The Philadelphia Eagles no longer have to worry about Andy Reid after firing him on Dec. 31. However, it may not take long for Reid to coach against the Eagles, as the Arizona Cardinals are already planning to interview him, according to CBS Sports. Yet if he wants to take a year off first, it might do some good, just as it did for Jeff Fisher.
Fisher is just like Reid, as he too led a perennial contender for over a decade and only had one Super Bowl appearance to show for it. But after Fisher was fired by the Tennessee Titans in 2010 after 17 years of service, he didn’t jump back into coaching right away.
He went to the St. Louis Rams in 2012, which didn’t seem like a promising job after the Rams’ 2-14 record in 2011. But in just one year, Fisher almost led St. Louis to its first winning season in nearly a decade. The Rams finished 7-8-1, yet they have reason to hope for better things again.
St. Louis is stuck in the same division with the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks, so there may not be much room to advance. However, the Rams have a veteran coach in Fisher, have seen Sam Bradford recover from his sophomore slump, and may be able to keep star running back Stephen Jackson. While there’s still work left to be done, Fisher may be able to become a winning coach again.
This is the best case scenario for Reid, who must save his reputation after flaming out with his long-time team, just like Fisher did. However, Reid won’t have the pick of the litter to choose from, with teams like the Cardinals, Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns looking for new coaches.
With the difficult year Reid has had, it might be best to take a step back, rest in 2013 and look for better prospects in 2014. There should still be a lot of openings in the 2014 offseason, and Reid’s absence after a year may make him more in demand.
Fisher and Reid lasted over a decade with their first teams, which is unheard of in today’s NFL, even if they didn’t win a Super Bowl. But Fisher took time to regroup afterwards and is now right back on track, so it might not hurt Reid to borrow from his playbook.
Comments