

It has been said that the only things that last in Philadelphia are the Liberty Bell and sour grapes; however, going into his 11^th year as Head Coach and his 9^th as the VP of Football Operations Andy Reid has become a full on stalwart in Philadelphia. The only thing more reliable than Reid being the Eagles football coach is the inordinate amount of artery clogging saturated fats in a Gino’s cheese steak. There are many that believe after trading the “best quarterback” in franchise history that Andy Reid has gone all-in and this season will be either bang or bust (especially Mr. Matt Mosley and the ESPN staff).

Reid is not short on detractors. There are those who criticize his often pass happy offense for lack of a power run game. People take issue with his often curt “Tiger-esque” press conferences where he divulges little to no in-depth information. Last year’s signing of Michael Vick certainly didn’t help and of course there are those who will make light of his ever-changing (often expanding) waistline.  And now that he’s hedged his bets on a third year relatively unproven QB is Reid really walking a tightrope?

His regular season winning percentage of 62% is second best among active coaches, the fact that he’s had only two losing seasons in his 10 years, and made the playoffs 8 times only stands to emphasize the fact that he’s recently signed a contract extension.  In moving on from the Donovan McNabb era, Reid has only bought himself more time. The organization and even the city will forgive a falloff from previous years as long as there is some promise in the performance of Kevin Kolb.

Imagine you’ve been going to the same party year after year. For the first 3 hours it seems great, the ebb and flow is nice. You think, “There is no way I’m leaving this disappointed”. But then around midnight every year the same kid gets drunk and makes a fool of himself. The kegs are tapped by 11pm, and year after year you are get rejected by the same girl. You’re left with a sour taste in your mouth as every February you hear about the party you should’ve gone to.

Now imagine you finally stop going to the same frustrating party. You venture to one you’ve heard good things about and in fact many believe would be a better fit if you’d trade flash for substance and step outside your comfort zone. Even if you don’t meet a nice girl, and the drinks stop flowing at 10:30pm, short of some traumatizing ordeal aren’t you more likely to give it another shot next year? After all you put up with a proven dud year after year, so why throw in the towel on the new scene after such a short probation.

Donovan McNabb was the first party. You knew what you were going to get and yet you went every year hoping it would exceed your expectations; knowing it would fall short. Andy Reid and the city of Philadelphia are attending a new shindig. And even if the new party ends the same as previous years, as long as there are glimpses of hope (perhaps an introduction to a true hottie here, or a win against a particular Texas rival) there is little chance that you won’t give it a shot next year.