Reuben Frank, a Philly/South Jersey radio and newspaper guy, has a piece on SI.com about how Brad Childress has followed in the footsteps of his mentor, Andy Reid.
It's sort of ironic- until about a month ago my take was that Childress was trying to do everything Reid did in Philly, only in Minnesota, except it wasn't working, because he wasn't as good at it as Reid, and the fans and media in Minnesota were so radically different from those in Philly that they were more likely to treat their coach as an interloping ass than respect him.
Now, Frank parallels Reid's first two years in Philly with the Childress' in Minnesota:
It started with an unknown rookie head coach replacing somebody who'd taken the team to the playoffs just a couple of years earlier. There were popular players released. There was a veteran quarterback struggling on the field but quietly teaching the rookie the offense. There was a very good defense, an offensive line anchored by the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history and some promising young players finding their way.Where the analogy breaks down: the Eagles had five or six good years; the Vikings have had about one good month. And while T-Jack has looked better in recent weeks, let's not start [expletive] each other's [expletives] quite yet. He's nowhere near what Donovan was even as a second-year player.There were a bunch of losses and a furious fan base who didn't yet understand the long-range plan. And there was a savage local media that wanted to run the new coach out of town.
Then there was a second season that began with little fanfare. There was an owner who didn't question the coach, even as the losses piled up.
Then there was a win. And another. And another. And then there was a playoff run.
Out of nowhere, there was a very good football team.
Still- four straight championship games would be nice. Might even get them that stadium.
Posted by Stephen Silver at December 13, 2007 05:17 PM