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By David Moulton, Daily News columnist
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/nov/03/david_moulton_eagles_coach_shouldnt_be_treated_any/
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Two years ago Terrell Owens acted like a moody, spoiled jerk as a wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles. He wanted a new contract. The Philadelphia Eagles didn't want to give him one. So, he bad-mouthed his own quarterback, head coach and owner. He caused a split in the team and eventually T.O. did what no teams have been able to do this decade: He kept the Eagles out of the playoffs and was eventually released. Terrell Owens is forever Public Enemy No. 1 in Philadelphia. Eagles head coach Andy Reid was seen as a man of principle and dignity.
This week, a family drama played out publicly in Philadelphia. A judge sentenced both of Andy Reid's adult sons to jail for repeated drug arrests. In doing so, the judge took the remarkable step of publicly condemning the Reid family. Judge Steven O'Neill said, "There isn't any structure there that this court can depend upon. It sounds more or less like a drug emporium over there with drugs all over the house and both kids are addicts." He finished his remarks by adding, "I'm saying this is a family in crisis".
The picture painted by Judge O'Neill is a Reid house filled with drugs, guns and ammunition. Reid is an absentee father (and the mother is at the very least clueless), whose two drug addict sons have been "over-medicated" for much of their childhood. How is this man still the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles?
Reid did take a five-week leave of absence from his job in the spring when both of his sons were arrested (again) and sent to rehab. He has repeatedly vowed that his family situation would not affect his job performance as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. How could it not? And if not, do you really want a head coach who is more committed to his team than his own family?
That may seem harsh, but the life of an NFL head coach is one of 16-hour days and 100-hour weeks. That doesn't leave a whole lot left for the family. If you argue, well the kids are adults, they can make their own decisions... remember they still live at home with their parents. Therefore, is not Reid at least partially responsible for the situation?
As harsh a judgment as I've just made, I bring it up because if a player was in this same situation the league would be dropping the hammer on him. Don't think so? A judge publicly comes out and says that a player's home is filled with "drugs, guns and ammunition." What do you think would happen to him? He would be suspended for the rest of this season. Minimum.
Why is a head coach not being held to one iota of the standard that has been set for the players? Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson took HGH so that the 48-year-old could reduce some of his post-NFL pain and live a better quality of life. He was suspended four games and Commissioner Roger Goodell specifically said that all NFL employees should be held to the same standards. Why does Andy Reid get a pass?
Sports and the real world very rarely cross paths, but when they do, don't you have to do the right thing? Reid should ask for, and the Eagles should give Reid a paid leave of absence for at least the rest of the season. Reid clearly needs to go home and stay there for awhile. He, his wife and two sons have a lot of work to do to repair their lives.
If this doesn't happen, then the Philadelphia Eagles need to fire Andy Reid -- for his own good.
If the Philadelphia Eagles stand by and do nothing, they look like an organization that only cares about winning. They have to admit that they knew of Reid's family mess and looked the other way because he is their all-time winningest coach, or that they didn't know. Didn't know? Reid's sons have been getting arrested for three years now.
If the Eagles do nothing, then they better be ready for the public complaints of this under-performing team (3-4) to get very personal if the losing continues. How personal? Well, imagine if after a loss to Terrell Owens and the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, the calls to the local sports radio station, "If Reid knew how to parent, we'd still have TO and we would have won a Super Bowl by now. Reid is a bad father, now he's a bad coach. Get rid of the bum."
This is Philadelphia. They booed Santa Claus and Mike Schmidt. Trust me, this could get a lot uglier.
Knowing what you now know, if you were the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, who would you want on your team? Terrell Owens or Andy Reid? I'd go with Owens. At least I could buy his happiness. There's no amount of money that can solve Andy Reid's problems.
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/nov/03/david_moulton_eagles_coach_shouldnt_be_treated_any/
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Two years ago Terrell Owens acted like a moody, spoiled jerk as a wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles. He wanted a new contract. The Philadelphia Eagles didn't want to give him one. So, he bad-mouthed his own quarterback, head coach and owner. He caused a split in the team and eventually T.O. did what no teams have been able to do this decade: He kept the Eagles out of the playoffs and was eventually released. Terrell Owens is forever Public Enemy No. 1 in Philadelphia. Eagles head coach Andy Reid was seen as a man of principle and dignity.
This week, a family drama played out publicly in Philadelphia. A judge sentenced both of Andy Reid's adult sons to jail for repeated drug arrests. In doing so, the judge took the remarkable step of publicly condemning the Reid family. Judge Steven O'Neill said, "There isn't any structure there that this court can depend upon. It sounds more or less like a drug emporium over there with drugs all over the house and both kids are addicts." He finished his remarks by adding, "I'm saying this is a family in crisis".
The picture painted by Judge O'Neill is a Reid house filled with drugs, guns and ammunition. Reid is an absentee father (and the mother is at the very least clueless), whose two drug addict sons have been "over-medicated" for much of their childhood. How is this man still the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles?
Reid did take a five-week leave of absence from his job in the spring when both of his sons were arrested (again) and sent to rehab. He has repeatedly vowed that his family situation would not affect his job performance as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. How could it not? And if not, do you really want a head coach who is more committed to his team than his own family?
That may seem harsh, but the life of an NFL head coach is one of 16-hour days and 100-hour weeks. That doesn't leave a whole lot left for the family. If you argue, well the kids are adults, they can make their own decisions... remember they still live at home with their parents. Therefore, is not Reid at least partially responsible for the situation?
As harsh a judgment as I've just made, I bring it up because if a player was in this same situation the league would be dropping the hammer on him. Don't think so? A judge publicly comes out and says that a player's home is filled with "drugs, guns and ammunition." What do you think would happen to him? He would be suspended for the rest of this season. Minimum.
Why is a head coach not being held to one iota of the standard that has been set for the players? Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson took HGH so that the 48-year-old could reduce some of his post-NFL pain and live a better quality of life. He was suspended four games and Commissioner Roger Goodell specifically said that all NFL employees should be held to the same standards. Why does Andy Reid get a pass?
Sports and the real world very rarely cross paths, but when they do, don't you have to do the right thing? Reid should ask for, and the Eagles should give Reid a paid leave of absence for at least the rest of the season. Reid clearly needs to go home and stay there for awhile. He, his wife and two sons have a lot of work to do to repair their lives.
If this doesn't happen, then the Philadelphia Eagles need to fire Andy Reid -- for his own good.
If the Philadelphia Eagles stand by and do nothing, they look like an organization that only cares about winning. They have to admit that they knew of Reid's family mess and looked the other way because he is their all-time winningest coach, or that they didn't know. Didn't know? Reid's sons have been getting arrested for three years now.
If the Eagles do nothing, then they better be ready for the public complaints of this under-performing team (3-4) to get very personal if the losing continues. How personal? Well, imagine if after a loss to Terrell Owens and the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, the calls to the local sports radio station, "If Reid knew how to parent, we'd still have TO and we would have won a Super Bowl by now. Reid is a bad father, now he's a bad coach. Get rid of the bum."
This is Philadelphia. They booed Santa Claus and Mike Schmidt. Trust me, this could get a lot uglier.
Knowing what you now know, if you were the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, who would you want on your team? Terrell Owens or Andy Reid? I'd go with Owens. At least I could buy his happiness. There's no amount of money that can solve Andy Reid's problems.
