Big Red rolls to 100

Andy Reid has been in Philly for quite some time - 10 years, in fact. Seems like he's going to be around for a little while longer, too.

Yesterday, the Birds beat the Buccaneers, and Big Red won his 100th game as the Eagles' head coach. Only three other active coaches - Jeff Fisher, Tom Coughlin, and Little Evil (better known nationally as Bill Belichick) - have more victories. That's both impressive and stunning.

I've never been the biggest fan of Reid (a shocking revelation, I'm sure), but he deserves some credit here. When he came to town a decade ago, only the most astute football fans had heard of the mustachioed former Green Bay Packers assistant. It didn't seem possible that a total unknown - with his notebook full of ideas and his frustrating habit of turning his news conferences into group dictation - could survive in a tough, provincial city that's never been fond of outsiders or autocrats. I was certain the media would eat him alive, and then the fans would pick over whatever scraps were left on his bones.

When the Eagles hired him, I gave him three years. Tops. Now here we are 11 seasons into the Reid administration and it doesn't appear that the Eagles have any plans to place term limits on him. On Friday, the Comcast Network interviewed Joe Banner and asked the Eagles' president whether the organization would look to renew the head coach's contract before it expires next season.

"Yeah, I'm sure it will be," Banner said. "We have a phenomenal relationship with him. We view him as [being] in the top couple of coaches in the league . . . and we feel lucky to have him."

Reid's supporters surely feel lucky. Who knows about everyone else? If you're not big on Big Red, take comfort in the knowledge that you'll have Reid to kick around for the foreseeable future - always a favorite pastime and not a terrible consolation prize in the end.

And, hey, it could be worse, right? The Eagles could be saddled with someone wholly unstable and untalented like Tom Cable. The Raiders' coach not only leads one of the sorriest franchises in the NFL, but he also allegedly punched one of his assistants in the jaw, cracked the poor guy's teeth and shouted (in his best John Chaney voice, no doubt), "I'll [expletive] kill you."

Lucky? Yeah, I guess so. Everything is relative.

And how does Andy feel about all this? Ecstatic, naturally. The guy was about as happy and animated as I've ever seen him.

"Hey, I'd rather have 100 [wins] than none, but I'm not really into all this," Reid said in his best monotone.

He's so emotional sometimes.

Jeremy Maclin looked pretty darn good yesterday (yeah, yeah, I know the Bucs' secondary is weak). On a semi-related note: Remember when Kevin Curtis was an integral part of the Eagles' offense? Anyone?

If you're Ronde Barber and Brent Celek hurdles you, it might be time to call it quits and ask your brother to snag you one of those cushy TV gigs. You never see Dan Patrick or Keith Olbermann leaping over Tiki.

As expected, the crowd went crazy when Jeremiah Trotter ran onto the field. If you had 12:56 p.m. in the first-time-he'll-make-an-ax-motion pool, congrats. You're a winner.

If you didn't like the way the Wildcat offense looked yesterday, you weren't alone. "It wasn't blowing my blouse up," Reid said. That's probably for the best.

There's nothing quite as entertaining as a fan strutting around in a personalized, midnight green Eagles jersey. Yesterday, I saw a guy wearing No. 81 with "Fitzsimmons" above it. It looked like he had written his last name on the jersey with some sort of shabby marker, and the penmanship would have been perfect for a little kid's lemonade stand. When Page 2 finally creates the Fan Jersey Hall of Fame, Fitz will be the first inductee.

The Bucs might be at the bottom of the NFL standings, but they lead in the league in great names. Jeremy Trueblood (love that show), Sabby Piscitelli, B.J. Askew and - best of all - Stylez G. White all play for Tampa. Page 2 is offering a pack of sugar-free Trident and a lifetime supply of hugs from Bob Ford to the first couple who names their newborn child Stylez. That's a tough offer to pass up. Think it through.

The incomparable Lauren Hart sang the national anthem yesterday. Do you ever get tired of hearing her sing? Me neither. . . . The Donovan McNabb Show doesn't air on 6ABC until midnight on Sundays. How is that possible? He's the starting quarterback in a football-mad town. Was the 3 a.m. slot on local cable access not available? . . . Lots of pink on the field and in the stands yesterday. Nice to see. They should have made the penalty flags pink, too. Missed opportunity. . . . Before the game, the Linc's video board displayed this super-clever message: "The Bucs stop here." Get it? Give it a second. It'll hit you.