A bear of a man, a winner of a plan: Andy Reid's successful blueprint for the Eagles anticipates variables, eliminates surprises and withstands the most difficult of tests—the loss of his quarterback

Sporting News, The, Dec 23, 2002 by Paul Attner

It was just awful back then, all symbolized by the Vet, the worst stadium in the league, a hellhole of a place overrun by rats, where beer would cascade down a wall inside Reid's office on game days. Now, it's hard to quarrel with anything Lurie or Reid does. The Eagles already have moved into a premier practice facility down the block from the Vet, the home for its last regular-season Eagles game last Sunday. Next year, the team will play in a 66,000-seat masterpiece now under construction within sight of the Vet. The franchise also has won back-to-back division titles for the first time in its history--and, if McNabb can heal in tame for the playoffs, the Eagles might go further than the NFC title game, where they lost to the Rams after last season.

"I know I could have gone another route and hired someone with a bigger name, a more popular choice," says Lurie, who took over full ownership of the Eagles in 1994 and quickly had his competence questioned by the local media. "But I was going to run this franchise the way I wanted to do it. I remembered how the 49ers picked Bill Walsh, the Redskins Joe Gibbs. Outside the box." Lurie understandably is enamored of Reid's work, so much so that in May 2001, he dismissed director of football operations Tom Modrak and promoted Reid to the dual role of head coach/executive vice president of football operations, giving him a six-year contract that averages $2.5 million.

Reid thrives on all the responsibility. He is a control freak, though uneasy with that description. "I'm more like a mother hen," he says. He just wants to know what is happening all the time with everything. He meets weekly with a players committee, but he also has a network of veteran leaders who act as informal coaches, keeping him aware of the pulse of the locker room while also conveying his rues sages to the rest of the team. His assistants are given wide coaching latitude--gifted defensive coordinator Jim Johnson has great autonomy--but they also are held minutely accountable.

The key to it all has been his ability to read and relate to players and staff. It's something Brett Favre already knew. Reid became Green Bay's quarterbacks coach in 1997, replacing Marry Mornhinweg, who had replaced Steve Mariucci. Favre was skeptical at first, but Reid soon won him over with his thorough preparation, and his humor.

"He was just a good guy, a good person," says Favre. "You never had to worry about him going behind your back. And he was fun to be around; he could make you laugh. He has an ability to read players, to get them to follow him and play for him. They want to win for him; it's as simple as that."

Reid is honest, very tough and extremely demanding. But he treats McNabb, his star, no differently than the 53rd player on the roster. Same rules, same discipline. The players see that, and like that. They've also seen, as they've bought into The Plan and the process, that Reid has eased off on the rules. He once wouldn't allow them to chew on sunflower seeds; now, he asks them for a handful. They like that, too.