Looks like that LA Times report on a power struggle had some truth to it after all

Who knows what the thinking behind this move was? Banner seemed to do his job well but was much too vocal when it came to football. He should have kept to discussing something he knew...finance. Leave the personnel discussions to the coaches or at least keep the talk vague and NEVER try to put your success on the same level as a team who won a couple of Super Bowls in the time frame the team you worked for hasn't won any.

You're right, Andy has nowhere to hide. However this move is going to make Lurie put away Reids walking papers. This move shows how much faith the Eagles have in Reid, and he has just now, become a lifer. Be it coaching, asst GM, president, vice president, whatever. We will see Andy's face every Sunday until he or we die

When it happens remember who told you first:
As they said Banner is looking to be part of an ownership group. When L.A. gets a new team, (or the Jags are sold) don't be surprised to see Banner's name attached to the group that holds the reigns.

I still doubt there was any truth to the "power struggle" story. Banner and Reid had been here too long, working too close, to not understand how the machine runs.

Besides, they never won a Superbowl. It's not like either man could claim to be more of the reason for the Eagles success when they never accomplished the "public" mission. In that, how could either man say to Lurie that they deserved more power. That could just as easily have earned them more blame. So I don't buy the "power struggle" notion for even a minute.

I'll change my position, if Banner and/or Reid (and it HAS TO BE at least one of them), were to write a book saying there was a power struggle; but until then, I just don't buy it.

Call me crazy, but perhaps Lurie really is sick and tired of coming up short. He's sick of being 2nd banana to the Phillies and sees how the public perception of them is in stark contrast to the Eagles because they've won a title in recent years and are willing to spend money. He could no longer ignore what was happening across the parking lot. Banner kept Lurie blind to this for a long time because he was making him a billionaire.

However, I think a couple things happened. First, as the trophy case remained empty while his pockets were over stuffed with all the loot the Eagles have brought him, Lurie started to question the “business model” and began to realize that this model was never going to win a chip and that he really had enough money. So if he wasn’t losing his shirt, he would rather win a title than get richer. Banner got richer as Lurie got richer so he had no interest in decreasing the bottom line by actually using the money on players. He wanted to continue to get richer so they became at odds. So the actual sportsman in Lurie has finally emerged and pushed Joe aside.

The second thing is that after years of success as a coach, Reid finds himself on the hot seat. I believe that after years of being a good soldier and towing the company line laid out by Banner, Reid stepped up. Banner brought this on in part by criticizing Reid. And the rest was Reid’s survival instinct. He finally stopped towing the line and stated the obvious which is something like this: “I have been very successful with average talent. But the reality is that talent wins titles and you guys have not given me enough talent. You don’t retain my guys and you do not get the free agents I could use to take us to the next level. So if you question my ability, how about you actually give me what I need and then we can see what I can or can’t do.”

I know this is ten days late GG but how do you come to the conclusion that the Eagles don't retain Reid's guys. I think the Eagles have probably been one of the better teams in keeping most of their top talent...sometimes to a fault when the player doesn't live up to the teams hopes. They have lost a handful of good players but what team in the league doesn't? I would agree with you if you stated that some of the players weren't happy over the years even after signing but definitely don't agree with the thought that they don't retain "his guys".

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Clearly you do not have a clue about the sport as you have little to no comments related to the subject in nearly every one of your posts (like this one), but you sure do know a lot about stalking, feeble attempts and cyber bullying, instigating ridiculous arguments, and crying to moderators when those people push back.

Ironically this Banner move makes me feel like Reid has more power than ever. In fact it makes me feel as if at some point next season Reid will get an extension. If Reid has a winning record by week six I could see him getting an extension. Reid would have to screw up terribly not to get an extension. He'd have to be much worse than 8-8 (5-1 in the division). He would have to be like 3-13 to get fired, but when the Eagles play in a division with cream puffs like the Redskins and the Cowboys I find it difficult for Reid to lose that many games. Well maybe the new Redskins can give the Eagles a run next season.

You may be right, but I do think there was a power struggle going on within the organization. I think Reid has been leaking a lot of stories to the West Coast media in order to force the Eagles hand. I think Banner seized a lot of Reid's power after that layoff he took because of his kids and placed many of "his guys" into the process to sort of push Reid out. I think Ried finally took a stand since he realizes how much clout he has and considering how he was consistently forced to play with Banner guys I think Reid finally had enough. A lot of last season's drama had a lot to do with Banner. Banner had a contentious relationship with agents thus the constant back and forth with Jackson. Did you notice how Asante went after the front office last season, but he absolved Andy of any wrong doing? I do think there was a lot of tension brewing in the Eagles front office and Reid was the focal point of most of it. He seems to have won the battle, but I don't think he's out of the woods yet when you consider the fact the fanbase still feels negatively towards Reid, and last season as a whole. With that being the case, Reid may have his best assembled team since 2004. His defense has playmakers all over the field and the offense is obviously one of the best ever. Perhaps last seasons struggles can be chalked up to the fact they made too many changes and they had to little time to put it all together. If they can remain injury free (especially at Runningback and Quarterback)they should be an imposing team next season. I wouldn't be surprised if the won all six of their NFC East games.

called as one put it,
Not for Long AKA NFL

That would be Marv Levy.

