He wasnt pleased. He made that pretty plain.
Before the Eagles went off to do whatever they do during the offseason, LeSean McCoy talked to the media. He had a lot to say. The running back defended Andy Reid, blamed unnamed players for various infractions, and expressed his deep disgust with the teams 4-12 tire fire of a season.
At the end, though, he took a step backor at least a stutter step to the sideand accepted the reality that the Eagles will have a new head coach in the near future. McCoy allowed that the Eagles probably need to hit the reset button, and finding a new front man for a band that played the same old songs for 14 years might just be a good way to do it.
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I will say this, bringing in a new coach, I think things will be different, McCoy said. Getting rid of all the losses and the bad plays, things like that, going to a new coach and a new direction, things will probably be different. You want to impress a new coach. Guys want to show that first impression that Hey, Im going to work hard. Im playing for you. I think that will take us in the right direction. As bad as I dont want Reid to leave, and I really dontI love that guy like a dadI feel like, for the organization, its probably the best thing.I feel like, a new coach, a new direction, guys will play a little different because its something new.
There were some key words in his statement, new and different being chief among them. The organization thrived with Reid. Then it survived with Reid. Then it stagnated with Reid. Then it ultimately deteriorated with Reid. And now Reid is gone.
The once successful union between the team and its longtime head coach has been dissolved. Divorce isnt easy, but it does offer an opportunity for a fresh start. New and different. The team needs that. The players need that. The city and its frustrated fans need that, too.
What they dont need is a recycled head coach.
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The Eagles are nothing if not thorough. Their already exhaustive search will continue unchecked on Thursday when they interview Lovie Smith. The former Bears head coach was pretty good during nine seasons in Chicago. He compiled an 81-63 record and finished with the third-best winning percentage in Bears history after Hall of Famers George Halas and Mike Ditka.
He also reached one Super Bowl. And lost. That might remind you of someone.
While Smith is a fine football man, he is not new or different. Portraying him as anything but an NFL establishment coach would be disingenuouslike listening to an incumbent politician pretend that he is not of Washington even though he has long been in Washington. Its hard to imagine the fan base, or even the players, working itself into a frothy fervor over a guy whose greatest accomplishment over the last few years was babysitting Jay Cutler.
The prospect of learning about the unfamiliar. The attendant energy that serves as the fuel for every leap of faith. Thats what the Eagles need to bottle and gift wrap for the city and the team.
Maybe you didnt endorse the curious courtship of Chip Kelly (or Brian Kelly), but at least the Oregon head coach represented a significant shift away from the last few disappointing years of Eagles football. He might have been awesome or awful as the Eagles head coach, but at a minimum it would have been interesting to find out.
Gus Bradley. Mike McCoy. Keith Armstrong. They represent that same potential. They might develop into excellent head coaches or they might pop from the pressure. The unknown is frightening -- but it is also exhilarating.
I think its better to find the right leader than it is to make the fastest decision, Jeffrey Lurie said before the team began its extensive hunt for a head coach. The rules are such in the NFL that you have to interview people according to the guidelines such as teams in and out of the playoffs, and you may have to wait until a team has completed their Super Bowl run. The important thing is to find the right coach, not to make the fastest decision. Thats our priority.
They should take all the time they need. Its an important process.
Shop for the right ingredients, prepare a proper meal. New. Different. Something to tease the pigskin palate. It sounds so much better than leftovers.
E-mail John Gonzalez at jgonzalez@comcastsportsnet.com