Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie addressed the media Sunday afternoon, and said head coach Andy Reid would be back sooner than most people might think.
“I expect Andy to be coaching this week,” said Lurie. “I know he feels that way, and he is very, very focused both on his family and his profession.”
The Eagles owner addressed the team for approximately three minutes prior to Sunday’s afternoon practice, this on the day it was learned that Reid’s oldest son, Garrett, had died. Lurie then spoke with the media, and described Reid as a “rock solid man.”
“I think what makes him a great coach is his combination of compassion, feeling and strength, and today he exhibited it all,” said Lurie.
“All he wanted to talk to me about is a couple things: How incredibly excited he is for this football team — that’s been obvious I think from the beginning of training camp to all of us. But he wanted me to know that. Secondly, that he treasures these practices, and he feels bad he’s not going to be at practice today or probably tomorrow. He just thinks they’re incredibly important. And at the same time, this is a father fully grieving. I’ve watched Andy try so hard with his family over the years.”
Lurie was forced to stop for a moment to gather himself.
“”He cares so much about his family that it’s a hard one.”
It was announced earlier in the day that Marty Mornhinweg and Juan Castillo would oversee the team in Reid’s absence, though it now sounds like that they will only be called upon for a short time.
“He loves his players, he loves his coaches. He feels so badly he’s even interfering with their success today, tomorrow. He knows they are in good hands with our coaches,” said Lurie.
“Actually in this moment of terrible pain he’s reaching out to all of us.”
