Philly What Ifs: What If Andy Reid Was Never Hired?

Arguably the most important decision in the franchise’s history, one that changed the landscape of the NFL, was never a sure thing. In January of 1999 when the Eagles hired Andy Reid to be their next head coach, most fans wouldn’t have guessed that decision would have shaped the fate of the league for the next twenty plus years. The domino effect that came about from Jefferey Lurie and Joe Banner’s decision to go with the young and unproven Reid is really crazy to think about.

So, what if the Eagles never hired Andy Reid? The decision to go with Reid wasn’t popular among the fan base. Reid didn’t have as much experience as most head coaches, in fact he had some of the least. He became the second youngest head coach in the league and the first to go from QB coach to head coach without any coordinator experience. If Lurie and Banner decided to go elsewhere for the position, Jim Haslett was a popular name in the organization. Haslett was then the defensive coordinator for the Steelers and later became the head coach for the Saints for five seasons and the Rams interim coach for one year before bouncing around the league at defensive positions. Haslett never amounted to much as a head coach with a 47-61 record and one playoff appearance. If the Eagles had gone with Haslett over Reid the team would have likely been stuck in mediocrity during the 2000’s, bouncing around between head coaches instead of becoming one of the dominant teams of the decade.

So much could have changed without Reid at the helm. Would the Eagles have drafted Donovan McNabb? Maybe the team would have decided Akili Smith was their QB of the future. How about Cade McNown. Both of those guys went in the first round after McNabb, who knows how Haslett or whoever was brought in would have evaluated the quarterback position in the draft. The fate of the franchise could have been so much different had Reid not been hired. Andy was never able to bring the city a Super Bowl, but he laid the groundwork that eventually brought the Eagles their first ring 19 years after he was hired. Reid changed the whole philosophy of the organization when he was brought in. In reality the Eagles probably still don’t have a Super Bowl ring without Big Red coming in. We’d be in the laughing stock of the NFL alongside the Browns and Lions, never having experienced an Eagles parade.

Reid brought along Doug Pederson from Green Bay to Philly as a backup quarterback. Eventually Pederson came back as a quality control coach that led to the quarterbacks coach for the Eagles. Doug followed his mentor over to Kansas City as the offensive coordinator before coming back to Philly in 2016. Without Reid coming here, it’s very likely Pederson never ends up in Philly, out coaching Bill Belichick and leading the Eagles to the city’s first Super Bowl win. The course of Eagles history really was changed when Andy Reid was hired.

This decision didn’t just shape the fate of the Eagles though, it changed the landscape of the entire league. Reid has one of the most impressive coaching trees in league history, one that includes John Harbaugh, Sean McDermott, Ron Rivera, Steve Spagnuolo, and of course Doug Pederson. The Eagles were the only team that were looking at Reid for a head coaching position in 1999, the eight other teams who hired a head coach never interviewed Andy. In a time where teams weren’t looking for the next young offensive mind to take over like in today’s game, Reid most likely would have stuck around Green Bay for a few more seasons, maybe taking an offensive coordinator position elsewhere before becoming a head coach down the line. Some of Reid’s disciples probably don’t get a shot at a head coaching position and the whole landscape of the league is changed. Thankfully though, Jeffrey Lurie decided to trust his gut and go with Andy Reid, a decision Eagles fans and football fans should never forget.