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Let's discuss the Andy Reid leaving rumors

Before I give my opinions or solicit yours, let's be clear on what rumors are out there and where they're from.

I first saw the talk on Pro Football Talk.

After a tumultuous personal offseason involving legal troubles for two of his sons and a disappointing 1-3 start to the 2007 campaign, it should surprise no one that rumors are circulating that Eagles coach Andy Reid will step down after the season, if not sooner.

They also report that people in league circles have said that John Gruden would be interested in the Eagles job if it were to come open.

Then AJ Daulerio of Philly Mag claims in a blog on the site to have sources close to Reid and the team.

It's been a constant rumor all year, but after Sunday night's loss to the Giants, sources close to Andy Reid and the team say there's a strong possibility Reid may get off the sidelines sooner than expected. All year, Reid's family troubles have been taking a noticeable toll, and many of his players are biding their time until Big Red makes an announcement. The likely scenario is inserting (Marty) Mornhinwheg in the coach's seat so Reid can ride out the rest of his contract as Executive Vice President of Football Operations, leaving him more time with his fractured family.

In response that report from Philly Mag Jordan Raanan of Metro Philadelphia makes a pretty logical rebuttal...

I've never met Daulerio and don't know anything about him. But if he actually has a source close to Reid and the source is credible, Daulerio certainly would have offered something more than a short blog post insinuating Reid was going to step down soon.

I must say that Raanan has a good point. A real credible source close to Reid that has confirmed that he is ready to step down would likely be a juicy enough story to get a front page feature headline in the Inquirer, yet it ended up as a short blog post on Philly Mag's website.

Here's my take. I don't think there's any chance Reid steps down in the middle of the season, I'd be absolutely shocked if that were to happen. But I also think there's something more going on here.  Case in point, Joe Banner is now answering questions about Andy's commitment to the team. Now, he's defending Andy but the fact that he's talking about it at all is out of character for the Eagles organization. Like I said I don't think Reid steps down during the year, but I do think there will be serious meetings between Reid, Lurie, & Banner after this year about whether he wants to remain as the coach and president of football operations of this team. In the end though, I do believe that the decision will be his. He won't be fired. If he wants to come back, he will.

So what do you all think? Does the old addage "where there's smoke there's fire" apply here? Is there anything to these reports?

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