Andy Reid gets paid a lot of money to make tough decisions. Two years ago, he made one of the toughest of his career when he benched Kevin Kolb and made Michael Vick the Eagles’ starting quarterback. Read more after the jump.
You already know most of the pertinent details. The Eagles traded longtime starter Donovan McNabb on Easter Sunday and passed the quarterback baton to Kolb.
But Kolb suffered a concussion in the second quarter of the season opener against the Packers. By the time he was cleared to play 2 weeks later, the starting job no longer was his.
“I knew Kevin Kolb was a good football player,” Reid said the other day. “But Michael had an opportunity to get in after Kevin got hurt and took off. He had the highest quarterback rating in the NFL. That’s a unique situation.
“It wasn’t anything Kevin didn’t do. It’s just that Michael took off and ran with (the opportunity).”
Kolb had completed only five of 10 passes for 24 yards against the Packers before he got hurt. Vick went in and completed 16 of 24 for 175 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions in the 27-20 loss.
The following week, he turned in an impressive 21-for-34, 291-yard, two-TD, zero-interception performance in a win over the Lions. The fact that his elusiveness enabled him to compensate for a shaky offensive line didn’t hurt. Two days later, Reid made it official, naming Vick the Eagles’ new starting quarterback.
“They have a great friendship. They still do,” Reid said. “I thought about it first, then talked to Kevin. I said this will all come around. Just keep being you. It came around for our football team. He was able to come back in in a couple of games there that were important, and played well.
“And then it’s helped him out in Arizona, where he actually came in as a starter and signed a big contract. So he was able to take care of his family. For the rest of his life, he’s set. And he’s still a good football player.”
It certainly has worked out well financially for Kolb. He signed a 1-year extension with the Eagles before he was benched that earned him $12.5 million in 2010. When he was traded to the Cardinals last July after the lockout, he signed a 5-year extension that includes $21 million in guaranteed money.
