Eagles' Reid casualty in coach firing frenzy
Monday, December 31, 2012
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (AFP) December 31, 2012 2:58:29 PM EST
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Head coach Andy Reid of the Philadelphia Eagles walks off the field after the game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on December 30, 2012 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Reid was among the casualties as under-achieving NFL teams sent coaches packing on the "Black Monday" following the end of the regular season.
Andy Reid, Philadelphia's coach of 14 years, was among the casualties as a welter of under-achieving NFL teams axed coaches on "Black Monday" following the end of the regular season.
Reid is the winningest coach in Eagles club history. Since he arrived in 1999 the team has posted a regular-season record of 130-93-1, reached the playoffs nine times, played in five NFC championship games and lost in the Super Bowl after the 2004 season.
But reports were surfacing Sunday night that Reid was on the way out -- just hours after the Eagles closed their season with a 42-7 loss to the New York Giants that put their record at 4-12.
"He had the love and respect of every individual in this organization," Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said in making the move official.
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Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith watches the action during the game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on December 30, 2012 in Detroit, Michigan. Chicago parted ways Monday with coach Smith -- the day after the Bears beat Detroit to complete a 10-6 season that wasn't good enough to get them in the playoffs.
"I look forward to the day we will all welcome him back and introduce him into the Eagles Hall of Fame because that is inevitable."
Lurie said the Eagles will immediately begin their search for Reid's successor and that he has "a very, very defined list of candidates".
There will be no shortage of coaches looking for work.
Chicago parted ways Monday with coach Lovie Smith -- the day after the Bears beat Detroit to complete a 10-6 season that wasn't good enough to get them in the playoffs.
The perennially under-achieving San Diego Chargers sacked head coach Norv Turner and general manager A.J. Smith.
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Head coach Norv Turner of the San Diego Chargers on the sidelines during a 24-21 win over the Oakland Raiders to end a 6-10 season at Qualcomm Stadium on December 30, 2012 in San Diego, California. The perennially under-achieving Chargers sacked Turner and general manager A.J. Smith.
Turner guided the Chargers to the 2007 AFC championship game in his first year at the helm, but they have failed to make the playoffs for the past three seasons.
The Kansas City Chiefs, who endured tragedy off the field as well as disappointment on it with their second 2-14 season in five years, sacked head coach Romeo Crennel.
Crennel had taken over for Todd Haley on an interim basis and coached the final three games of the 2011 campaign and was given the job full-time after that season.
This year, the Chiefs lost their first two games and then lost eight in a row from September 30-November 25.
The Chiefs snapped that slide with a 27-21 victory over Carolina just a day after linebacker Jovan Belcher shot and killed his girlfriend before driving to the team's training facility at Arrowhead Stadium and killing himself.
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Head Coach Romeo Crennel of the Kansas City Chiefs looks on during pre-game warm ups before playing the Oakland Raiders at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on December 16, 2012 in Oakland, California.
Crennel was among those who saw Belcher take his own life, speaking to the player first and trying to dissuade him.
"I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for Romeo, both personally and professionally," Chiefs chairman Clark Huntsaid. "He is an accomplished coach, a man of great character and he helped guide our football team through some extremely challenging circumstances this season.
"However, I am embarrassed by the poor product we gave our fans this season, and I believe we have no choice but to move the franchise in a different direction."
Buffalo sacked head coach Chan Gailey after a third straight losing season. Cleveland axed both head coach Pat Shurmer and general manager Tom Heckert after the Browns lost their last three games of the season to finish last in the AFC North division for the fourth time in five years.
Arizona, losers of 11 of their last 12 games en route to a 5-11 record, fired head coach Ken Whisenhunt and general manager Rod Graves.
Despite the New York Jets' tumultuous season, Jets chairman Woody Johnson said the team was sticking with coach Rex Ryan -- but they fired general manager Mike Tannenbaum.
AFP (http://s.tt/1xPcc)