Reid at ease toeing the Marty line

It wasn't an easy act for the head coach.

In what had to be the longest news conference during his eight years as the Eagles' coach, Andy Reid acknowledged yesterday that handing over the play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg midway through the season was difficult.

"It's tough," Reid said. "The tough part is that is something that you really enjoy doing. But at the same time, I knew I had a guy that could come in and do a great job, so it made it a little bit easier."

Reid touched on a number of subjects during his 26-minute question-and-answer session at the NovaCare Complex after Sunday's 24-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons. He talked about the Eagles' fifth NFC East title in his eight seasons. He talked about the playoff meeting with the New York Giants on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. And he talked extensively about his decision to relinquish the coaching duty he most loved.

The trust factor in Mornhinweg played a huge role in Reid's decision. They met in El Paso, Texas, two decades ago. Mornhinweg was a 24-year-old graduate assistant on coach Bob Stull's Texas-El Paso staff. Reid was the Miners' 28-year-old offensive-line coach.

It was the first of four places they worked together.

The fourth, of course, has been Philadelphia since the 2003 season, when Reid hired Mornhinweg as an offensive assistant after he was fired from his first NFL head-coaching job with the Detroit Lions.

In between El Paso and Philadelphia, Reid and Mornhinweg spent a season working together at the University of Missouri and two seasons together on coach Mike Holmgren's staff at Green Bay, including the 1996 season in which the Packers captured a Super Bowl title with Brett Favre at quarterback.

Mornhinweg, who played for Holmgren at Oak Grove High School in San Jose, Calif., was Favre's quarterbacks coach in 1996. Reid replaced him in that role the next season when Mornhinweg left to become the offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers.

Both men love drawing up and calling plays, and given their similar paths and influences, Mornhinweg insisted that his philosophy isn't much different than that of his boss.

"We talk a lot during the week, and I really do think we're very, very similar," Mornhinweg said. "We're about as similar as you can get."

Only after some pressing did Mornhinweg admit the slightest of differences.

"I consider myself extremely aggressive offensively," Mornhinweg said. "And, heck, he's way more aggressive than I am, and he played offensive line."

Mornhinweg was a quarterback at the University of Montana, so you'd think his aggressive style would include even more passing plays. But Reid, the burly offensive lineman, is the one who believes more in the pass than the run.

"Here's the thing," Mornhinweg said. "He played offensive line at BYU, so that kind of puts a stamp on it right there with LaVell Edwards."

Edwards, for those unfamiliar with the former Brigham Young coach, loved the pass.

Mornhinweg likes to pass a lot, too, but the Eagles' offense definitely changed some when he took complete control of the play-calling during a Nov. 12 win over the Washington Redskins.

"Marty is doing a great job with it," Reid said. "He is one of the best in the business for what he does, and he probably doesn't get enough credit for it."

Reid said he split the play-calling with Mornhinweg in the first half of the season, but as the Eagles stumbled to the season's midpoint with three straight losses, to New Orleans, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville, the head coach decided it was time to make a more drastic change.

"We went through a little funk there where things weren't going very well offensively, and I just thought a little change would be good," Reid said. "So that was the change."

And it was good. The Eagles went 6-2 in the second half and enter Sunday's game with five straight victories. With Mornhinweg calling the plays, the Eagles became a more balanced offense.

The running backs averaged 19.6 carries per game in the first eight games and 24.6 in the last eight. The improved running game led to longer drives and longer possession times. The defensive players said it helped them feel fresher.

Mornhinweg likes calling the plays, but he doesn't want a lot of credit for the turnaround.

"Normally, a team will go one of two ways after struggling through some of the adversity we went through," he said. "I think Andy and the leaders on this team did a magnificent job as far as pulling this thing together, and then we got it straight."

And now the Eagles are in the playoffs for the sixth time in seven seasons. Reid has a different role, but it's one he seems comfortable with.

"It allows me to see a lot more," he said. "I'm not constantly looking at that play sheet, so I can keep an eye on what's going on on the defense. I can keep an eye - this isn't always good - but I can keep an eye on everything. It's a little different perspective on things, and I'm enjoying it."

As so often has been the case during the Reid era, you can't argue with the results.