Andy Reid Fired as Philadelphia Eagles Coach

Andy Reid is out.

The longtime coach of the Philadelphia Eagles was fired Monday by owner Jeff Lurie following two disappointing seasons, including a 4-12 campaign that ended Sunday with an ugly loss against the New York Giants.

The Philadelphia Eagles announced on their website Monday morning that Reid's tenure as coach has ended.

"Andy Reid won the most games of any head coach in Eagles history and he is someone I respect greatly and will remain friends with for many years to come,” Lurie said in a statement. "But, it is time for the Eagles to move in a new direction. Coach Reid leaves us with a winning tradition that we can build upon. And we are very excited about the future.”

The Birds really didn't mesh the past two years as free agent signings of players who were supposedly superstars turned into busts, including Jason Babin and Nnamdi Asomugha.

Also questionable were moves Reid made as far as coaching, adding Jim Washburn to lead the defensive line scheme the "Wide Nine" and former offensive line coach Juan Castillo to serve as defensive coordinator.

Both were fired during the year.

The Michael Vick experiment at quarterback also wasn't successful.

Vick suffered a concussion that knocked him out for a chunk of the year following too many turnovers -- fumbles and interceptions -- and then was benched for rookie Nick Foles.

Reid also suffered on a personal end. His son Garrett died of a heroin overdose during training camp.

No one can argue with Reid's success as the team's coach. He is the winningest coach in Philadelphia Eagles history, having led the team to six NFC East titles, four NFC Championship game appearances and one visit to the Super Bowl during his tenure.

His 140 victories are a franchise record and rank 22nd on the all-time NFL coaching list.

But after a 3-1 start, the Birds crumbled, losing eight in a row. It was a painful season for Eagles fans, especially with Reid always defending his players and basically stating the same phrases after every press conference.

So now the Birds are in foreign territory for the first time since the late 1990s. It will be interesting to see who the team chooses as its new coach.

"The search for the new coach of the Philadelphia Eagles will begin immediately," said Lurie.