Back from vacation, Reid has full workload

It is not easy, scouring the 108 square miles of Antigua in search of the perfect prime rib. Too many seafood places on the islands. What's with that?

If Andy Reid had trouble finding the beef on his over-too-soon tropical vacation, imagine how tough it was finding that other thing he's so hungry for. No, not dessert. A Super Bowl.

It is always a drag to come back to work after a little R-and-R in the islands. The stuff you put off is waiting on your desk when you get back. This is as true for the Eagles' head coach/executive vice president of football operations as it is for the rest of us.

So we offer Reid a little assistance as he scratches his peeling nose and tries to get back up to speed.

First up, the coach should take note of comments made by his starting quarterback this week. Michael Vick has been saying all along that he wanted to be back with the Eagles, and if that meant playing under a one-year, franchise-tag contract, no problem.

"It really doesn't matter as long as I can play football next year," Vick said the day after the Eagles' playoff loss to Green Bay. "It's all a blessing to me."

Ah, but then Vick had a little chat with his agent, Joel Segal. And Segal apparently explained the many reasons most players and agents would rather go hot-tubbing with Al Davis than play under a franchise tag. This is, incidentally, Segal's job.

And so, lo and behold, Vick's tune sounded just a bit different when The Inquirer's Jeff McLane caught up to him Wednesday.

"I can say it over and over again," Vick said, "but then when I say it to my agent, it's a totally different story. . . . So who knows what's going to happen? I have to follow his lead in that regard, and he's the expert in that field."

Agents hate franchise tags more than anyone. They get paid a percentage of the contracts they negotiate. When a player is tagged, there is no negotiation. And the one-year deal - in Vick's case, it would be between $16 million and $20 million for 2011 - has many drawbacks for players who risk their careers and livelihoods on every single play.

The Eagles may have to use the franchise tag on Vick as a bit of housekeeping. According to various reports, they can't formally sign him to a new contract until there is a new collective bargaining agreement. But they can negotiate. They can arrive at a long-term deal. The tag could be used only as long as it takes for NFL business to resume and for Vick to sign a contract.

This becomes an issue if the Eagles decide to force Vick to play out the 2011 season on the one-year franchise-tag deal. Their argument - that Vick's history makes him a unique case and they deserve another year to be sure he's really, really, really reformed - would make sense if they hadn't already staked out the position that Vick has paid his debt and should be treated like everyone else.

And no one forces quarterbacks to play on one-year franchise tenders. No one. Certainly not the Eagles, who always made sure Donovan McNabb's deal was in line with the league's top QBs and who threw a bag of money at Kevin Kolb last year when he slid to the top of the depth chart. The Eagles have used the franchise tag rarely, and with hideous results.

Jeremiah Trotter burst into Joe Banner's office and demanded to be paid like Ray Lewis. Corey Simon simply stayed home; refused to sign the tender; and, if our eyes are to be believed, consumed a dozen doughnuts per hour. The Eagles wound up lifting Trotter's tag and trading Simon to Indianapolis.

You don't play games like that with the most important player on your team.

As for the other goings-on during his getaway, Reid would do well to hire a competent defensive coordinator before the market dries up. Other teams, whose executives are dull enough to stick around and work rather than seek some sun and sand, have been busy this past week.

Jim Mora, who apparently took a close look at the rosters of the Eagles and Denver Broncos, rushed back to the TV studio rather than take either job. Dick Jauron is in Cleveland, killing time in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame until Reid gets back. A couple of young up-and-coming candidates have bubbled up to the surface.

This is not the time to take a flier on a guy who may just be some other team's Sean McDermott. With this world-class offense set to return, it is time to find a good, solid defensive coordinator. The Eagles don't need much more to be contenders for the Super Bowl.

Shouldn't be any tougher than finding a good prime rib on Antigua.