Andy Reid admits he focused too much on personnel, drifted away from coaching in Philly

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There wasn’t much in the way of parting words when Andy Reid was finally dismissed as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. After 14 seasons without a Lombardi Trophy, what was left to say? Reid was fired, and less than a week later he had landed on his feet with the Kansas City Chiefs. Even Big Red probably didn’t have much of an opportunity to reflect.

Now that he’s settled into his new digs though, I gather Reid may have a little more time on his hands this offseason. He spoke at an NFL Career Development Symposium in Philly over the weekend, which the Inquirer’s Zach Berman attended. There, Reid opened up about why he thinks things went downhill at his previous place of employment.

"About a year ago, I found out what I wasn't good at because [I was] out the door," said Reid, now the Kansas City Chiefs coach. "I went back, and I looked at it, and . . . I drifted away from the thing I love doing most, and that was coaching."

"I took [myself] completely out, dealt more with personnel . . . stopped calling the plays, all those things," Reid said.

According to Berman, Reid says he’s focused more of his attention on the ground in Kansas City rather than acting as the be-all and end-all on football decisions.

From an outsider’s perspective, it’s difficult to argue with Reid’s self-assessment. The final years of his Eagles tenure were marred by terrible personnel decisions, especially during the fatal 2011 offseason. Not only was it a lost draft class that produced just one quality player out of 11 selections (center Jason Kelce in the sixth round), but that was also the summer of the free-agent spending spree that spawned a “Dream Team” culture in the locker room.

Even though Reid almost always took the blame for everything bad that happened—“I’ve gotta do a better job”—some of his explanations here felt like a breath of fresh air. It doesn’t change what happened, but at least he is able to admit his shortcomings.

>> Reid: I wanted to get back to coaching [Inq]

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