Want Andy Reid gone? At the current rate, you'll get your wish soon enough. Then again, maybe it won't come quite soon enough for some of you.
After 14 years, Reid may very well be headed for a pink slip in the next two months. Don't expect the news to come down today though, nor this week or the next, probably no sooner than the end of the season. No matter how much you think he deserves it, there is simply no point in dumping the head coach at this stage, as some folks have already suggested.
Sure, such an announcement might bring fans a measure relief, but it doesn't change what the Eagles are with nine games left. After all, it's not like Jeffrey Lurie can go outside the current staff to find Reid's replacement in November.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
That should be stating the obvious. Never mind the fact that most active coaches are currently, you know, employed -- though it stands to reason that might be a stumbling block. Who in their right mind is going to sign up to take over a sinking ship? Even if the task was somehow appealing (it's not), no outside candidate would or could work with a foreign staff.
Reid couldn't successfully transition a new defensive coordinator with an extra week to prepare, so it's probably safe to say Vince Lombardi couldn't overhaul an entire staff in six days, mid-season. And again, coaches are working right now, not applying for jobs.
Nobody is available.
That means the only answer is to promote an interim coach from the current staff. Well, since those guys are doing such bang-up jobs, who do you think should get the call? Todd Bowles deserves to keep flying up the ladder after Sunday's effort on defense, no? Have Marty Mornhinweg or Bobby April drawn rave reviews coaching the offense and special teams? Maybe under-performing line play will get Howard Mudd and Jim Washburn some looks, but I doubt they're willing.
This isn't a situation where there is a head coach-in-waiting in the building. When this regime ends, you want it to be finished once and for all, so it's not as if you're getting a look at a guy the organization would consider hiring.
Face it: Andy Reid is the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles for at least another month or two -- and there are still two more logical reasons why.
First, the Eagles' season is not over yet at 3-4. That's not a vote of confidence as much as it is acknowledging the remaining existing possibilities. As long as there isn't somebody better stepping in right away, Reid might as well have every opportunity to dig himself and his team out of this mess. It's their best chance for this year, and he's certainly surprised us in the past.
Second, you can make the case Reid's dismissal is long overdue, and it's a valid point. That said, as difficult as it may be to remember, there were a lot of great years under Reid, and it should earn him a modicum of respect. As long as there isn't an obvious replacement, he should be allowed to finish out the year.
Because what purpose does causing a scene serve other than to humiliate a man who led the Eagles to multiple appearances in the conference final, plus a trip to the Super Bowl?
It appears the end is near, but while it may seem like getting it over with is a thing to do, it's not. The Eagles won't be in any position to truly start over before January, so rather than hastily pull the plug on 2012, time's Reid's.