Andy Reid’s voice was cracking as he addressed the media after the Eagles walkthrough workout on Wednesday morning. He had been overwhelmed by the showing of support for him and his family at his son’s Garrett funeral.
“I’m a very humbled man standing before you”, Reid said. “A very humbled man. I’m humbled because of the outpouring [of support], not only from the media but from our football team and the fans. It was unbelievable. I’m not sure you ever think that many people care, not that you would ever go in that direction, but it’s very humbling. A very humbling feeling.
Reid was back to work doing what he loves to do and that’s coaching the Philadelphia Eagles. I was astonished about how quickly Reid returned to the practice field, but he says that’s what his son would have wanted.
“I know my son would feel the same way”, Reid said. “I think that’s all I can say on that part and keep it all together. It’s a sad situation and it’s one that my son has been battling for a number of years. Our family has been battling. It doesn’t mean you stop loving your son, because that’s not what you do. You love him and a lot of families deal with this type of thing. It’s a sad situation.”
“On the other part of that, I praise my Heavenly Father for all of the support and the strength that He’s given me to be able to work through this, [along with] my family and my football family, and that includes everybody in the National Football League, including you guys and ladies. I just know that coming back and coaching is the right thing to do. I know my son wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. With that, I’ll move on and talk about the injuries. Again, I appreciate everything that you folks did in giving me your support. I know it’s hard being in [the media’s] position to do that, but again, I appreciate you for doing that.”
I’ve heard Reid give a talk to young high school players about his philosophy on how to live life and he reiterated that yesterday to the media.
“I always tell the players there are kind of four things that you go about in life and how you approach it,” Reid said. “One of them is eliminate distractions, the other ones [are] creating energy, you fear nothing and you attack everything. And that’s how you go about life.”
That’s obviously how he’s trying to deal with the situation facing him now. He’s getting back to focusing on football, getting himself into it, ready to take on whatever this season brings before he and his team, and he’s going to be on the attack.
