Profile of Andy Reid on Famous Like Me

Andy Reid (full name Andrew Walter Reid, born March 19, 1958) is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL.

Born in Los Angeles, California, USA, Reid attended John Marshall High School and worked as a vendor at Dodger Stadium as a teen. Reid played offensive guard and tackle at Brigham Young University, during which time he became a convert to the Mormon religious faith. After graduating from that college in 1981, he spent one year employed as a graduate assistant on the school's football coaching staff. He spent the next nine years as an offensive line coach with four different colleges before being hired as an assistant coach by the Green Bay Packers in 1992, the same year quarterback Brett Favre became a member of that team (Reid was named the Packers' quarterbacks coach in 1997).

The quality of Reid's work with the Packers attracted considerable notice from throughout the league, leading to his being hired as the head coach of the Eagles on January 11, 1999. At the time, many in the local media in Philadelphia criticized the hiring, citing the availability of other candidates who had past records of success as head coaches. The Eagles, who finished in a three-way tie for the NFL's worst record at 3-13 the season before he took over, went 5-11 in 1999 (including the team's first road victory in 19 games, a 20-16 win over the Bears at Chicago on October 17, which was the first time the Philadelphia franchise had won an away game over the Bears since 1931). In 2000 the Eagles reached the playoffs after an 11-5 regular-season finish.

Beginning in 2001, Reid's Eagles won the National Football Conference's Eastern Division four consecutive times, the longest such streak in franchise history, and advanced to the conference championship game in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004 losing this game on the first three occasions. The 2003 team became the first in NFL history ever to qualify for postseason play after opening the season with two losses, both at home, in a non-strike year, and was also the first NFL team ever to reach the conference title round of the playoffs after having been shut out at home on opening day. The 2004 team was the first NFC East squad to defeat all of its division rivals (New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, and Washington Redskins) twice in the same season. The Eagles made it to Super Bowl XXXIX but fell to the New England Patriots 24-21 in the final minutes; Reid took responsibility for the loss, despite reports that quarterback Donovan McNabb suffered an injury that limited the Eagles' ability to score one more time.

In addition to being the team's head coach, Reid also has extensive responsibilities in the area of making playing personnel decisions (with the title of Executive Vice President of Football Operations being added on May 8, 2001), most notably the drafting of McNabb in 1999 and the acquisition of wide receiver Terrell Owens in a convoluted trade in 2004. In the latter year, Reid, a rather corpulent man, raised a few eyebrows when he publicly agreed to don a pair of spandex tights if Owens caught 15 touchdown passes that season; however Owens suffered a season-ending ankle sprain and leg fracture in a home game against the Dallas Cowboys on December 19 after having scored 14 touchdowns.

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