Andy Reid walked among his peers this week here at the NFL Annual Meeting offering the kind of self-effacing confidence and concrete pride that have marked his nine seasons as coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.
It was the first time Reid had been in their midst since his drug-related travails with his sons Garrett and Britt. His peers reached out to him with compassion. He accepted it. He is equipped, he said, for another Eagles draft, another Eagles training camp, another Eagles season. The fact so many here wanted him back meant much to Reid.
But there is a more crucial endorsement that keeps him pressing on in the NFL.
"One thing both Garrett and Britt have been adamant about is telling me to keep coaching," Reid said softly, squinting under the brimming sunshine. "They said, 'Dad, keep doing it. Keep doing it your way. Don’t let things slide because of us.' That gave me a nice kick."
So, he will coach. He will persevere. He will fight. He will pursue that next championship, that next ring that each NFL coach craves.
But for how long?
"When that day comes," said Reid, "when it is time, I will acknowledge it and make that change. I’m fortunate that I get a say in when it is coming. I’m fortunate I get a say in when I decide I’m leaving."
He will take it a play at a time. A game at a time. A season.
He continues to build the Eagles. And bolster his family.
He knows that many people believe he cannot and should not serve both. Not now. Not with healing ongoing. He knows that people are watching him as a father, as a man, as much as they are watching him as a coach. He senses the incessant probing eyes on him.
"We’re all as coaches teachers, whether it is our kids or players," said Reid, who turned 50 on March 19. "I keep in perspective what I am trying to do with both. You get to the point in this kind of situation where you just don’t care about the outside opinions. You get to the point where you have to do the right thing, what your heart tells you to do. It is probably one of the most pure feelings you can have. Everybody has their own problems to deal with regardless of profession. I am no different from anyone –- we all deal with it as best we can."
Reid’s private, family road has been taxing. He and his wife, Tammy, have five children. Garrett, 24, and Britt, 22, were each sentenced last Nov. 1 for up to 23 months in prison on drug and gun-related charges. The court proceedings revealed both had long-term drug-related dependencies.
"Britt has been out for seven weeks," Reid said. "He is working. He is taking classes. It is a day-by-day process. It’s going well. Garrett is still in. We don’t know when he will be released. I have made sure our focus is on each kid in an even way. Each one is different, special. I took that six weeks off last year to spend very important time with them. I was able to go through the rehab process with them. I learned some things. I learned I wasn’t an expert on it.
"We put everything in our communication out on the table. You do that in low points in your life. And when you do that, the door to the heart opens up. When you talk like that, obviously, there are things you learn you did not know. There are a few 'wows' that go on. When you open your heart like that, you get a few 'wows' from them; it’s a two-way street there. Your eyes open. You grow together."
Montgomery County judge Stephen T. O’Neil in a Norristown, Pa., courthouse scolded the Reids as parents during the sentencing. He called their home a "drug emporium" referring to several prescription drugs found in it. He labeled them "a family in crisis."
Reid felt the sting.
"I always thought the judge’s heart was in the right place," Reid said. "I’m not saying I liked what he said and that it didn't hurt that day in court. Had I wished he not said it? Yeah. But it happened. The people closest to us know that is not true. He had a lot of pressure on him. I knew that. I deal with that kind of pressure every day as a coach. It brought even more media attention to it. We’ve worked through it.
"People have stepped to the plate for us in unbelievable ways. The support I heard was from Tom Lasorda to Bill Cosby to my neighbors and beyond. I tried to write back hand-written letters to so many for their support. All of their expressions, their feelings. There were so many, I couldn’t do them all. And Jeffrey (Lurie) was the best. I don’t think I could have done it, survived it, without him."
Lurie, the Eagles owner, hired Reid in 1999. It was a clear-cut choice, Lurie said. Reid was big enough, strong enough, said Lurie, to not be swayed by the intense opinions and critics of "the big-city market and passions" of Philadelphia fans.
Lurie’s affection for his coach is deep.
"He has had a family issue that any one of us could have," Lurie said. "I tried to be the best possible support system for him without being invasive. I root for him. I cannot tell you how much respect I have for him as a family man and as a person. And I would feel that way if I met him and got to know him and he was a truck driver in Nebraska. This is a very hard-working football and family man who is dedicated. He still has a voracious desire to win and succeed in both. The way I see it, we are ready for another run."
Reid led the Eagles to four consecutive NFC Championship Games from 2001 through 2004, has won five division titles and reached Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005 that resulted in a 24-21 loss to New England. He is 96-62 overall as Eagles coach. Of the 73 first-time head coaches hired since 1990, he is one of only six coaches to remain with their original team for eight or more years. Among active coaches, his .608 winning percentage ranks only behind Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy (.637) and New England coach Bill Belichick (.627).
The Eagles have been active this offseason, their chief acquisition being free-agent cornerback Asante Samuel from New England. Quarterback Donovan McNabb seeks a healthy return from an injury-marred, 8-8 Eagles output last season.
Reid bristles and his glare is zealous when he talks about the toll of losing and his hunger for winning. He recognizes that Philadelphia is a "real" city with "real" fans who expect him to balance his family with his job and make the Eagles champions.
"Every year is a new year, a different thing in our game and you can’t rest on things you’ve done in the past," Reid said. "I fight against that. It gets you in trouble.
"I’ve tried to be myself. I’ve tried to be real about everything. I am not trying to hide."
