Reid: Washburn Firing Not 'A Move To Save My Job'

Eagles head coach Andy Reid addressed the decision to relieve defensive line coach Jim Washburn during his noon news conference with reporters Monday.

The decision was announced on the team's Twitter account on the morning after Sunday night's 38-33 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

"Listen, I'm not going to sit here and go into great deal on the whys that I'm doing it other than I think it's the best thing for the Philadelphia Eagles and this football team that I made that move," Reid told reporters Monday.

Seemingly to address questions about whether the call to fire Washburn was his or whether it was made over his head, Reid said, "This is a move that I made."

"Nobody else made this move," he continued, smiling. "And that's important for you to understand. And this isn't a move to save my job. That's not what this is. This is a move that I think needed to be done now, and so I did it now. And that's about as far into depth that I'm going to go with that."

The team has hired Tommy Brasher to take Washburn's place. Brasher served as Eagles defensive line coach in 1985 and then again from 1999 to 2005.

Reid said the move "brings back a very loyal, loyal assistant coach that … I had here for a number of years who understands what I'm about and what I'm trying to get done with a young defensive line."

But Reid also seemed to give a timeline for the employment of Brasher, who is coming out of retirement to fill the post.

"So, for these next four weeks Tommy's going to coach the defensive line," Reid said. "Obviously, his experience here will benefit (defensive coordinator) Todd (Bowles) and the other young coaches that we have there."

Reid went on to say that rookie quarterback Nick Foles will continue to start for the remainder of the season in place of Michael Vick, who remains at stage four of his five-stage concussion recovery.

Running back LeSean McCoy is currently at stage three of his concussion recovery, the coach added.