EXTRA! Reid All About It!

So I was listening to sports talk radio this past weekend (the national four-letter network that has taken over the world), and the on-air host made a statement that I can't stop thinking about. He was discussing the Philadelphia Eagles and said (I'm going to have to paraphrase here) that Andy Reid got lucky with Michael Vick.

That's not a fair statement. It's a statement that quite frankly discredits the character of Andy Reid. In the summer of 2009, the Philadelphia Eagles took a chance on Mike Vick. Thirty-one other teams passed. Most owners probably felt it wasn't worth the headache. It certainly would take the right type of coach to handle such a unique situation like this. Eagles' owner Jeffrey Lurie believed Andy Reid would be up for the task.

Andy Reid is all about second chances. Why? He has to be. Reid has two sons that have been to prison. One from a drug and weapons charge and the other from an altercation at a halfway house. There isn't one NFL head coach in the league today that has a better grasp on how prison can affect a young man, than Andy Reid. Make amends for your errors. Learn to live a new life. Mike Vick needed someone to open up that door to a new life and Andy Reid was right there to invite him in.

Not only did Andy Reid give Mike Vick a second chance in the NFL, he gave him a second chance to be a starter in this league. Sure, Vick got his break when Kevin Kolb got injured, but once Kolb got healthy, Reid stood by Mike.

The Mike Vick resurrection project wouldn't have worked out just anywhere. This project wasn't about playing time and depth charts. It's been about belief and encouragement. It's about faith and second chances. This journey is personal for Andy Reid. This story hits home. He deserves all the credit in the world for his team's success and Mike's success. There is nothing "lucky" about it.