The Philadelphia Eagles Andy Reid Connection
By Jon Dove
The Philadelphia Eagles are on the verge of a Super Bowl appearance and the last time they were in the big game Andy Reid was the Head Coach. This year’s team strangely has some major connections to Reid.
Andy Reid has been with the Kansas City Chiefs since 2013 last coaching the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012. However, this year’s Eagles team plenty of links to Reid. It will be interesting if this version of the Eagles is able to win a Super Bowl when Reid never accomplished that feat.
Reid’s tenure with the Philadelphia Eagles was very successful. He had plenty of playoff appearances and reached the NFC Championship game four times in the early 2000’s. However, he was unable to bring a championship to Philadelphia and that’s the main reason he was let go.
Looking at the current Eagles the first connect to Reid comes at the Head Coach spot. Doug Pederson was signed by the Eagles to play quarterback when Reid joined the team in 1999. His role was to be a mentor for the newly drafted Donovan McNabb.
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After Pederson’s playing career, he rejoined Reid as an offensive assistant with the Eagles. He eventually reach the level of quarterback’s coach in Philadelphia until he followed Reid to the Chiefs to be his offensive coordinator.
Duce Staley is another staff member who has a connection to Reid. He was the team’s running back for several years during Reid’s tenure.
The next major connection to Reid is quarterback Nick Foles. Reid drafted Foles who started several games his rookie season. After failing to keep his job in Philadephia and with the St. Louis Rams, Foles signed with the Chiefs who were coached by Reid.
Other holdovers from the Reid era include key contributors such as Jason Kelce, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Mychal Kendricks, Vinny Curry and Brent Celek.
If sure Reid is rooting for his former team and the players connected to his career. However, it will be a tough pill to swallow if Eagles are able to win the Super Bowl with so much of his finger prints on the current makeup.