Lurie’s PC
Posted: January 3rd, 2012 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 74 Comments »Eagles owner Jeff Lurie will meet the media Tuesday at 2:30 pm. Here are some possible announcements my sources tell me he could be making:
* Derek Landri will be the GM, HC, and DC in 2012. Landri’s first priority is re-signing himself when FA begins in early March. Then he’s got to put himself in better position to succeed when the season starts. Obviously that just means…on the field. Once there, Landri does nothing but succeed.
* Lincoln Financial Field has been changed to Pabst Blue Ribbon Field. Blue Ribbons and Lombardi Trophies go together like Jarrad Page and missed tackles.
* That Andy Reid will not be fired, but must work “the defenestration of Prague” into all of his postgame PCs in 2012. This is Lurie’s way of forcing Reid to be more accessible to the fans and media since everyone loves the defenestration of Prague.
* Lurie could announce that after much consideration he’s finally realized that Hallowed Be Thy Name is his favorite Iron Maiden song.
* I sincerely hope Lurie apologizes to Marlon Favorite for letting Reid and Howie Roseman cut him. Any man who rubs his belly after a preseason sack deserves to make the team.
* Lurie could announce that the assistant coaches will draw 2012 unit assignments by pulling slips of paper from a hat. Let the Odds Gods decide who is the OC, DC, and so on. After all, who doesn’t love the lottery?
* Maybe Lurie will admit that after reading Tommy Lawlor’s brilliance he also wants the Eagles to draft Luke Kuechly and sure hopes that’s what Roseman and Reid do.
All bad jokes aside, don’t expect any bombshells from Lurie.
He doesn’t normally meet with the media like this, but 2011 was such a disappointing, dysfunctional year that there have been a lot of requests for comments from him. I know many of you would love for him to fire Big Red or announce some other big move, but I don’t think that’s gonna happen.
I think Lurie will give Reid a vote of confidence and talk about some positives. I doubt he’ll announce 2012 is Super Bowl or bust or anything like that. He’s more likely to mention his thoughts on why things went awry in 2011 and then why the team will get back on track in 2012. Lurie tends to be positive when talking to the media. He might try to throw fans a bone by talking about how disappointed he is with the 2011 results, but I just can’t see him ripping anyone and being overly negative. Some fans would love that, but it’s not likely to happen.
I think all of the questions about Juan Castillo’s future will be deflected until Reid has his PC. One of Lurie’s strengths is that he doesn’t try to micro-manage the team. He’ll let Andy and the football guys work out all that stuff.
Because you brought him up, and it was one of the few bright spots of the season, here’s everybody’s Favorite play one more time:
http://i.imgur.com/nNblV.gif
HAHA, that is hilarious!!!
That’s the kind of hustle/greatness that would have gotten us to 10-6 and the SB.
Definitely a microcosm of the whole season. Stunning athleticism that somehow misses the mark entirely.
Little off topic, but I have been wondering what would happen to the schematic change of the defensive lineman from the wide 9 to Spag’s defense. I’ll say though, I’m much more what it will do to our defensive tackles. Will Cullen start just based on his skill or will someone like Antonio Dixon come out of no where and take he spot? What should we expect out of Dixon anyways? The injury seemed rough, but I know the kid had a lot of potential and many picked him to be the one who broke out on our defense this season.
Lurie could announce that after much consideration he’s finally realized that Hallowed Be Thy Name is his favorite Iron Maiden song.
From the Number of the Beast. I saw Maiden that year ’82, the year after Superbowl XV, not that I even knew the sport then. Bruce had just become lead vocals and as a result they didn’t do Charlotte the harlot, which is as much as I remember other than being surrounded by very sweaty men everywhere. Unpleasant, but I liked the t-shirt.
Me and Lurie are jealous you got to see them back in that era.
I was more gutted that at my sister’s behest, I was not allowed to see AC/DC’s Highway to Hell tour featuring Bon Scott a year and a half earlier.
I want to dream for a moment: ANDY Reid stays as head coach, MM gets a head coach job with San Diego ( SO LONG!!), bring in Josh McDaniels as OC (designer of Patriots SB Run), Steve Spags as ( guy who beat Patriots)…..DREAM over…
Uuum, Josh McDaniels? No thanks bro! I hear he was a big problem under Spags in St. Louis.
wow maybe that is why the axe came in denver, so what did you hear?
