ESPN: Banner out as Eagles' Prez

[Goaldeje]

And a good Thursday morning to you all. Waking up to the news of the Eagles' front-office shakeup, with Joe Banner out as team president, and as soon as I process it I will have something posted later this morning. But it sure seems to me that Andy Reid's rush to deny that L.A. Times story a few months back had more than a little methinks-he-doth-protest-too-much aspect to it. The Eagles' offseason has longed seemed to be firmly in the hands of Reid and GM Howie Roseman, and today's news shows us that perception was a valid one. Still think Reid could be on shaky ground if they have a bad year, but assuming they don't, he and especially Roseman look like they've positioned themselves to have more power than ever going forward.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfceast/post/_/id/39851/breakfast-links-skins-to-train-in-richmond

 

[Henry]

Andy has supposedly been on the hot seat for years. He's not going anywhere.

 

[Goaldeje]

More info here:

Is it possible to be simultaneously on the hot seat and gaining power? That appears to be the ostensibly contradictory circumstance in which Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid finds himself today. Reid is coming off of his most disappointing season, and yet the news of the day is that longtime team president Joe Banner is no longer the team president, and that Reid and GM Howie Roseman are now in charge of most of Banner's former responsibilities.

"The new team president will no longer be involved in the day to day operations of cap management, player negotiations and acquisitions," a senior team official told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio. "That will all now be the responsibility of Coach Reid and the general manager's office."

There have been indications this offseason -- the contract negotiations for DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy chief among them -- that this has already been the case for a while. Stories of Reid's increased involvement in contract talks and salary cap matters have been floating around the league for months. Back in March, Sam Farmer of the L.A. Times wrote of a power struggle in the Eagles' front office in which Reid sought greater responsibility. The Eagles issues immediate and unsolicited attacks on that story, and even today they're insisting that the Banner move reflects a natural evolution of responsibility and not a power struggle.

Whatever. They all lie, all the time, the people who run these teams, and we know this. We try our best to peek underneath the information and spin they're willing to give us and seek the real truth. Banner and Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie have been friends since before the moon landing. This isn't a move that gets made if everybody's happy and getting along with each other. It's a clear win for Reid, and the easy first reaction is that it makes him safer. If Banner was the guy saying Reid needed to win the Super Bowl to get a new contract (Reid's current deal runs through 2013), then the fact that Banner is out should be a good thing for Reid, right?

I'm not sure it's as simple as all of that. Lurie was obviously upset with the way 2011 went, and if 2012 goes as badly or worse, it's entirely possible the Eagles will change their evolutionary plan. Reid could be fired, or relieved of coaching duties and moved into a front-office position, or resign on his own to go coach the Chargers, or something. If the Eagles flop again and finish under .500, all bets are off.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfceast/post/_/id/39859/what-does-eagles-shakeup-mean-for-reid

 

[Lanky Livingston]

Andy Reid is like the Jacques Clouseau of the NFL. He bumbles his way to title games, but somehow never gets the ax when its time to name the responsible party. Its all good with me - they can keep Andy as long as they want! Keep that superbowl trophy case empty!

 

[Lanky Livingston]

I have often thought that the Eagles were run more like a business - not necessarily to win a superbowl, but to generate the most revenue. The system they had in place was perfect for that. Extended regular season & playoff success, never quite going all the way but always the promise of a fantastic season the next year, etc. Cutting veterans once they got too old, maximizing profit vs. expenditures.

Last year, they broke that mold and went for it all. Maybe Banner was primarily responsible for that, and that's why he got the ax. The Eagles cut into their profit margin last year with those huge contracts (and yet, somehow they still have a billion dollars in cap space this year, WTF), and someone's head had to roll. Reid will never get fired, because he's just good enough to keep the team successful, but he will always be outcoached in the big games.