Actually that was Jerry Glanville. He also continued to say that he would end up "selling groceries" if their play didn't improve.

Thanks for the post.

Ha! I remember that one.

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Flip how could you bash Marv Levy for going to the Superbowl over and over again when you think Andy Reid should have his job for life? Reid is nothing more than a poor mans version of Marv Levy, yet you think Reid is irreplaceable?

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This is just more proof that the Eagles arent committed to winning a superbowl. Why would Banner resign or get fired after so many years w/o reaching the goal they started together as a group. Do you really think its fair to lay blame on this bean counter. And there are those that think because Reid can poorly coach a football team that he somehow carries the credentials to be an executive. Thats a laugh. The guy cant even manage his drug addict kids let alone a "gold standard" organization. This is just a distraction with no meaning. Win a superbowl first then fight for control. But as of now they have nothing but execuses.

Banner himself wondered if the Eagles would win the Super Bowl. There was clearly some kind of behind the scenes power play, but honestly all of the complaints you had about players getting a raw deal in Philly can fall solely on the shoulders of Banner. He and his cold and calculating ways are the reason why so many former players have issues with the Eagles front office yet so many of them to a man still love Andy Reid. Personally I feel Jo Banner did his job better than most, but I can understand why people have issues with this guy.

Joe banner doesnt own the team. If the owner wants to commit resources he can. If he doesnt have them or wants to keep the profits thats his choice. Banner only is given an amount to work with so he has limits. Banner has a boss and it falls squarely on Jeff luries shoulders. he had 15 years to correct the Banner problem if there was one and he choose not too. Im not convinced the players to a man love Andy reid. It doesnt seem like Brian Dawkins has any "love" for Reid. If they loved Reid so much they would have a ring by now. Vick is trying to rally the team as a competitive leader would but Im sure this front office that likes to control the season outcome can be none to happy with Vick going rogue. But like i said long ago this current ownership is cornered because division titles no longer matter. The town wants a superbowl win and anything short will bring the wraqth of the fans. They played their lying hand and now the fans are calling their hand.

I true problem with Banner is that for some reason the team thought it was a great idea that he was the mouth piece for them. Between Reid's terrible press conferences, Lurie's non-speaking, and Banner's arrogance the teams image has completely fallen apart. I think it took the fan (as you have mentioned here) wrath against the team to finally get some changes. Now Reid is attempting to become more personable and Banner is out. Roseman has quickly signed McCoy and Jackson, and they have extended contracts to other players. It kind of seems as if Banner is being made the scapegoat, but I certainly don't think past failures all fall on him.

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I think a healthy Vick gives the eagles a shot but it looks as if the FO is basically acting like if Vick gets hurt they are folding the tent. There is no backup plan. Its Vick or bust period. The Eagles had some talented players but they had a slew of weaknesses on defense. I think Ryans gives them a thin line of defense and kendricks, Cox and Curry give them fresh legs but i still have doubts about the coaching coming together.

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I agree with you on the quarterback situation. As I have written before they Eagles should explore brining in McNabb, as a backup, and I don't care about some fear of a QB controversy. Competition at all positions makes everyone better. I also thought they should have brought in a veteran at runningback as well. They could use a spell back for McCoy. I hope Lewis can be the guy, especially now that he's no longer the KR guy. As far as the defense goes I gotta disagree with you. I think they have done an excellent job of fixing up the defense. The Eagles were a top 10 defense last season (despite all of the early season turmoil), and were actually the best defense in their division last year. They were a top team in sacks, and have addressed their weakest point on the defense the linebackers. They moved DRC to the outside where he belongs and they drafted a kid to play inside. They hired a quality secondary coach to teach these young safeties how to play in coverage and unlike last season the coaching staff has time to bring it all together. I get the feeling this defense will be one of the better ones in the league next year. They are going to shock some teams. I an expecting to see a lot of dominating games from the defense. Similar to the beat down they gave to the Cowboys.

Reid deserves alot of blame. He didnt protect his players. he needs to finish games early and not let games that are clear victories end up in 4th qtr struggles. They are a finesse team.

As much as I would love to blame everything on the coach, there does come a time when players need to execute, and last season there were far too many time where the players failed to get the job done. There were games where players lacked the concentration and made terrible mistakes. Maclin, Vick, Jackson, Smith, Nnamdi, DRC, Mathews, Babin, Samuel, McCoy, Ronnie Brown, and Avant are just a few names of players who made some terrible concentration mistakes in games that cost the Eagles football games. Again it all comes back on the coach, but when players are put in the correct position to make a play and they fail to then they need to receive criticism as well.