McDaniels certainly knew how to draft.
okay okay you all have schooled me on McDaniels… I guess I was looking down the list of guys available that have coached in a recent big dance and looking at those options to give us the edge to get over the hump.
In Denver, he did a teardown when a remodel was in order. A lot of talent went out the door to make room to do things his way. Not the guy I want taking control of our offense.
But I would be okay with Marty going…
Hell, lets just bring in the entire Rams coaching staff; they all know what they’re doing, right?
Screw that can we just sign Curtis Painter to a 15 year 400 million dollar contract already?
A Super Bowl run they ultimately lost because McDaniels couldn’t adjust to compensate for the Giants’ defense.
A one year wonder, essentially.
I also question this as McDaniels’ tagline: “designer of Patriots SB Run.”
More like babysitter of already-great Tom Brady, Randy Moss, et. al. He did a nice job not messing those guys up and getting them to play up to their talent level, and he was coordinator the year Cassel led them to 11-5, so the guy can coach, but he also took the baton from Weis and worked alongside Belichick. I wouldn’t refer to him as a “designer”
And he’s a D-III guy, so if there were nicer things to say, I would be saying them.
GOING TO DREAM OUTLOUD… Andy stays as Head coach, get steve spags and josh mcdaniels and let MM go be head coach somewhere.
You don’t want McDaniels coaching Vick. Josh’s success is with veteran pocket passers, not athletic playmakers.
Which makes it amusing that he is the one that reached for Tebow.
Lets say MM got a gig somewhere else ( prob not going to happen) who are your options?
Norv and Chilly… are my favs. (assuming Norv is available)
I could live with a return of Major Dad.
Forget about your off-season viewing fantasies, we are talking about football here.
Nope. Doesn’t sound any better the second time reading it either.
Which makes it hilarious that he is the one that traded back into the first round to reach for Tebow
T-Law wrote:
“I think Lurie will give Reid a vote of confidence and talk about some positives.”
Ah . . . the deadly *vote of confidence.* If so, this is Reid’s last go at the rodeo — unless he brings home the barbecue.
I think the majority agrees that McDaniels wouldn’t be a great fit in Philly.
But what about Norv Turner?! I know he will most likely become a Head Coach again but I’d take him over MM in a heartbeat.
I think everyone is missing the fact that Josh Daniels and Norv Turner are not WC offensive guys. Andy would just bring in another WC guy and run the O himself until they got up to speed.
Josh Daniels had what one good year? He is a meat head and you don’t want him…
We ran the ball this year. I mean really ran the ball.
We set another Franchise record for yards and stuff…
I know we sucked in the RedZone but really why does MM have to go?
He is a way better OC than Chilly was.
We ran the ball in ’02 and ’03 too and I mean really ran the ball. Yet there were also times this year where we didn’t run the ball – the Cards game comes to mind.
We also equalled the Cards as the only team ever to score 20 or fewer points on 5 occasions where the O had over 375 total yards.
We sucked in the RZ in ’08 and ’09 too, but that was #5’s fault of course.
We won more post season victories under ARBC than ARMM, despite the latter possessing a never ending record setting offense which never seems to well.. set records when it counts. Of course, that is the defense’s fault.
I agree. While the defense has its obvious flaws, if the offense converted even slightly better in the red zone, even in the last 3 years, their records would be much different.
yeah even though we have been a “BIG PLAY” machine out there we don’t seem to be yielding the post season success. And I know he would prob get a WC guy but we don’t really run a WC atleast it doesnt appear to be most of the time. What options would we have if we go away from MM or if he went after a HC gig
Good points all. It does seem that the Records are doing us no good…
I also agree that the offense has looked much less WC since MM took over. Feels almost K-gun like recently.
So with our old QB coaches scattered across the league who is the likely candidate?
David Cullley?
Doug Pederson?
My worry is that Reid loves to promote from within and his ability to coach an offense would stop him from pulling an outside OC.
