If Reid Wants To Go Back to Vick, Jeff Lurie Needs To Step In

Ever since Michael Vick went down with his concussion, I've been pounding the drum that Nick Foles should remain the Eagles' starting QB for the rest of the season, regardless of how he or the team performs.

I even went so far as to say that Andy Reid would be selfish not do so.

Before all the Vick lovers come crying, this is not about him.  My reasoning for starting Foles is purely what I believe to be in the best interest for the future of this franchise.  Simply put, we need to see if he is going to be our quarterback going forward.

Whether or not you're a Vick supporter, there is a legitimate chance that he will not return to the Eagles next season.  The fact that there should be a new coaching staff in place, along with a huge amount of money owed to Vick, combine to make it likely that he will not, in fact, be back.

That's why this isn't about Vick.  It's about the team and the future direction it will go.  An incoming coach will need to have as much game tape as possible on Foles to determine if he will be the quarterback to lead this team.

With that said, every time Andy Reid is questioned about his starting quarterback, he has repeatedly said that Vick will be the starter when healthy.  This just pisses me off to no end because it's stubborn and illogical.

I was listening to sports radio last week and I heard an interview with Ray Didinger.  They started discussing Foles and Diddy felt the same way as I do...that he should start the rest of the year regardless.

However, Ray brought up another interesting point: Jeff Lurie should step in and tell Reid that if he insists on going back to Vick, he will have to fire him now rather than waiting until the end of the season.

I found myself agreeing 100%.

More after the jump...

I've been thinking all along that there is no way Lurie would fire Reid mid-season.  He respects Reid too much and would let him finish this thing out.  And, I agree with that notion because I don't see any benefit to firing a coach during the season and Reid has earned the right to finish it out if he chooses to.

However, I would make an exception on this because doing what's right for the future of my team supersedes doing what's right by Andy Reid.  If that means Reid has to go now, then so be it.

I don't think anyone would fault Lurie for making this kind of power play on Reid.  Hell, there are plenty of folks out there that think he should just fire Reid now to end the suffering.

Firing Reid now just because they aren't winning is more like a knee-jerk, emotional response.  But, firing Reid now for interfering with the future is a much more worthy and rational.

Therefore, Lurie should give Reid the ultimatum of starting Foles or leave now...because it's in the best interest of the organization.

Reid has usually always done what's best for the organization and has always been forward-thinking.  This isn't any different...other than the fact the future will not include him.  This is why I had made the statement he'd be selfish by not starting Foles for the rest of 2012.

I can't say this enough, there is absolutely no reason to go back to Vick at this point.  None, zero, nada, zilch!  Would he be the better option if our goal was to win games because we had a realistic shot at the playoffs?

Absolutely.  But don't fool yourself, this team has no shot.

Therefore, the rest of this season is about player evaluation, period.

We cannot afford to waste the rest of this season trying to get a couple of meaningless wins with Vick (more "fools gold").  Furthermore, we certainly don't want to be in a position going into the offseason and next year with the question of whether or not Foles can play.

We need to start answering that question now.  It will determine what direction a new regime will go in and deciding on a quarterback is the most crucial decision a new regime has to make.

If Reid wants to stifle a prolonged evaluation of Foles and go back to Vick, then Lurie needs to step in and do what's necessary for the future of this organization.  However, Vick has yet to pass through all of his concussion tests so as of right now, there is no timetable of any potential return.

Convenient, huh?  Me thinks Lurie may have already had this conversation with Reid.

*This article should have been posted last week, but due to technical difficulties it had to wait.

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