Whisenhunt: Andy Reid Told Me Story, 'Helped Solidify' Staying Put
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- Et tu, Andy? Then fall, Eagles! It looks like, according to SI.com's Peter King, our old coach may have stabbed us in the back.
Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt reportedly spoke with former Eagles, now Chiefs, head coach Andy Reid on Thursday before the start of the NFL Draft. Reid, who stayed put at No. 2 with the Eagles in 1999 to select Donovan McNabb (despite offers from the Saints), helped convince Whisenhunt not to make a trade. Ultimately, that is what the Titans decided to do selecting quarterback Marcus Mariota with the second overall pick.
"I was talking to Andy today," Whisenhunt told King. "He told me the story about Ditka offering a whole draft for his [Reid's] pick. I understood what Andy was saying. It certainly helped solidify what I was thinking—that's for sure."
"Al [Morganti], there was no reason for him [Reid] to call them [Tennessee] to initiate a discussion about the Eagles' involvement?" an outraged Angelo Cataldi said Friday morning on the 94WIP Morning Show, reacting to King's story. "It's outrageous!
"Hey, Andy. Kiss my ass!" Cataldi exclaimed. "Both cheeks!"
Is Reid the reason the Eagles didn't get Mariota? Probably not, but even King admitted it is rather interesting Reid was involved.
"Now, let me make it clear: Reid did not ruin the Eagles' chances of trading for Mariota," King wrote. "That would be overly simplistic and, honestly, false. But it's quite a coincidence that the coach Kelly replaced, in the hours before the draft, gave Whisenhunt one more reason to say yes to Mariota and no to Kelly."