Promoting from within seems stupid when no one already “in House” has an answer.. but I guess trust/familiarity is more important to the FO than winning…but I cant say as I fan i really dont know the difficulty. I just would like someone who is not going to be be Reid’s Yes man. We need a guy who is not going to rub him the wrong way but can let him know when something is not working for our personel.
I agree wholeheartedly. As a fan I think you are right. Andy left to his own devises has not proven to be a winner and maybe an outside set of eyes would get this thing back on track.
However I have seen this train and we know how it rolls…
I think that the “In House” thing has killed our Defense for 3 years.
Also I am not sure it has turned a corner…
If I have a choice it would be easy for me to say give us a dominant Defense and I think the Offense as it is will be fine.
Give credit where it is due:
In this case, (in my opinion), it’s due to MUDD and McCOY.
The plays that gained the most yards were new (brought in by Mudd) and plays that were blown were often turned into magically delicious plays by a talented RB (McCoy).
One question I hope is asked (although I don’t expect a straight answer) is how hard Lurie and Banner debated on whether to bring back AR. When we were having the conversation about whether to bring back AR or not with your two posts about AR, the conclusion from the discussion was that regardless of where you stand, it isn’t an easy decision either way and both sides deserve to be considered. Since then, we won 4 games in a row, all of which were games against teams that did not make the playoffs. While I fully expect AR back, I do hope that bringing him back wasn’t considered an easy decision. I hope someone tries to get Lurie to answer whether it was debated, although I fully expect him to deflect the question.
I was actually very impressed with Lurie’s press conference. The entire press conference was basically centered on the fact the FO really considered ARs future carefully. While some fans, including myself, may disagree with their conclusion, I do think it is clear that Lurie didn’t just say, “egh, we’re 8-8 and won our last 4 games. Lets keep AR.” I also appreciated the fact that he refused to discuss excuses for the season as well as stated that the last 4 games, while nice wins, were hard to truly assess considering the teams they had on their schedule. On top of that, I do think he suggested that AR is not guaranteed anything beyond next season. Lurie expects success, and while I thought his comment that the Eagles make the playoffs regularly in the last several years blatantly ignores our lack of recent success once we make it to the playoffs, I think he suggested afterwards that he expects AR not only to make the playoffs but to have a certain degree of success.
I was impressed too (though I “watched” via Twitter). Although by saying those things it makes him “good cop” … and Tommy suggested he would say some things to make the season more palatable to us.
He comes off as really genuine, so someone more skeptical than me should really break down what he says.
I would have been disappointed if Lurie came out making up excuses to try and make the season seem better than it was. I thought that was what Lurie was going to do, and he didn’t. What he said was that this season was unacceptable. He basically said that if he were to grade this season, he would have said it was a failure (and beyond the cliche of “31 teams in the NFL fail each season”) and that he isn’t going to accept excuses such as shortened offseason, players needing to adjust to the new season, Castillo being new to the defensive side of the ball. To me, that is as good and direct of a comment you could possibly ask for. In other words, even if he is not planning to blow everything up, he acknowledges that there are flaws that must be addressed. We’ll see how much that is just a PR comment versus an actual plan at some point. And just to be clear, I don’t think he is claiming they will make dramatic changes, but he is disappointed in the team and the holes that are on the team must be fixed effectively.
Why does it take the owner to speak to the press and public in an honest, adult manner? Is this something a HC is not capable of doing?
He’s keeping Andy. And I’d say that Lurie’s “both lines made incredible improvements” line, says the owner likes Washburn. That coulda hint toward saying no to the blitz-happy Spags.
Didn’t see the presser yet… and what you just said… makes me feel very confident that our two best coaches are here to stay.
Lurie takes a very hands-off approach, publicly, during the regular season. Its the smart thing to do, but its also the easy thing to do.
Reid has to face the questions every single day of every single week. He may be forever nonplussed and noncommittal with his press conferences, but he keeps an even keel and keeps unnecessary drama out of the headlines(see: Rex Ryan).
I’m glad to see Lurie come out and be passionate in his disappointment, and I think he picked the right time to do it. Seeing either Lurie or Reid have a blow-up like this in the middle of week 10 or something would have been bad for bidness, in my opinion.
I agree. Reid is unsatisfying to us, but the way to truly satisfy fans is to win, and the way Reid manages the media seems to work for the locker room, and if it eventually leads to the win we all covet, then fans will forgive his PC PCs.
