There is plenty of noise coming from the "Fire Andy Reid" camp, and their numbers are climbing. This is Philadelphia, and Reid is rapidly closing in on his 13th season without producing a Super Bowl championship, so it's safe to chalk this up as the natural course of things. Even Reid's most vocal supporters have to see the writing on the wall, particularly as this season spirals out of control.
Criticism of Reid has been building for years, and it's reached a point where it's hard to imagine him surviving a 5-11 or 6-10 finish. The blame ultimately falls on the head coach, and the public outcry would be unbearable.
Barring some kind of incredible turnaround, your wish should soon be granted.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
But what surprises me is where the accountability seems to stop. It extends to his staff, especially Juan Castillo, who was thrust into a no-win situation after his promotion from offensive line coach to defensive coordinator. It moves up the chain of command to Howie Roseman, who became the organization's head talent evaluator after two years in the personnel department. Heck, it goes all the way to the top, right to Joe Banner and Jeffrey Lurie, despite the fact that all the owner did was open his pockets so the team could sign every available Pro Bowler this off-season.
That's it? Fire Andy Reid, and Castillo along with him, and this operation is fixed. Kick Howie the accountant out of personnel, and finally, put Banner and Lurie on the first train out of town, and we the fans can start counting the Lombardi Trophies.
It sounds all well and good... but what about these players? You know, the guys who have been bumbling about the field, committing stupid penalty after stupid penalty, turning the ball over repeatedly, dropping perfect passes like this is a game of hot potato, and taking every opportunity to run their mouths in the media or all over their Twitter accounts -- shouldn't we fire most of them, too?
And it's not just the Vince Youngs and Steve Smiths, extraneous parts the Eagles could rid themselves of in a heartbeat without thinking twice. Nor is it simply the Kurt Colemans or Brian Rolles, developing players pressed into action basically because the team couldn't come up with any better alternatives.
News
It's DeSean Jackson. It's Jeremy Maclin. It's Nnamdi Asomugha. It's Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. It's Michael friggin Vick. It's many of the very players who are supposed to be the core of this team -- they are supposed to be STARS.
What you really need to be asking yourself is whether or not this franchise needs to almost completely rebuild.
The time has come to start sorting out who needs to stay and who should go, because it might not be as easy as dumping Reid. A new head coach may not be able to turn this thing around. Bill Cowher isn't going to be the coach who gets the most out of Vick. Jon Gruden isn't going restore this defense and its personnel back to the days of Jim Johnson. Which coaching candidate has the patience to teach big-boy NFL players the pop-warner fundamentals of catching and securing a football?
Andy Reid's days are probably numbered. At this point, that's not too difficult to come to terms with. But then the front office better draft a quarterback this April. No coach in the NFL has gotten more out of quarterbacks from Vick to Donovan McNabb, and A.J. Feeley to Kevin Kolb over the past decade, so there is no reason to believe Vick's growth, which is already stunted in the first place, will continue under a new coach, new system, and new philosophies. The Eagles should start grooming his successor for 2013, when the front office can at least entertain the notion of getting out from under Vick's enormous contract.
They better slap the franchise tag on DeSean at this season's conclusion, and begin shopping him around for extra picks in this year's draft. They better trade Asante Samuel for real this time, because there are lots and lots of pieces that need replacing. They better stop messing around with Jim Washburn's Wide Nines defensive front, unless they are going to miraculously come up with some linebackers who can shed blocks. They shouldn't be in too big of a rush to offer extensions to Maclin or DRC, either.
That may be only the tip of the iceberg. Very few things are working here.
What is working is LeSean McCoy, one of the best running backs in the league. What is making progress is Howard Mudd's offensive line that's opening huge holes for Shady, anchored by one of the best left tackles in football in Jason Peters. But sadly, somehow, that's all. A small number of individuals have consistently performed. A handful have shown promise, and maybe just need to be given a chance, or utilized in the right scheme.
Any way you look at it though, a new coach is going to want his guys. The Eagles might find themselves dumping young or quality players who wind up going on to have perfectly fine pro football careers, simply because they don't fit in the new system and new philosophies.
If you think Reid should go -- and honestly, who doesn't right now? -- realize that it might come at the cost of starting over. Obviously it's not impossible to find a head coach who can walk in and doesn't have to make drastic changes, such as installing a 3-4 defense that wouldn't fit the personnel, or drafting a quarterback in the first round when there are other options already on the roster.
But if you believe that can happen here, you are placing too much of the blame on Andy Reid, and only fooling yourself that this team has great players who are merely poorly coached. We were wrong about the level of talent inside that locker room. Make no mistake, these 53 players stink, with few exceptions -- and the Eagles, with or without Reid, are further than they've been from competing for a championship in a long, long time.