Getty Andy Reid coaches from the sidelines against the Seattle Seahawks.
One funny story coming out of Philadelphia earlier today involved former coach Andy Reid. It featured the beach, some napkins and Michael Vick. Intrigued yet?
Former Eagles running back Brian Westbrook was a guest on the Adam Lefkoe Show — one of the best NFL podcasts out there, by the way — and relayed a story about Reid designing plays for Michael Vick while sitting on a beach in California. Yes, this hilariously bizarre offensive strategy actually happened.
Turns out, Reid was still on offseason vacation when news of the Eagles signing Vick reached him. The coach had long been fond of the explosive quarterback and couldn’t contain his excitement, so he picked up a pen and went to work finding ways to harness Vick’s athleticism right from his beach chair.
According to Westbrook, Reid pulled him aside in the hallway at the NovaCare Complex after Eagles practice one day and flashed some crusty napkins at him.
“I’m talking to Andy in the hallway and he’s like, ‘We’re going to get Vick’ … and he said I drew up all these plays,” a laughing Westbrook told Lefkoe. “He had these napkins filled with plays for Vick.”
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Westbrook made the appearance on the 10-year anniversary of Vick signing with the Eagles and embarking on his NFL redemption tour. Philadelphia announced they had rostered him during a preseason game on August 13, 2009.
Andy Reid Loves Rookie Mecole Hardman
Westbrook, a proud graduate of Villanova University, went on to praise Reid’s intellect as a coach and offensive mind. He speculated that the Chiefs coach probably has some wizardry in store for Kansas City rookie wide receiver Mecole Hardman.
The second-round pick out of Georgia posted a blazing 4.33 time in the 40-yard dash at his pro day and already put that track speed on display in his first preseason game. Hardman took a pitch a few steps in the backfield and raced to pay dirt. It was too easy.
Adding even more pressure, Reid has compared Hardman to Tyreek Hill.
“Well, [Hardman] played the position more than what Hill… Hill came in as more of a running back slash wide receiver, so the fact that this kid was purely a wide receiver [is important],” Reid said, per ESPN’s Adam Teicher. “Both of them are real smart kids, though. So we were able to accelerate Tyreek and get him going fast just because he’s so smart, and it’s same way with Mecole. He’s a smart kid, and we’ve given him quite a few things to do.”
Mecole Hardman turned on the jets 🏃♂️💨
(via @NFL)
The Chiefs now have four insanely talented skill players — Mecole Hardman, Tyreek Hill, Damien Williams, Sammy Watkins — that ran a 4.45 or faster at their pro days.
That’s incredible breakaway speed. And way too many offensive weapons for any one man to handle, even a prolific play-caller like Reid. Get your napkins ready, Kansas City.
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