We have a very hostile press corps. I think Reid is justified in thinking that if he talks to them in an open and honest manner, they’ll only use it to tear him and the players to shreds. Look at the stuff that happened early in his career, even just in drafting McNabb. The press never did their job in creating that open communication environment either.
Reid needs to be more diplomatic and friendly, something like “ah come on guys, you know I’m not gonna name names, you can look at the film. Obviously, we screwed the pooch . . .”
And it wouldn’t hurt to feed more stuff off the record to at least keep reporters from making the wrong conclusions and cultivating fan ire against the wrong players, though you have to pick your reporters, Mark Eckel for example, would be a waste of breathe.
Hostile press corps? How would you describe the press corps’ relationship with the Phillies? Is that hostile? Reid and the Eagles would have better relations if they actually worked at developing one.
The Phillies never had a contingent of fans bused to the draft to boo their pick. they never got the level of scrutiny the Eagles do, and frankly I still don’t think the Phillies get the scrutiny the Eagles do (you’re staring to see the hypernegativity creep in Phillies coverage now, but it’s pretty recent and doesn’t fit right).
Watch how Eagles stories develop. There’s the initial report, and then secondary and tertiary reports that consciously focus on spinning quotes out into the most negative terms possible. What’s a slightly positive story on Monday is a firestorm by Wednesday. When you talk tot his media, what you say has to be flawless, and the best way to do that is to be hyper conservative.
I also like what Lurie said about how Reid taking the hit to his reputation in front of the press buys a lot of respect int he lockeroom. That’s how I want Lurie to think, because if winning the SB is the goal every claims to want, better report with the press does absolutely nothing to help us get there. It doesn’t motivate the players, it doesn’t intimidate the other teams, and I certainly don’t think it’ll take heat off the team. there’s just no way that being nice to the press contributes to the goal of winning the Super Bowl. So why is it always a top issue when sports pundits make the case for firing Andy?
For me, that last paragraph sums it up. I don’t want Andy spending time in front of a mirror practicing giving illuminating and well-rehearsed answers that make for great articles. I want him in the locker room getting the team ready for the next challenge.
Actually, I think our pres corps is a bit passive at times. They may write hostile things in their articles, but in press conferences, very few are willing to press AR on the tough questions. If AR dismisses a question which he does fairly regularly, that doesn’t mean a reporter can’t fire back and call him out on it and demand an answer. Too often, a reporter will ask an interesting question, AR will ignore the question or give a dismissive response, and the reporter will just sit back and accept the answer or no one else in the room will fire back.
That’s a fair point.
I just don’t think you can put it all on Reid. Whenever you hear the press complaining about Andy in pressers, you have to realize they’re basically whining that he makes their job too hard. How would they treat a player who did that?
Oh, I’m actually not putting it on AR at all in my comment. I do think he is arrogant at times with reporters, but my comment was that the reporters allow him to get away with it. I was calling out our press corps when I said that they are passive.
I mean they can’t be a giant dick or the Eagles will just bar them. Then they are essentially fired.
First off, I don’t mean the press has to be douches or anything, just more aggressive in asking questions and standing their ground. Second, could the Eagles really do anything like that? I would think that one, it would be very bad PR for the Eagles to be barring reporters from asking questions, and two, wouldn’t that be illegal? At worst, the Eagles could limit that particular reporters inside sources, but considering how secretive the organization is to begin with, I doubt they have much to limit.
I don’t think that’s true. There are standards for decorum, but a reporter can press for answers and not accept being blown off. The risk is doing it too early in the press conference and causing the subject to walk off and leave … therefore screwing you and everybody else for everything they were planning to write that day.
But really you can ask about anything you want and they would have a hard time barring you from the facility. Even in this day and age when teams can put out their own news, the NFL still wants the media to be welcome in its facilities, and any decent-sized organization, IMO, would probably be able to get its credential back the same week it was yanked.
The way to do it, also IMO, if you have several reporters from the same organization is have one be the designated dyock, the bad cop, and have others gain the trust of the players/coaches/front office, etc.
