In the aftermath of the craziest offseason day in NFL history -- March 21 -- Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times dropped a bombshell that otherwise would have dominated multiple news cycles.
Farmer reported, citing two unnamed league insiders, that Eagles coach Andy Reid was ready to walk away from his job if he didn’t get more control over personnel. Predictably, Reid denied the implication that he’s ever had anything less than full control. “I have had final say on personnel matters for quite some time here and that’s never been an issue or a point of contention,” Reid said. “Our front office works very well together and that’s one of our strengths.”
As the dust settles on some of the zanier stories from the past two weeks, Reid’s reported threat continues to stir things up. Geoff Mosher of delawareonline.com (which is telling me I have only three more free article left, which means I’ll only ever visit delawareonline.com three more times in my life) meanders through the issue, taking a naive slap at the reporting from Farmer, a respected and connected NFL journalist, but never declaring agreement or disagreement with the notion that Reid nearly resigned.
Regardless, there had been a vague sense in league circles that team president Joe Banner and G.M. Howie Roseman systematically had finagled greater influence over the roster, culminating in last summer’s spending spree that brought in a bunch of new names -- and unreasonably raised expectations for a Super Bowl victory. Before owner Jeffrey Lurie announced at an out-of-character January press conference that no changes will be made for 2012, unsubstantiated rumors swirled that something had happened with Banner’s authority, none of which rumors we ever we able to confirm.
This year, regardless of whether Reid does or doesn’t have more power, the Eagles have opted not to hire strangers but to reward the men who have been in the trenches with the team. That could be the best way to ensure that the current regime will be around in 2013, and beyond.