Andy Reid, Philadelphia’s coach of 14 years, was among the casualties as a welter of under-achieving NFL teams axed coaches on “Black Monday” following the end of the regular season. Reid is the winningest coach in Eagles club history. Since he arrived in 1999 the team has posted a regular-season record…
via ESPN
The Philadelphia Eagles fired coach Andy Reid after 14 seasons, the team announced Monday.
“Andy Reid won the most games of any head coach in Eagles history and he is someone I respect greatly and will remain friends with for many years to come,” owner Jeffrey Lurie said in a statement. “But, it is time for the Eagles to move in a new direction. Coach Reid leaves us with a winning tradition that we can build upon. And we are very excited about the future.”
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid walks on the field before an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)
Lurie will address the media at a 1 p.m. ET news conference.
Sunday’s loss to the Giants dropped the Eagles to 4-12 this season.
Reid was due to make $6 million in 2013, the final year of his contract.
Sources told ESPN on Sunday that Reid already was preparing to coach elsewhere next season in case he is no longer with the Eagles. He has been calling around the league trying to put together a coaching staff, so when he was fired he would be ready to resume coaching for another franchise next season, sources said.
Some around the league have wondered whether Reid would be a good fit back in California, where he grew up, but the San Diego Chargers are planning to go in a different direction, according to league sources.
Although he is not expected to be a candidate with the Chargers, Reid could wind up as a candidate in Jacksonville if the Jaguars fire Mike Mularkey or in Arizona if the Cardinals part ways with coach Ken Whisenhunt.
The 54-year-old Reid, who was hired to coach the Eagles in 1999, is 130-93-1 in 14 seasons with the franchise.
PITTSBURGH – Backed up deep in their own territory, their slow start to the season in danger of turning into a legitimate freefall, the Pittsburgh Steelers did what they always seem to do when things get tight.
They relaxed.
Ben Roethlisberger converted a pair of critical third downs during a remarkably patient 64-yard drive over the final 6:33 and Shaun Suisham drilled a 34-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Steelers to a 16-14 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the rain on Sunday.
“We had the ball last,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. “Such is life.”
It’s a way of life the Eagles had grown comfortable with during the season’s opening month. Philadelphia (3-2) appeared on the verge of its third one-point win of the season when Michael Vick hit Brent Celek for a 2-yard score midway through the fourth quarter.
The Steelers (2-2) started at their own 20 then promptly went backwards thanks to a holding penalty.
Roethlisberger hit Antonio Brown for 20 yards on third-and-12. A 15-yard screen pass to running back Rashard Mendenhall – making his return from surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee – moved Pittsburgh into Eagles territory.
Two plays later Roethlisberger found Emmanuel Sanders for an eight-yard gain and five straight runs put the Steelers well within Suisham’s range. The kick was good all the way, and the Steelers avoided their first 1-3 start under Tomlin.
“I always have confidence in myself and the guys that we can do it,” said Roethlisberger after engineering his 25th career fourth-quarter comeback. “It’s good to go down. That was everybody on that drive.”
Roethlisberger completed 21 of 37 passes for 207 yards, and Mendenhall finished with 81 rushing yards and a score while adding 20 receiving yards as Pittsburgh’s beleaguered running game showed signs of life.
“Our savior is back,” Roethlisberger joked. “We’ve been teasing him all week. It was great to see him out there and he did a great job.”
Vick completed 20 of 30 passes for 175 yards and two scores but fumbled twice for the Eagles, who couldn’t keep their string of narrow early-season victories going. LeSean McCoy rushed for 53 yards, and caught four passes for 27 yards and a touchdown for Philadelphia.
“This one is going to burn for a minute,” Vick said.
The Eagles trailed the whole way but put together a grinding 17-play, 79-yard drive at the start of the final quarter, converting a pair of risky fourth downs, including one deep inside their own territory. McCoy turned both into first downs, twisting for the necessary yardage on fourth-and-inches at the Philadelphia 30 then bulling for two yards on fourth-and-1 at the Pittsburgh 47.
“I don’t know how I can say this humble … we felt like we could drive on them,” McCoy said.
Scoring, however, proved to be another matter.
“You’re going to need to score more points, going to need to help our defense out a lot more,” Vick said. “And we tried to the best we can. Pittsburgh’s a good football team; their record might not have shown it.”