I don’t know what about what Spurrier did this year? I mean he straight up said to a reporter “I will not be giving you any quotes, I am going next door for anybody who wants to come in one on one and talk but you are not welcome”. I’m not saying it would be popular but I think there are certain situations where a coach is within his rights to tell a reporter to screw off. Unless of course they have a d3football.com press pass. Then all questions must promptly be answered.
Just tuning in now, did I miss anything important?
You read all the preseason hype, I assume?
Well, yeah, not so much. Also, DJax can throw a ball further than Chas Henry, but neither of them should ever again.
Oh yeah, and Mudd had hip sugery. Really, that was about all.
Spot on, watched some of the press confearance and it seems like you hit on the key points. We all knew AR would be back anyway, nothing major but still good to see the Eagles break the silence.
Well I for one am glad Reid is back, Lurie had me slightly worried when he first mentioned “No plausible excuses” or whatever he said. Now to see what Andy does at DC, was very very interesting to hear that Juan was definitely not his first choice and more the best of the rest in terms of who was available.
On a draft note, would it be greedy to want Luke Kuechly with our first and Ronnell Lewis with our packaged seconds? Yes. Greedy but awesome.
PACKAGED? how how do you think he’s gonna go? Unless he smashes the combine I’m pretty sure he’s being pegged anywhere from 2-3 right now.
Ah my bad, I saw him in Mel Kipers top 25 list but it may have been an old version. Second or Third would work!
Tommy do you think that Lurie’s decision was based on the fact that the apocalypse is coming and there’s no need to go after a new coach who won’t be able to finish the year anyway?
Very likely.
Banner’s obviously not a believer in the Mayan calender or he would have front loaded all those deals and signed still more FAs, like a MLB!
Here’s my *favorite* Laurie tid-bit from the presser:
He explained that the Reid that communicates in press conferences or defends his players and managing the team “is not the Andy Reid that I am evaluating.”
The subtitle goes: “I don’t really care that Reid talks to the fans — through the media — like they’re worthless pieces of crap who don’t deserve an honest or at least respectful answer. That’s not the Reid I know. And, frankly, I don’t give crap about how he treats the fans anymore than he does. Because the fans are stupid enough to keep buying tix and jerseys no matter what Reid says.”
Hey Jeff . . . screw you, too!
Don’t be an idiot. I don’t want a coach to treat the press any differently than Reid does. Every move he makes at a press conference is calculated to maximize the success of the team. Why would I want him to change that. I’m an adult (as I assume you are, too) and I don’t need to be coddled by the coach of the football team I root for. Treat me like sh*t if it helps even the tiniest bit on the field. And it clearly motivates players to want to play for him, which really helps, too.
Seriously, don’t take it personally. He’s doing the best thing for the team, and here’s hoping he keeps it up. Ahem…cough…time’s yours.
Or he could be saying “I prefer my coach stay solely focused on winning, because winning makes the fans & players happy, and keeps the franchise profitable, which in turn makes everyone who works here happy.”
That is an interesting take. I have never taken it personally.
Like Thorin mentioned above, everyone’s goal is to see the Eagles win a Super Bowl. I am having trouble thinking of an instance where providing the press, and therefore the fans and competition, with more information would have helped acheve that goal.
Taking it a step further, there is a lot of stuff that is better off not being shared. Information about specific players, reasons for breakdowns, personnel decisions, etc. can provide opponents with an edge. More likely, however, they can alienate current personnel or burn bridges that may be helpful in the future.
I understand where you are coming from: we pay our money to be entertained and more information would be more entertaining, but I imagine that anything that can be safely shared Tommy has already told us.
That is an interesting take. I have never taken it personally.
Like Thorin mentioned above, everyone’s goal is to see the Eagles win a Super Bowl. I am having trouble thinking of an instance where providing the press, and therefore the fans and competition, with more information would have helped acheve that goal.
Taking it a step further, there is a lot of stuff that is better off not being shared. Information about specific players, reasons for breakdowns, personnel decisions, etc. can provide opponents with an edge. More likely, however, they can alienate current personnel or burn bridges that may be helpful in the future.
I understand where you are coming from: we pay our money to be entertained and more information would be more entertaining, but I imagine that anything that can be safely shared Tommy has already told us.
The Roman Catholics didn’t like the Defenestration of Prague . . .