2003 Inductee

Andy Reid - Pillar of Achievement

What Andy Reid has achieved in 44 years should be considered a formula for success that any coach-in-the-making might want to take notice of. What he has accomplished has come through hard work, loyalty and the patience and belief that everything will work out if he and those around him want it badly enough.

Reid just completed his fourth season as the Head Coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and for those who knew him over 25 years ago when he was an offensive lineman at Glendale College in 1976 and 1977, they might have said that he could be whatever he wanted to be.

What he was back then was a man amongst young men and the anchor of the 1977 team that won the Western State Conference title. Players like future NFL quarterback Bob Gagliano and a defensive stalwart named Jim Evangelatos got much of the credit for that team’s success during that 8-3 season, but here is a little known fact about Reid that few people might remember: Reid connected on 21 of 22 extra point attempts that season and four of five field goals to finish fourth on the team in scoring with 33 points.

It isn’t hard to imagine Reid eyeing the ball as his target and the uprights in the end zone as his goal and then taking short, methodical steps to reach it. The same could be said for Reid’s coaching career that started as a graduate assistant at Brigham Young University in 1982, after his career as a player ended for the Cougars, and continues today as he was named the NFL Head Coach of the Year in 2002 after leading the Eagles to the NFC Championship game for the second consecutive year. He was also named the coach of the year in 2000 by several organizations including the Sporting News and Football Digest.

He eyed his target and his goal and took short and methodical steps to reach it.

Like most coaches who make it to the NFL, Reid has paid his dues as an assistant at the college and professional level with stops at San Francisco State University from 1983 to 1985, Northern Arizona in 1986, Texas-El Paso in 1987 and 1988 and Missouri from 1989 to 1991.

Reid’s hard work and patience paid off when he was hired by Mike Holmgren to coach the offensive line and tight ends in 1992 and was the quarterbacks coach and assistant head coach in 1997 when the Packers won the Super Bowl and in 1998 when they lost the Super Bowl to the Denver Broncos.

In January of 1999, Reid left Green Bay after seven years to take over as the head coach in Philadelphia and later added the title of Executive Vice-President of Football Operations for the Eagles in 2001. In four years in Philadelphia, Reid has compiled a regular season record of 39-25 and is regarded as one of the brightest young coaches in the NFL.

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