Classic Andy Reid

You knew it too, right?

You knew that somehow, some way, Andy Reid would try to prove once again that he's smarter than everyone else. That a conventional move would never do for this Eagles organization. That they would find a way to do something so unusual, so shocking, so over-the-top stupid that even their own players are speechless.

When McDermott was fired, I wasn't impressed with the available crop of DC candidates. But as time passed, I became familiar with Mike Trgovac, who seemed like a perfect fit. A coordinator in Carolina for 6 years (including the year they beat the Eagles in the NFC Championship game), he ran a 4-3 defense, and would provide exactly what the Eagles needed: a fresh and experienced voice from outside of the organization.

Another intriguing option was Winston Moss, a younger (not nearly as young as McD) and hungry linebackers coach on the Packers who is ready to step up and become a coordinator. He's had experience in the 4-3 also, and worked with Jim Johnson early in his coaching career.

The longer the "search" dragged on, the more convinced I was that the Eagles were going in the direction of one of these two guys. They couldn't talk to either one until after the Super Bowl, so it was the perfect explanation as to why they seemed to be taking so long to find a coach. And I was relieved, because I thought as long as they're getting a defensive coach from a Super Bowl team, they couldn't possibly screw it up too badly.

But, of course, I misunderestimated Big Red again. His capacity to make clownish decisions is unparalleled in the NFL, since everyone else who makes decisions this poorly has already been fired. Andy decided to promote his offensive line coach to defensive coordinator.

So let's recap: On a team that won its division with a Top-5 offense, you're going to turn over control of the defense to a guy who hasn't coached defense in 25 years. You gave up on a young, inexperienced coordinator so that you could try to win the Super Bowl with someone even less experienced. Fucking brilliant.

Lost in this disaster are two great hires: Howard Mudd as the new OL coach, and Jim Washburn as the new DL coach. These two may be the best line coaches in the NFL. If only their bosses deserved similar praise, I might have a reason to feel excited about this team.