First, of course, it indicates that everyone has an opinion and that the Eagles are very much at the forefront of this region's conversation. Reid has been the head coach here for 13 seasons, is gearing up for No. 14, and is the subject of a lot of opinions.
Second, the idea that my friend's pro-Reid stance is part of a "minority" is an interesting concept. According to whom would he be in the minority? Talk radio, where the host can easily drive the agenda? The newspapers and columnists, where opinions are unscientific?
"Here's what I've learned," I said. "We put a poll up on the homepage of PhiladelphiaEagles.com shortly after the announcement was made asking fans to grade the move to retain Reid. We're up to more than 7,000 votes and more than 75 percent of the votes gave the move an 'A' or a 'B' grade. That doesn't sound like you are in the minority to me."
Well, the poll remains on the homepage, and the votes are well over 10,000 now and that "A" or "B" grading results have gone beyond 77 percent. I don't know of any other way to gauge how the fans feel other than to look at the poll, which allows one vote per IP address. There is no trickery involved. There are no games, and no altering of the data.
The fans have voted and they have overwhelmingly voted in favor of retaining Reid. Now, look, I understand how these things work. I know some are going to attack the legitimacy of the poll or question the "kinds" of fans who visit this web site. The poll is there, the votes are counted and there is nothing unusual going on that you don't know about.
What it tells me is that Eagles fans, as frustrated as they are that the Eagles haven't won a Super Bowl, think Chairman/CEO Jeffrey Lurie did the right thing by retaining Reid. That's it. Plain and simple and the numbers are very cut and dried and telling.
So, what does that mean for Reid? Probably not a lot, because he is such a focused man who knows that, no matter how witty or introspective he may be at his press conferences, the fans really care only about winning football games and winning a Super Bowl. Reid isn't great at press conferences and we all know that. He could put more effort into regaling reporters with stories and wining them over with a few chuckles, but that's not his style. At the end of the day, though, does it really matter that his answers are short and that his style is boring?
No. What matters is that Reid wins the Super Bowl. I've been around some really good press-conference head coaches. Buddy Ryan had a handful of go-to lines that always left the writers laughing. Well, Ryan never won a single playoff game. Rich Kotite was bombastic and a target for the media, which enjoyed attacking Kotite when the press conference lights were off. Ray Rhodes told bawdy stories that astonished the media and intrigued the fans, but at the end of the day Rhodes' Eagles fell into the abyss and no riotous story in a press conference could make the Eagles a better football team.
Over the years with Reid he has been criticized for A) Clock management; B) A poor run/pass ratio; C) His use of the challenge system and D) His reluctance to play rookies. Certainly, there have other critiques, but those are the main areas.
Tell me, looking back on 2011, which of those four areas you can legitimately criticize? There were few delay of game penalties and burned timeouts with the play clock running down. The run/pass ratio was as balanced as Reid has had, with running back LeSean McCoy at or near the NFL's rushing lead all season. Reid challenged 12 calls during the season and 10 were overturned. And the rookie class, with four draft picks emerging as starters and another (Chas Henry) the starting punter, has never been more involved.
It comes down, ultimately, to wins and losses. Reid has to coach better, that much is true. He has to figure out a way for his 2012 Eagles to start the season fast and finish strong. The 1-4 start in 2011 doomed the Eagles. Too many times in the past Reid's Eagles had to play great football down the stretch to make up for a so-so start and reach the postseason.
I'm sure Reid has gone through every play from 2011 and scrutinized each one in agonizing detail. He has seen the mistakes he made in far greater clarity than I could ever provide. Reid is hard on himself and his staff and, of course, his players. His goal is to win every week.
To think Reid is going to spend a lot of time re-inventing himself in the offseason and reach out to the media with the hope that the writers will portray him in a more positive light in the year ahead doesn't understand Reid at all. He is all business now. He has a lot of work to do, as does this entire organization, to bring the Eagles back to the elite level in the NFL. An 8-8 record doesn't cut it. The feeling everyone has with the playoffs about to begin and the Eagles on the sidelines is lousy, terrible, empty.
I've heard some people say that the decision to retain Reid was an unpopular one with the fans. I am not blind and foolish enough to think that every fans wants Reid back. Some believe that the Eagles must break away from Reid to some day capture the elusive Lombardi Trophy.
But the landslide majority, judging by the black-and-white nature of the poll on this web site, where more Eagles fans go on a daily basis than any other site, got what they wanted: Another year of Andy Reid leading the way as the Eagles try to bring home a title and complete a coaching profile that lacks only a Super Bowl championship to rank among the greatest of all time.
