At first, LeSean McCoy didn’t want to answer the question.
Asked what kind of reaction Andy Reid would draw from fans in what could be his final game at the Linc, McCoy said, “I’m not thinking like that. I don’t want to answer that type of question. As far as I’m concerned, he’s our coach right now and hopefully in the future.”
But the reality is that McCoy is probably playing his final two games for the coach that selected him in the second round of the 2009 draft. Even though the team is 4-10, coming off an 8-8 season last year, and hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2008 campaign, McCoy still stands firmly in Reid’s corner.
“I think so,” McCoy said, when asked if Reid is underappreciated. “If you sat here and tried to name five to eight coaches that’s better than Coach Reid, I would like to hear them, because Coach Reid’s a good coach. He gets blamed for everything. Sometimes if you break down the film or break down the plays and the mistakes, how do you fault the coach for that? But I guess people have their own opinions and their minds are made up. The thing about the team is we know how good of a coach he really is. Whatever happens, happens. I’m behind Coach Reid 110 percent.”
McCoy is probably the team’s best player. He piled up 1,309 yards on the ground and 20 total touchdowns in 2011. He’s averaging 75 yards per game in 2012, despite running behind a decimated offensive line.
But the running back feels like he hasn’t done enough. McCoy thinks if he had done more, perhaps Reid’s future in Philadelphia wouldn’t appear to be so bleak.
“Sometimes, I think as players, we’ve let coach down,” McCoy said. “And then myself, I feel like I’ve let coach down. And I’ve told him that face to face, because you see on TV, and you watch those guys bash coach for this and that and knowing it’s not his fault, but he’s tough. He’s a tough coach. Even in the position we are with the record, he still shows up everyday ready for work with the same attitude and intensity. So that shows you a lot about him.”
Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
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