Take just one or two of those horrible plays away and the Eagles could have been the NFC East winner instead of the Giants (and yes I get that the same could be said for the Cowboys or that the Giants may have won the division going away if not for a blown play or two here or there but the Eagles players seemed to find ways to lose a handful of games last year and only someone with an agenda of looking for reasons to complain about Reid would lay most of those plays at his feet). Although Reid may have called a horrible play on Brown's option against the 49ers, I'm sure that he didn't have to remind a veteran like Brown that if he got wrapped up to secure the ball let alone not try to throw it nor was it his foot that missed two 35ish yard field goals against them either. At least 9 missed points (in a 1 point loss) not to mention the defense falling totally apart in the 2nd half. How many missed tackles in the Giants loss (and many others) and also at least two turnovers when the Eagles were driving...5 turnovers against Buffalo and the Eagles only lost by 7. Hollywood can blame Reid all he wants but it's his inability to spread some blame to everyone involved (including a huge assist to Vick) that will always help push me not to take him seriously.

I agree and I may be one of Reid biggest detractors on this site, but I can't fault Reid for terrible fumbles made by Maclin and Avant. I can't fault Reid completely for a lot of this stuff; however as the coach it's his responsibility to get it though to his players they need to execute properly and if they don't find someone who can. If the team made choices on players who can't get it done of this roster then Reid obviously made some poor choices in players.

Alot of people knock barry switzer and he was unusual. But one thing you can say about him was he had charisma and he got peoples attention. And that translated into confidence. Which got him a superbowl. He knew how to capitalize on his strengths. I havent seen Reid show anywhere near the kind of consistency of the top coaches in the game. I told you guys way before he was a factor that Coughlin was a very intelligent coach. He knew when to rest his players and get the most out of them when he requested it. Reid bumbles around without a clue after a game starts. If he cant get something going early he becomes baffled. He does not have command from beginning to end.

Ill say it again- Reid wont win a superbowl. His time has passed. He cannot even be taken seriously.

Right now I can't say that I disagree. Reid's in-game management has been dreadful over the years. He doesn't think out of the box, but when he has time to game plan for a team (like a bye week), he's nearly unbeatable. I think they should have moved on from Reid several years back. He's the 2nd best coach in the NFC East right now. That's not bad, but it's not much either.

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Not sure about playoffs but the competition in the NFC is getting stiffer. Its a NFC league this year.

I have major doubt in Reid's ability to win the superbowl, just like I began to have doubts in the ability of McNabb to do the same, but short of the Giants I don't see any team in the NFC East who would have a better shot at winning than the Eagles.

Having "charisma" and getting peoples "attention" doesn't mean he's a great coach. They guy won with JJ's players, and when he actually had to do things on his own (like draft and actually coach) he turned out to be a buffoon and he set the Cryboys back decades. If it weren't for Bill Parcells the Cryboys would be worse than the Washington Redskins right now. In fact I think the Redskins have actually turned the corner and are now better than they Cryboys. I would not be surprised to see the Redskins end the season with a better record. In fact I would not be surprised to see the Cryboys drafting in the top 10 next year.

I think it was assumed he was a bad coach based on his antics but he won a superbowl so he wasnt that "bad". But regardless, he managed his players, controveries and disputes rather well.

Just because he won a super bowl doesn't mean he was a good NFL coach. He won with another mans players and he cheated to win at the college level.

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You have a valid point. For some reason Reid struggles with a shorter time span. His games look mighty similar from week to week. And the funny thing is he drops some really good wrinkles that he used in prior weeks. He tends to get very vanilla.

Now days coaches don't even get a week to plan for a team with all of these Thursday night and overseas games being played. It's a fact Reid is undefeated after the bye. I'm not sure why he is, but he is. Reid isn't the perfect coach by any stretch, and if I had my way he would be gone, but I wont take away from him the fact he's great after byes. Of course he blew that one bye into the super bowl, but I might have to chalk that one up mostly on his 100 million dollar quarterback puking on the 20 yard line.

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Romo since it seems as if we can communicate as adults and not children (talking about both of us there) I will unblock you and allow you to freely comment on my Threads. Getting back to that super bowl for a moment. Any great quarterback wants the ball with 3 minutes or less left on the clock with his team behind with a chance to win. McNabb won a bunch of games, but he never had the ability to step up and win that game. That game is the one where he had the ball in his hands with the game on the line. He needed to blow teams out, because he frankly wasn't accurate enough to be clutch. I know that may hurt some peoples feelings, but the truth is the truth. I used to laugh when people would compare him to Elway. Elway was the greatest comeback quarterback in NFL history. McNabb can't wear Elways socks. If he did he would throw up all over them.

Two words. "The Drive"

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I certainly can respect your opinion. I might not always agree with it, but if you read my comments I don't always agree with Eagles fans. We all have opinions. We all want and believe in our teams (well most of us anyway) and we all have a forum to address those opinions. Honestly if we all agreed all the time it would be boring around. I will chill with the extra curricular stuff as well. Football discussions are the reason why I came on this site. I just want to keep it that way.

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The NFC East is dominate again. Its a toss up for the division.

I agree. I certainly could see all four team making a claim for this division. If RG3 can be a fast learner the Redskins could be tough all season. The Giants are still the champs, and there really isn't much talent that separates the Eagles and the Cowboys. These 4 teams are going to beat each other up.