Hot seat gets hotter for Reid
With defeats piling up and questions about his job security, Philadelphia Eagles Coach Andy Reid had another commotion to handle Friday after Philadelphia suffered a 31-14 road loss against the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.
Reid, a former offensive lineman at Glendale Community College, spent Friday addressing questions regarding standout wide receiver DeSean Jackson. During the Seattle game, Jackson was shown sitting on the team bench away from his teammates, seemingly disenchanted with the game and was also seen during a play seemingly avoiding a block. Jackson finished with four catches for 34 yards, as the Eagles lost their second game in a row to fall to 4-8 with four games remaining.
“You can take a camera and make it look any way you want to make it look,” Reid told the Philadelphia Daily News on Friday. “I am telling you, that kid was all in last night and wanted to win that game as much as anybody.”
Moments after Thursday’s game, Jackson was bombarded with questions regarding a situation on the sidelines when quarterback Vince Young, who threw four interceptions, was seemingly trying to talk to Jackson and was getting nothing in return.
Reid, whose team was considered one of the prohibitive favorites to contend for the Super Bowl this season, defended Jackson on Friday.
“There was nothing on the sidelines, no commotion with him and Vince,” Reid said. “There is nothing there. Nothing.
“I am not sure they know who’s talking to who and so on and what the conversation is about. Not knowing the language, I don’t know how you are able to go into that stuff. ...This is petty stuff.”
Jackson, a pending free agent, has encountered a stretch of tough games. He was removed from Sunday’s home game against the New England Patriots after dropping several passes. The former Pro Bowler had been benched a few contests earlier for missing a team meeting.
Philadelphia brought in several high-priced free agents shortly before the season began, leading to championship aspirations. Instead, the Eagles are in last place in the National Football Conference’s East Division.
The Eagles have played their last three games without starting quarterback Michael Vick and wide receiver Jeremy Maclin.
Philadelphia opened its season with a win against the St. Louis Rams, but then nose dived, losing four straight games while never recovering and are on the cusp of their second losing season since 2000.
While the results are disappointing, Reid said Friday that’s he’s paying more attention to having the Eagles turn the corner instead of job security.
“That’s a logical question, but as a coach, you don’t do that,” Reid told the Associated Press. “I’m being as honest as I can with you. I don’t worry about that. I worry about getting better, and that’s where I put all of my energy in. That’s what I can control. Become a better football coach and make my assistants better while at the same time make my players better.”
While Philadelphia owner Jeffrey Lurie once labeled Reid as “Coach for Life,” it’s not clear if Lurie had changed his mind about keeping Reid around much longer. Reid, who piloted Philadelphia to the 2004 Super Bowl, has two years and $10 million remaining on his contract.
“I said this during training camp — there is a difference between expectations and reality,” Reid said. “The reality is that every year you have to come together as a football team, coaches and players all working together and pulling the rope in the tug of war in the same direction.
“So I think we’re all searching. These guys want to win as professional athletes. They want to win and be successful. Coaches want to win and be successful. Everybody is looking for that answer right now.”
Reid, who is 132-90 since taking over the Eagles’ coaching job in 1999, led Philadelphia to the division championship last season before falling to the eventual champion Green Bay Packers in the playoffs.
Philadelphia next plays Dec. 11 at Miami. The Eagles then have remaining games against the New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins.