The Steelers came in smarting following a 34-31 loss in Oakland two weeks ago before heading into a well-timed bye that allowed the defense to get healthy. Pittsburgh hoped the return of linebacker James Harrison and safety Troy Polamalu from injury would spark a defense that looked a step slow in in the second half of losses to the Raiders and Broncos.
The reunion of the two stars didn’t last long.
Polamalu left in the first quarter after re-aggravating a strained right calf and the Steelers lost outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley with a strained hamstring shortly thereafter.
Still, the Steelers prevented the Eagles from making big plays. Philadelphia’s longest gain was all of 24 yards and Pittsburgh forced Vick to fumble three times – including on into the end zone that Steelers linebacker Larry Foote pounced on – and didn’t let him get anything going with his legs.
“Our defense stood up today,” said Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons. “We really needed this win. A good team is always defined by what they do after losses.”
The in-state rivals face each other only once every four years, though things were pretty chippy. There was a considerable amount of pushing and shoving after the whistle and flow of any variety was hard to come by on a day the teams combined for 14 penalties, including nine by the Steelers.
Pittsburgh’s offense found its footing first, with Mendenhall taking a lateral from Roethlisberger and dashing 13 yards for a score midway through the second quarter.
“When I stepped out there I knew I would be comfortable,” said Mendenhall, who hadn’t played since injuring the knee in a victory over Cleveland on New Year’s Day. “I just wanted to go out there and play the best that I could and I was able to do that.”
Pittsburgh made it 10-0 at the half on a 20-yard field goal by Suisham, though the Steelers missed a chance to go up two touchdowns when Jerricho Cotchery tripped going into the end zone.
Philadelphia drew within 10-7 on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Vick to McCoy, setting up a dramatic fourth quarter in which the Steelers turned the tables on the Eagles.
“Things happen,” Vick said. “I wish I could take the fumble back on the goal line but you can’t. Ultimately I think we put ourselves into a position to win this game and we didn’t win.”
NOTES: Tomlin said it’s too early to tell if either Woodley or Polamalu will be available for Thursday night’s game in Tennessee … The Eagles escaped injury-free according to coach Andy Reid. RB Bryce Brown left briefly with a shoulder strain while LB Mychal Kendricks went out for a bit with a sprained ankle … The Steelers are 5-1 after bye weeks under Tomlin … Pittsburgh TE Heath Miller had four receptions for 43 yards to become the eighth player in franchise history to top 4,000 career receiving yards … Vick had a quarterback rating of 104.2, the 12th time he’s topped the 100 mark during his time in Philadelphia … The Eagles host Detroit next Sunday.
© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Michael Vick - Getty Images
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For the first time this season, Eagles quarterback Michael Vick – did his thing. Heading into the game, Philadelphia had 12 giveaways, nine of which came from Vick….someone we call the man!Vick drove the Eagles 75 yards to a game-winning field goal by Alex Henry with 1:52 left in the game to lift them to a 19-17 victory at Lincoln Financial Field.It was Vick’s third fourth-quarter comeback victory this season, giving him 12 in his career.On the Eagles’ final play from scrimmage quarterback Vick rolled left and appeared to pull up a bit before hitting the deck.
After the game, Vick addressed whether he suffered an injury.
“Something happened with my knee on the last drive,” Vick told reporters. “I’m all right though. Hopefully will be ready for Sunday.”
CBS Sport News contributed to this report.
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Garrett Reid, son of Philadelphia Eagles head football coach Andy Reid, was found dead Sunday in his room at the Eagles training camp at Lehigh University.
“This is a tough morning for all of us in the Eagles family. Garrett grew up with this team, and this makes this news even harder for us to process,” the team’s General Manager Howie Roseman said.
There were no signs of suspicious activities, authorities said.
Reid, 29, was assisting the strength and conditioning staff at training camp, the team said. He was a guest of his father, not part of the staff, a team spokesman said.
Training camp will continue. An investigation is under way.
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The Philadelphia Eagles signs running back Ronnie Brown to a one year deal and this is according to Philly’s official Twitter feed, ex-Miami RB Ronnie Brown “agreed to terms” on a one-year contract.
Without tweets we would be at a all time lost. (buck eyed)
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