LeSean McCoy Says Reid Is Staying Put
SEATTLE — There will be a lot of hours spent discussing and debating Andy Reid’s fate over the next four weeks. LeSean McCoy believes it will be a waste of breath.
“Andy’s not going nowhere,” McCoy said following the Eagles‘ 31-14 loss to the Seahawks.
“As a team we know [Reid will be back]. We have a lot of trust in him, a lot of faith in him, and the franchise does too. They know they have a good coach. If you ask around the league, he’s by far one of the top coaches in this league.”
Eagles fans may have a tough time buying that argument, at least while in the midst of one of the most disappointing seasons in the team’s history. The rage has been building, and the calls for his ousting will boom like thunder now.
Ownership must weigh a city’s discontent. They are also charged with sifting through the wreckage to figure out just how much of this falls on their head coach. Is it him? How much of it is him? Has he lost control of the team? Does his message no longer resonate?
The players are deflecting the blame away from Reid and putting it on themselves, much like he has done for them over his tenure.
“This isn’t on the coaches,” said Cullen Jenkins. “Look at the performance [Thursday], look at last week — coaches can’t do nothing about what we’re doing on the field like that. That has nothing to do with the coaches. We all have to buy into it and we all have to play.”
“If you look at this game, I don’t see where it’s Andy Reid’s fault,” McCoy added. “Turnovers, Andy can’t control that. Lack of doing your assignment — he doesn’t have control over that — that’s us as players. He puts us in the position to make plays and do the right things…He takes blame for a lot of things that he shouldn’t.”
But what is coaching if not instilling discipline and ensuring execution?
Reid said in his postgame press conference that he is getting full investment from each of his players and that everyone is playing hard.
“We have a group of good guys,” he said. “I can’t complain a bit about the effort or the work ethic that they put forth.”
So the effort is there, according to the head coach. And the talent is there. McCoy, in fact, was as bold as to say that the Eagles are “far, far better” than the Seahawks minutes after getting more than doubled-up by them.
What’s missing, then?
“Tackling, catching, simple stuff that not just a championship team but any team with pride would do, we’re not doing it,” said Jenkins. “It’s frustrating.”
And it is reflecting very poorly on one of the most established head coaches in the NFL, whose teams have never had their pride, commitment, heart or preparedness brought into question until now.
If everyone believes in Reid, why aren’t the players representing for him?
“That is a good question,” Jenkins replied.
It is the question. The answer will determine the direction of this franchise.
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