Nobody On Current Staff Can Clean Up Reid’s Mess

November 26, 2012; Philadelphia, PA USA; Philadelphia Eagles fan late in the fourth quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The Panthers defeated the Eagles 30-22. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-US PRESSWIRE

After yet another embarrassment on national TV, this time on Monday Night Football (although let’s be honest, I doubt more than a few hundred people were actually watching this game at home, what with Return of the Jedi and House Hunters International on at the same time), the chorus for Andy Reid to be fired this week is growing ever-louder.

Last night’s loss to Carolina dropped the Eagles to 3-8, and that eighth loss is a big one. That eighth loss is the one that owner Jeffrey Lurie said would be the death knell for Reid and his band of merry bumblers.

And today, the sharks are circling.

It’s one thing for a hack-job blogger to call for the firing of a head coach. Heck, bloggers and sports talk hosts have been calling for Reid to be fired for more than a month now. But it’s something else when the Eagles’ beat writer for one of the city’s papers of record says it’s a good idea.

Firing Andy Reid this week sure would feel cathartic. And every single member of the organization knows it’s time for him to go. But there’s just one question for which no one seems to have an answer.

If you fire Andy Reid mid-season, who coaches this team for the rest of the year?

Granted, it looks at times like this team has been uncoached for the last two months, so maybe going without a coach for the last few weeks wouldn’t be that big a deal. But I stipulate that there probably should be a coach of some kind to guild this rudderless ship through the last month of the season.

But who? Marty Mornhinweg? He’s as responsible as anyone for this mess. Todd Bowles? This guy has overseen perhaps the worst defensive effort in the history of this franchise over the last four weeks. Howard Mudd? While his offensive line has been devastated by injuries, his unit has been a disaster during his entire tenure here, and he lacks the overall knowledge to lead a team in all facts of the game.

Bobby April? Have you seen the special teams play? Jim Washburn? His vaunted Wide 9 scheme was supposed to put pressure on the quarterback, but his defensive line has been an absolute joke.

The incompetence of the entire coaching staff is overwhelming. There is simply no one in-house who is fit to take the reigns for the rest of the season.

If there was a young, up-and-comer on the staff who could gain valuable experience by coaching in December, then removing Reid as head coach now would make sense. But there isn’t. There’s simply one flawed football mind after another roaming the sidelines.

And of course, if Rich Kotite and Ray Rhodes were able to make it through their final, lame-duck seasons, it seems highly unlikely the greatest coach in the history of the franchise will get the boot before the year is done.

This 2012 season is simply going to be what it’s going to be, an epic and total failure. And Andy Reid is going to go down with the ship. To the very end.

After all, isn’t that what the captain is supposed to do?