In a 10-minute episode on his ‘Say What Needs To Be Said’ podcast, retired NFL cornerback Asante Samuel rips current Kansas City Chiefs and former Philadelphia Eagles HC Andy Reid to Elton Patterson as to why his Eagles came up short against the Arizona Cardinals in the 2008 NFC Championship Game and Reid’s relationship with QB Donovan McNabb.
Revisiting Andy Reid’s Time as Philadelphia Eagles’ HC
Reid’s first head coaching stop in the NFL was with the Eagles from 1999 to 2012.
Hoping to take the Eagles to the promised land, Reid used its second overall selection in the 1999 NFL Draft on a very familiar name by many: McNabb, a dual-threat quarterback.
McNabb did not see the field full-time until the 2000 season when he finished second in the Associated Press NFL MVP voting.
Reid’s run in Philadelphia saw a ton of success in postseason play, but aside from a Super Bowl loss against the New England Patriots during the 2004 season, Reid’s Eagles were unable to ever get past the NFC Championship Game.
Reid’s tenure in Philadelphia lasted up until the end of the 2012 season, which saw the Eagles take a 42-7 beating at the hands of the New York Giants.
A day before turning the calendar to 2013, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie announced that the team would not extend Reid’s contract.
During his 14-year stint in Philadelphia, Reid was responsible for the best win total (120), winning percentage (.609), and playoff victory total (10) in the franchise’s history.
Reid captured six NFC East titles to go along with five stops in the NFC Championship Game.
Nonetheless, Reid will always be remembered for one infamous statistic: Zero Super Bowl championships.
So what went wrong?
What Did Asante Samuel Say About Reid?
Samuel, who attended high school and college in Florida, was blunt when talking about what went wrong during Reid’s time in Philadelphia and why his team could not create the same achievements Reid has with his current bunch.
Before he arrived in Philadelphia, Samuel spent five seasons in New England and was coached by, arguably, the greatest to ever do it, Bill Belichick.
If you know Belichick, you know he did not take a lack of effort from any of his players on the roster.
Samuel spoke about the first day of practice in Philadelphia, saying, “Everything was a little different.”
Who stood out to him in a not-so-fond way?
Donovan McNabb.
After failing to complete a pass on a simple dig route run by a receiver in front of an invisible defense, Samuel mentioned a lack of effort and accountability was shown from Reid and his quarterback too.
“Coming from New England, these plays are 100% needed to be executed at all times because we are professionals; we do this every day,” a passionate Samuel said.
Samuel described the reaction as a “quiet” one, and that ultimately bothered Samuel — considering the former two-time Super Bowl champion shared the same locker room with Tom Brady.
For the first time ever in his playing career, Samuel decided to have a 1-on-1 talk with Reid to try and figure out what was going on.
What was Reid’s response?
“Asante, it’s your job to discipline and reprimand any of the players on the team.”
A stunned Samuel kept it moving, reminiscing about the Eagles’ NFC Championship Game loss against Arizona in 2008.
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During the game, McNabb saw a wide-open DeSean Jackson on three separate occasions.
McNabb’s passes fell short.
“Andy Reid would have one more Super Bowls if we were able to apply more discipline of Donovan McNabb and we were able to hold him accountable more and not treat him like a baby,” Samuel said.
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