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Earle "Greasy" Neale Award
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Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles
Thorough, meticulous, precisely planned. Those are the words most often used to describe the 44-year-old Reid, who in 2002 led the Eagles to their second consecutive NFC East Division title and in the process won his second Greasy Neale Award from the Maxwell Club as Professional Coach of the Year. Reid previously won the award in the 2000 season, when he led the Eagles to the playoffs in only his second year on the job. This season, Reid won the honor by a record margain, pulling in 571 votes of the 840 ballots cast by Maxwell Club members, NFL head and assistant coaches and the Pro Football Writers of America. The Eagles finished the regular season with a 12-4 despite losing starting quarterback Donovan McNabb for six weeks with a broken ankle, then losing back-up Koy Detmer with a dislocated elbow. Under Reid’s patient direction, the team won four games in a row with third-stringer A.J. Feeley directing the offense. Reid is the first coach in franchise history to post three consecutive seasons with 11 victories or more and he has the highest regular season winning percentage (.609) of any Eagles coach, quite an accomplishment for someone who inherited a 3-13 team just four years ago. “Andy told us on that first day we would become a football machine,” said cornerback Troy Vincent, one of the few holdovers from the 1999 team. “We trusted him and gave him a chance and it happened. This is all about trust and the guys just like him. He’s found a way to get this new generation of players to perform and that’s not easy.” In the 2002 season, Reid’s offense set a team record by scoring 415 points despite the loss of McNabb for an extended period, and the team sent 10 players to the Pro Bowl, the most ever. “Andy has changed the personality of the whole organization,” club president Joe Banner said. “It has transcended the 53 players he coaches. There’s a sense of solidness, a sense that we’re going to succeed, that we’re going to do what we need to do to get where we want to. He’s played a huge role, way beyond the players he’s coaching.” “What Andy has done so well is convince everyone they’re valuable, so after awhile everyone thinks they are,” defensive end Hugh Douglas said. “That’s what we have going for us, the confidence that no matter who’s in there, the job’s gonna get done and it all starts from the top.” “Andy is very upfront with everybody with the way he handles everything,” Detmer said. “He’s very straightforward. You know exactly what’s expected of you. It’s not always like that in the NFL. A lot of times you are wondering about this, wondering about that. He lets everybody know where they are. His strength is with leadership. He has the respect of the team and guys follow him.” |
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Behind Andy Reid’s desk at the NovaCare Center, there is a framed quotation from Charles Lindbergh. It reads: “The important thing is to start, to lay a plan and then follow it step-by-step no matter how small or large each step by itself may seem.”