Andy Reid Thinks the Eagles Are in Good Hands with Nick Sirianni
PHILADELPHIA - When the Eagles hired Andy Reid in 1999, no one knew a future Hall of Fame coach was about to lay the seed for 239 wins and counting, eight conference championship appearances, three Super Bowl berths, and a Lombardi Trophy.
If Reid returns to Philadelphia on Sunday with a win over the Eagles, it will be No. 100 with Kansas City Chiefs on top of his 140 with Philadelphia in a stint that lasted through 2012.
While it’s fair to say Reid’s shelf life had expired with the Eagles it’s also important to put out the organization is on coach No. 4 if you include one-time interim mentor Pat Shurmur, while Reid went to Kansas City and did the exact same thing he did in Philadelphia, building the brand into one of the most successful in the NFL.
In six seasons before Reid took over the Chiefs in 2013, Kansas City was over .500 just once and had two four-win seasons and two two-win campaigns. In 2012, the Chiefs were 2-14 under Romeo Crennel.
Fast forward to 2013 and Reid had K.C. at 11-5 and in the postseason.
Over his eight seasons in the Midwest, Reid has reached double-digit wins in seven of them with the low-water mark still being over .500 at 9-7 in 2014.
It’s an amazing resume few coaches in history can match but once upon a time, Reid was just like the Eagles’ current rookie head coach Nick Sirianni, a virtual unknown to casual fans who seemed to be skipping steps when Jeffrey Lurie plucked him out of relative obscurity from a Mike Holmgren coaching staff in Green Bay that has become legendary.
“The [Eagles] organization was great with that," said Reid during a conference call with Philly media in advance of Sunday's game. "They supported me in what I did. They believed in it and they gave me that support which really is what a head coach needs.”
The veteran coach is confident Sirianni is getting the same treatment.
“I’m sure that’s happening the same way with Nick,” Reid said. “He’s getting the support from everybody in the building and that’s important, and he’s doing a good job.
“There’s a real small margin between winning and losing in this league so he’ll get going right."
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As a first-time play-caller, Sirianni looked like a world-beater in his debut at Atlanta before faltering with poor game plans against San Francisco and at Dallas.
“I think he’s doing a nice job with [play-calling] there,” said Reid. “He’s had some things to overcome with the offensive line [injuries] and that but it looks like his program is solid.”
One thing Reid noted is the constant with all first-time head coaches: the on-the-job learning aspect of the sheer enormity of the job, especially in a city like Philadelphia.
“It’s a lot different because you’ve got to deal with you guys and the media when you didn’t have to necessarily do that as a coordinator, then you’ve got to juggle the whole team, not just the offensive side,” Reid said. “Those are the challenges you’re presented as a new coach.”
The scheme stuff and the play-calling is the easy part, according to the KC coach.
“The play calling and all that I think probably comes pretty naturally to him,” the veteran coach said. “Setting up a game plan and doing that. He’s done that for a while. I don’t think that’s the toughest part. It’s just doing those other responsibilities on there.”
Sirianni was an assistant with the Chiefs in the four seasons before Reid’s arrival, serving as a quality control coach, assistant quarterbacks coach, and receivers coach, in many ways his foundation as an NFL mentor.
Reid, though, went with familiar faces to him when he shifted to the Chiefs, using David Culley as the WR coach, Doug Pederson as the offensive coordinator, and Matt Nagy to mentor QBs.
All three of those names went on to become head coaches, a perfect example of the green thumb that has produced the greatest coaching tree of the modern generation.
Reid didn’t have a relationship with Sirianni who moved on to San Diego in 2013.
“I don’t know Nick that well other than through the Eagles,” Reid said. “I talk with [GM] Howie [Roseman] and I’ve got to kind of know him through that. I knew his reputation here. I mean everybody thought he was a really good football coach when he was here, so I’ve kind of followed him along his path here.”
Sunday shapes up as 239 to 1, however, and significant personnel advantages for Reid along with an angry team coming in after a poor 1-2 start and a Reid health scare.
It might not be pretty for Sirianni in the short term, but Reid believes everything will be fine for his old team in the long run.
“I think the Eagles," said Reid, "are in good hands.”
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
