Eagles coach Andy Reid and defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins got in each other’s faces during a sideline shouting match on Monday night, but afterward both of them insisted it was no big deal.
“Listen, it’s an emotional game,” Reid said, via CSNPhilly.com. “He was fired up. I was fired up. Those things happen. Cullen is my primary leader on that defensive line. I count on him for a lot of things. He was upset, and I was upset. We talked about it afterward, and we’re OK. I put a lot of responsibility on our defensive line, and I put a lot of responsibility on our offensive line. I didn’t necessarily think this was either one of their best performances. They picked it up after that point. They picked it up, and I thought they took charge the way that they’re very capable of doing.”
Jenkins said he wasn’t upset with Reid.
“It’s football,” Jenkins said. “Football causes that. If you’re out there playing, you’ve got to be emotional. It was nothing. Nothing was addressed. It’s an emotional game, and sometimes you need that spark and especially now in the preseason. I’m a real competitive person, and when I get out there, I want to win regardless. It wasn’t anything directed at anybody or personal like that. It wasn’t anything about a specific play. It was through the game. We’ve got a short window on where we need to be as a team, and we need to come out, and I don’t care if it’s preseason or not, we need to play like it. We can’t come out flat.”
Jenkins added, “Obviously, that’s not the way I should have handled it, but you just get emotional.” Jenkins is fortunate to have a coach who will brush it off when he gets emotional.