The Humanizing of Andy Reid

You may recall that back in August we reported on Andy Reid’s reaction to Eagles linebacker Stewart Bradley’s torn ACL being leaked to the media. Reid chided the reporters in attendance at training camp, treating them with less respect than he’d treat his own players.In other words, he was being a typical football coach and a bully.

Well, Pro Football Hall of Fame sportswriter Ray Didinger, working for CSN Philly, had seen enough. As we reported, Didinger shot back at Reid, calling his outburst in part, “more than arrogant. It was unprofessional.”

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to talk with Didinger, and among the many topics we discussed -- including the changing landscape of local sports media with CSN and ESPN expansion, the NFL concussion epidemic and the Ultimate Book of Sports Movies, his new book -- I asked him about the training-camp column he wrote, and if there was any backlash from Reid. While he explained that he’s never had that close a relationship with Reid, he did get a reaction out of the coach. Didinger explained that on August 2, he showed up at training camp and Reid went out of his way to welcome him back to covering the team more closely, seemingly quite cordial. A few days later, not so much:

⇥⇥“Then the next day the Stewart Bradley thing happened and I wrote what I wrote and I went up there next day and we passed each other on the cart path by the practice field, which isn’t all that wide so it isn’t like he didn’t see me. He just looked right through me and didn’t say a word. I said, ‘Hi Coach’ and he just looked right through me and kept walking. So he obviously knew what I wrote and he was not happy. ⇥
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⇥⇥“That’s fine. Listen, I’ve been in this business for 40 years and I’ve had that experience before. I’ve had guys, actually on team charters, press me up against the wall of the lavatory in the back of the plane and threaten to throw me out. I’ve been down that road too, and I don’t let it bother me. If I believe what I’ve written and I believe the criticism that I’ve put out there -- and I always have -- you stand behind it. You just don’t let people intimidate you. If you’re going to let that bother you, then you might as well get out of the business.”

As you can see, Reid’s treatment of Didinger was cold, but it wasn’t anything close to suggesting he’d throw the reporter out of a plane. But where, exactly, does the humanizing come in? Didinger continued:

⇥⇥“In October when my mother passed away, Jack Morrison, my old friend from the Philadelphia Bulletin now at the Daily News, wrote a really lovely obituary about my mother, which centered a lot about what an Eagles fan she was, and how she was as much of a football fan as my dad was -- and as much of an influence of shaping my life and career as anybody. She was really into it. So Jack kind of made that the theme of the obituary, what a great football fan -- and what a great Eagles fan -- she was her whole life, right until the very end, as a matter of fact.⇥
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⇥⇥“The story appeared in the paper and I was down in Florida at her house making the funeral arrangements and getting everything together and my wife called me down there and she said, ‘You’re never going to guess who called the house.’ I said, ‘Who?’ and she said, ‘Andy Reid.’⇥
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⇥⇥“She said that he personally called and asked for me. He said, ‘well I just wanted to say that I saw the obituary in the paper today and I read the story and I just wanted to tell Ray that I was thinking about him.’ I was so surprised by that and touched by that I called the office and I talked with his secretary and I said, ‘Listen, I just want to -- I know it’s Tuesday, I know it’s gameplan day and I know he’s busy. Don’t disturb him. Just tell him that Maria got me the message and I really appreciate him thinking of me.’⇥
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⇥⇥“And she said, ‘No, I think he wants to talk to you.’ ⇥
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⇥⇥She put me through to him and he and I talked for about 15 minutes. He talked about that he had lost his parents and what’s involved with that and the pain that’s involved. It was really interesting that he did that. I was surprised, but I was very touched by that. I thought it was very, very kind of him to do that. Given the life that football coaches lead during the season -- believe me I know how hectic that is -- that he even took the time to notice, and then took the time to make the call, I thought was really nice. And I appreciated that, I really did. We’ve all heard the stories about how coaches have tunnel vision, especially during the season. Didinger suggested that to be a football coach, “It’s a tough life, and boy, you have to be dedicated like a monk if you’re going to live that life.” For Reid to take time out of his day, especially on a travel week (the Eagles lost at Oakland that weekend), shows he is in fact human, and maybe not just a Big Red bully after all.

To listen to the entire interview directly -- Didinger really is a great listen -- click here.

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