Reid’s Impact Felt A Decade After His Departure

In the days after winning the NFC Championship Game, Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni was asked about his final days at Kansas City, where he started his NFL coaching career. Initially hired by former Chiefs Head Coach Todd Haley as offensive quality control, he was promoted to wide receivers coach after the Chiefs hired Romeo Crennel to replace Haley.

Sirianni was let go by the Chiefs shortly after they brought in a new head coach to replace Crennel, Andy Reid. Reid was just hired by the Chiefs after being fired by the Eagles just one week prior. Reid delivered the news to Sirianni personally.

“He told me face to face that he had a guy,” Sirianni recalled about the meeting, “but had heard good things about me, and I appreciated that, his honesty, his ability to get to me as soon as he possibly could so I could move on and find another job.”

Sirianni would eventually take the helm of the Philadelphia Eagles, and utilized the same approach he saw Reid take with him when making coaching changes during his first days. Now, Sirianni will face off against Reid in the Super Bowl.

Reid was let go by the Eagles a decade ago, yet Reid’s 14 seasons with the Eagles are still some of the most impactful in the franchise’s history. During those years, the former quarterbacks coach for the Green Bay Packers guided the Eagles to the most playoff appearances under a head coach in franchise history, a grand total of nine times, including four straight NFC Championship Game appearances. The last one led to the Eagles’ appearance in Super Bowl XXXIX, when they lost to the New England Patriots.

Reid became the winningest coach in franchise history by both raw victories (120) and winning percentage (.609). He also has the most playoff wins in franchise history at 10.

Reid’s tenure with the Eagles was most known for the rise of quarterback Donovan McNabb, whose number 5 was retired by the Eagles on September 19, 2013 during a Thursday Night Football game between the Eagles and the Chiefs, who had hired Reid a week after the Eagles fired him. McNabb, drafted under Reid’s tenure and who played for the Eagles from 1999-2009, was under center for all of the Eagles’ NFC Championship appearances in the early 2000s, including the one that led to Super Bowl XXXIX.

It’s easy to point to places where Reid’s impact is visible. Most notably the Eagles’ effective use of the tight end position. During the 2000 season, Tight End Chad Lewis was the top receiver on the team. Brent Celek was brought in during the end of Reid’s tenure, and from there Zac Ertz came on until last season, replaced in the number one slot by Dallas Goedert. Strong players throughout, and the Eagles’ history of effectively using the tight end dates back to Reid’s tenure.

Reid definitely wasn’t perfect. He was routinely criticized during his tenure for his propensity to make missteps in clock management. Reid was effectively the GM of the team, and some of his draft or free agent choices left a lot to be desired. But his impact is seen most visibly today in three veteran players. Center Jason Kelce, Defensive Tackle Fletcher Cox, and Defensive End Brandon Graham were all drafted during Reid’s tenure. All three are big names on the team today. Kelce and Cox are six-time Pro Bowl selections. Graham, the longest tenured of the group, made the famous strip sack that put the Patriots’ hopes of winning Super Bowl LII on life support.

Reid today is still proud of those three.

“I know them personally, so I’m proud,” he said. “They are tough guys, tough-minded, they’re good leaders, they’re fun to be around and they’re good football players.”

Graham, for his part, looks back fondly on the Andy Reid era.

“I’m always indebted to him,” Graham said, “because of [his] taking a chance on me.”

The Eagles are 0-3 against Reid since Reid took over the Chiefs. On Sunday, they’ll look to replace that zero in a big way. The team has definitely changed over the last 10 years, but Reid’s tenure left a mark on the team that will last for a long time.