Andy Reid likely needed to leave the Eagles to become a Hall of Fame coach

When the Eagles finally fired Andy Reid eight years ago, there was hardly a soul in the Delaware Valley who didn’t think the time had come.

Even Reid publicly conceded that it was best for both parties if there was a parting, and suggested then that divergent thinking among decision-makers had partly attributed to the Eagles’ regression. Privately, the coach was relishing the opportunity to start anew and with his own hand-picked general manager.

But it’s hard to not look back, especially in light of the current state of the Eagles and Reid’s Chiefs, and wonder what might have happened had he stayed.

Both franchises, of course, won Super Bowls in the interim. So the thought here isn’t necessarily that Reid would have had as much success as he’s had in Kansas City. Plus, there are far too many variables to spend a significant amount of time on the notion.

But a better way of posing the hypothetical, at least from the Eagles’ perspective, would be to ask: Would it be worth sacrificing 2017 for Reid staying and the possibility of more than just one championship?

Some might make that bargain, if only Patrick Mahomes were part of the package. But even without the freakish talent, Reid has shown over 22 seasons that he can win with a variety of quarterbacks, both in skill and style, and do so consistently.

He has yet to win multiple titles, yes, but even if the Chiefs were to fall to the Buccaneers in Sunday’s Super Bowl, Mahomes should give him more chances over the next five, 10, who knows how many years.

A victory, though, would make the 62-year-old Reid the seventh coach to win back-to-back Lombardi Trophies, joining the titular Vince, Don Shula, Chuck Noll, who did it twice, Jimmy Johnson, Mike Shanahan, and Bill Belichick, and the 13th to win at least two, with Tom Landry, Tom Flores, Bill Walsh, Joe Gibbs, Bill Parcells and Tom Coughlin the other five.

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A second crown would further solidify his Hall of Fame credentials and place him among arguably the top 5-10 coaches in NFL history.

“I’m aware of it because of the media,” Reid said Thursday when asked about the rarified company he would join with another championship. “I’m old so I’ve heard [about the history] before and seen it with my own eyes. It’s a neat deal. When you’re in the middle of it, I don’t think you appreciate it as much.

“Maybe when you’re done with the whole thing and you look back on it.”

Reid hardly gets asked about the Eagles anymore, not that he would be willing to reminisce. It’s been long enough since he left. The Eagles are now on their third coach after they hired Nick Sirianni last month.

But he was asked several questions this week about the firing of Doug Pederson and the subsequent search because of his ties to the former coach and to some of the replacement candidates.

It was Reid’s endorsement, after all, which was a significant factor in Jeffrey Lurie rolling the dice on Pederson five years ago. The Eagles owner had wanted to recreate a dynamic he had with his most successful coach, and while the end was dreadful, it did bring him his first title and more wins than losses.

But Lurie apparently didn’t want to pluck from that tree again. The Eagles spoke to Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy early in the process, per Reid, but they never formally requested an interview. The other six teams with openings did meet with Bieniemy, but he was once again passed over.

“I keep hearing that the Eagles didn’t want to take another guy from the Andy Reid coaching tree,” former coach and NBC analyst Tony Dungy tweeted last week. “I’m wondering why not? The last guy they got there took them to the playoffs 3 times in 5 years and won a Super Bowl. Was that bad?”

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The Eagles also had interest in Chiefs quarterbacks coach Mike Kafka. But if they preferred him over Bieniemy, they would have likely had to endure criticism for choosing a lower-level assistant over the more experienced Black coach.

There is also another possible explanation for why the Eagles didn’t interview Bieniemy: They didn’t think he would be the right head coach for them. That would be their prerogative, naturally, and Lurie’s had a pretty good hit rate, but the recommendation of another known coach — Frank Reich — clearly played a role in the Sirianni hire.

The Eagles’ new 39-year-old coach is a relative unknown without play-calling experience, like Reid in 1999, but that’s pretty much where the superficial resemblance ends. Sirianni struggled during his introductory news conference, but what matters most is how he’ll communicate with his players and assistants and how he’ll ride the ups and downs of the season.

Reid has been one of the best ever in both regards.

“If you tell the person the truth, whether it’s a positive with their personality or play, or a negative with their personality or play, you keep that in an open forum,” Reid said. “It’s no different than how you would raise a child or a marriage or any relationship with another human being.”

“But once you stop that, now you get into whole philosophical things of do I have to scream and holler to get across to this person? Whatever that next step is. But I think if you just keep it open and real that’s the best way to roll with it.”

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Reid’s axiom on communication has always been to treat people the way you want to be treated. It might sound trite, but it’s a personal rule he’s generally followed. He’s adapted over the years, but an evenhandedness with his players — and really all facets of the job — has been a hallmark of his career.

“I think you can evaluate better if you don’t have the high highs and the low lows,” Reid said. “I’m just in one of those positions where I teach and I evaluate. And so, I think the more level-headed you keep it, the better.

“It’s a high-stress job. When you’re playing games, and you make a living playing games, there are going to be times when you got to be under control or things will get away from you.”

Reid hasn’t had many lows with the Chiefs. He’s reached the playoffs in seven of eight seasons and overall has a 91-37 regular-season record. His .711 winning percentage in Kansas City is significantly higher than it was with the Eagles (. 583). That doesn’t mean he’s become a better coach.

But he does have a hands-off owner in Clark Hunt. He does have a general manager he groomed in Brett Veach. And he works in a city with a much smaller media market and in an area of the country not as hyper-critical. All those factors mitigate outside interference.

Reid also has the perfect instrument for his offense and play-calling. That Mahomes is only 25 has to be frightening to the rest of the NFL. Reid may be among the senior set of coaches — he and the 68-year-old Bruce Arians will be the oldest to coach against each other in the Super Bowl — but he likely has no plans of slowing down.

“We are a little bit older. There is experience that comes with that, and I guess they say wisdom with age,” Reid said. “A lot of young football coaches out there that I look forward to seeing continue to grow in this business. We’re lucky to have them in the National Football League.

“By chance we’re a few of the older guys who have gotten to this point.”

Chance has had little to do with Reid’s success, especially post-Eagles.