BETHLEHEM, Pa. --? Saying Garrett ?wouldn?t have wanted it any other way,? Eagles head coach Andy Reid made an emotional return to his football team Wednesday morning, just three days after his oldest son?s death.
Reid spent the morning overseeing the Eagles? 35-minute walk-through on the grass fields at Lehigh University in preparation for their preseason opener against the Steelers at the Linc on Thursday evening.
After practice, Reid spoke from the heart for nearly 20 minutes, describing his emotions, bluntly discussing his son?s drug addiction, explaining why the time was right to return to coaching and thanking his team and the fans for their ?unbelievable? support.
"I know coming back and coaching is the right thing to do,? Reid said. ?I know my son wouldn't want it any other way."
Garrett Reid, 29, was found dead Sunday morning in his Lehigh dorm room after a long battle with drug addiction.
?It?s a sad situation,? Reid said. ?It?s one that my son?s been battling for a number of years, our family?s been battling. That doesn?t mean you stop loving your son. That?s not what you do. You love him, and a lot of families deal with this type of thing. It?s a sad situation. A sad situation.?
No official cause of death has been released by the Northampton County coroner?s office, but Reid indicated in a statement on Monday evening that Garrett?s death was drug-related (see story). He elaborated Wednesday morning.
?He got caught up in a terrible situation that affects a lot of people in this country,? Reid said Wednesday morning. ?It?s like fighting a grizzly bear. It?s hard to win.?
Reid, who met his wife Tammy when both were students at Brigham Young in the late 1970s, said Tammy not only understood why Reid wanted to return to football so quickly, she expected it.
?We understand that Garrett is at peace, and that he?s in great hands,? Reid said. ?Whatever trials and tribulations he had here, he?s in a better place. So that comforts both of us. She figured that I would be going and she encouraged that as long as I was OK with it. When I say thank goodness for our faith, I believe very strongly in that.?
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Reid met briefly with the team at about noon Sunday at Lehigh, just a few hours after he learned of Garrett?s death and just before he left campus to spend time with his family in the Philadelphia area.
Most of the players knew Garrett Reid and many of them were very close to him. Reid served as an unofficial member of the team?s strength and conditioning staff for the last year, so most of the players had lifted weights with him, discussed training methods with him, just spent a lot of time with him. He was a part of the family.
?I thought it was important,? Reid said of Sunday?s meeting. ?These kids are the same age that my son was, and I know they were worried, and I thought it was important that I talked to them. I was trying to be as candid as I could be with them during that situation in what would take place. I just thought they needed to know.?
About 900 people, including numerous NFL players and coaches and the entire Eagles? roster, attended Garrett Reid?s funeral on Tuesday morning in Broomall (see story).
?It?s humbling,? Reid said of the turnout. ?I can?t put it to you any other way. The outreach to my family and the love for Garrett along with the people that he touched was a phenomenal sign that was given. It was beautiful, that part of it, and we appreciated it as a family.?
Fewer than 24 hours after the memorial service, Reid was at practice. At about 11:30 a.m., Reid walked up to a podium under a tent and addressed about 40 media assembled on a steamy morning.
?I?m a humble man standing before you,? he started out, his voice strong. ?A very humble man. I?m humbled because of the outpouring, not only from the media but from the football team, from the fans. It was unbelievable. Unbelievable. I?m not sure you ever think that many people care. It?s a very humbling feeling. I know my son would feel the same way.?
Reid said he and his family ? wife Tammy and their four kids, sons Britt and Spencer, daughters Crosby and Drew Ann ? draw support from their Mormon faith, from friends and family, from the Eagles? organization and from the countless Eagles fans who?ve shown their support for Reid this week in many ways.
"The fans were incredible,? Reid said. ?The support was felt. All of it. That was awesome. I don't have the words for it.?
Reid?s players marveled after the Wednesday morning practice session at the strength they?ve seen these four days from their head coach.
?I continue to learn more and more about him each and every day,? safety Kurt Coleman said. ?His character is so strong, his faith is so strong, his family. I had a chance to speak with his family briefly and they?re all so strong and faith-oriented.
?It?s unbelievable to go through this type of situation and hold your head high. I don?t want to have to ever imagine it, but I?m glad he?s able to do it, his faith is able to bring him through it and we?re able to help him kind of be [an escape] in these tough times.?
Reid said he?s leaned heavily on that faith since Garrett?s death.
?I praise my Heavenly Father for the support and strength that he?s given me to be able to work through this, my family and my football family,? he said.
Reid said there was no question in his mind this was the right time to return to coaching.
?I know my son wouldn?t want it any other way,? he said. ?I couldn?t put it any more frank than that. He loved the Philadelphia Eagles. I know what he would want me to do.?
Reid was asked what he?ll remember most about Garrett.
?Friendship,? he said. ?You get these kids, and they grow up. You get to the teens, the higher-teens, and then the 20s and 30s. They become more than your son ? they?re your friend. You?re going to miss that.
?But at the same time, you gain strength from it. He taught me a lot of lessons in life that I?ll use down the road. You?ll always remember his smile and the jokester that he was. Those help you get through the good and the bad times.?
E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com
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