Interesting comments from Michael Vick may give clues to what happened with Reid in 2012 (there is a video, but couldn't embed it):
http://www.csnphilly.com/football-ph...839&feedID=704
Michael Vick was not in a good mood. That was hardly surprising given the circumstances.
On Monday, the Eagles fired Andy Reid, who served as the team’s head coach for 14 years. Vick said he had a strong bond with Reid, who brought the quarterback into the Eagles' flock not long after he was discharged from prison four seasons ago. While Vick stood in front of his locker at the NovaCare Complex – perhaps for the last time – he told reporters that his friendship with Reid would never end.
And then, like some other players before him (see story), Vick threw shot after shot at his teammates for a season-long “lack of effort” that he called “very evident.”
“It's all about focus, dedication and commitment,” Vick insisted. “Until you get guys who are willing to better themselves week in and week out and want to win, you’re not going to win. And I haven't played with guys like that. It's unfortunate for Coach things turned out the way they are. It could have been a lot better. This locker room could have dictated that.”
It was a powerful statement, an unmistakable indictment of a team that underperformed and finished with its worst record (4-12) since 1998. But Vick didn’t stop there. When one reporter asked him whether the lack of effort “pisses [him] off,” Vick didn’t hesitate.
“Yes it does,” Vick said. “I give 110 percent effort. My body is scarred up all year. I'm hurt, I'm bruised, get up after every hit and still try and fight and push. I do that for my coaches. I do that for my teammates. And I would expect the same thing in return.”
To hear Vick tell it, many of his peers did not reciprocate. Earlier on Monday morning, both LeSean McCoy and Jeremy Maclin said that some of the “new faces” failed to “buy in” to Reid and his system. Vick concurred, saying that “out of respect and based on past history, you should come” to Philadelphia “wanting work, wanting to be the best and follow the leader.”
“Guys have to start to understand: You can't do it your way,” Vick continued. “You have to follow the leader. If you don't then we end up in the situation we are in now, losing the head coach, a man that we love and have a great deal of respect for. A man that I played hard for. I gave him 100 percent. At least I can feel good about that. And there are guys in here that gave it their all. But you need consistent effort from every guy in this locker room.”
If that was the case, if there wasn’t consistent effort, if certain guys tried to have it their way to the detriment of the team, and if Vick saw himself as a leader, why didn’t he speak up and call out the problem players?
“I should have done it,” Vick admitted. “But I tried to take the modest approach, I tried to lead by example. I held a team meeting and tried to help guys recommit. It was still the same thing over and over again. I'm not going to tell a grown man the same thing twice because the reason I ended up incarcerated was because people told me the same thing over and over again and I didn't listen. I feel like if you don't learn in the first go-around, you disregard it. You just deal with the consequences because there will always be consequences.”
Those consequences were obvious enough on Monday. The Eagles are now without a head coach, and they have a roster full of underachieving employees who are all too happy to bicker in public. The organization’s current situation is beyond grim.
“There is a long way to go,” Vick conceded. “You have to rebuild. The owner, Mr. Lurie, is committed to doing that. He's going to rebuild this thing and do the best he can and get back to championship form. I think Howie [Roseman] will do the same thing. There is a lot of work to be done.”
