Eagles Fire Andy Reid, and At Long Last We Are Free

After 14 years, four NFC championship game losses, zero championships and about 450 ill-advised timeouts, Andy Reid was finally fired Monday as coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Sure, the team had some success early in Reid's tenure, thanks entirely to draft picks from the Ray Rhodes era and the first-rate defense coached by Jim Johnson. But as the years went on, things just got worse and worse. If you ask me, the decision to fire Reid is overdue by three or four years, although some fans would probably say five or six years.

But let's not kid ourselves- today is a blessed day. In the last 12 hours, the Cowboys choked away the NFC East, and now Andy is gone. Food tastes better. The air feels cleaner. It may be 30 degrees outside, but when I woke up this morning, I swear I heard a robin chirping.

The Eagles shouldn't even release a 2012 highlight video. Instead, they should just put today's press conference out on DVD. I know i'd buy it.

Other notes from the end of an era:

- The Eagles fire Andy Reid, on a day the WIP morning show is on vacation? It's the culmination of all their work for the past 14 years, and Angelo, Al and Rhea weren't even there to witness it? This is the most diabolical move by the Eagles organization since they chose the day of Angelo's diverticulitis surgery to announce Joe Banner's departure.

- Speaking of the station's lineup, I hear they're putting national guys from CBS Radio on 610-AM, starting this week. Because when I heard Andy was gone, I know my first thought was to wonder what John Feinstein thinks about it.

- Why hasn't Jon Gruden been hired yet? That's always been the Eagles' problem, no sense of urgency.

- As for Sunday's loss to the Giants, the Eagles recovering an onside kick and then immediately turning it over was like a microcosm of the Eagles' entire season. In fact, the day was full of microcosms: All six touchdowns by the Giants, Nnamdi Asomugha's entire game, Alex Henery's laughable missed field goal, that play in the first quarter when LeSean McCoy ran around for a long time for no gain, and the audio going out during Reid's postgame press conference. See more microcosms at the hashtag #EaglesMicrocosm

- Despite the blowout, the Giants still didn't make the playoffs, which is just more proof that Eli Manning is a loser and always will be.

- Andy Reid was fired. Donovan McNabb has been out of the league for over a year. But Terrell Owens is starring on Fox's celebrity diving reality show. We all know who got the last laugh on that one.

- ProFootballTalk, in another of its airtight reports, said early Sunday that "a theory making the rounds in the league" is that Reid may not find a head coaching spot in the NFL in 2013. Which is apropos, if he mismanaged the clock of his own job search.

- Michael Vick's career in Philadelphia didn't end as badly as his career in Atlanta. But it was close.

- Final thoughts on Andy's firing? I'm ecstatic. Never again in this town will we have a coach who makes stupid decisions, mismanages the clock, makes bad draft selections, and throws more than he runs. Being an Eagles fan is going to be nothing but ease and joy from now on.