Philadelphia Eagles: Frank Reich is the perfect mentor for Jacoby Brissett

While Frank Reich may no longer be the Philadelphia Eagles’ OC, he is the perfect mentor for Jacoby Brissett after Andrew Luck’s surprise retirement.

At this point, you kind of have to feel sorry for Frank Reich.

While some fans in the 215 will never forgive the former NFL quarterback for his decision to leave the Philadelphia Eagles‘ offensive coordinator position to join the Indianapolis Colts as their next head coach – especially after the less than creative promotion of Mike Groh – it’s almost unimaginable how hard it would be to have a top-5, future Hall of Fame quarterback like Andrew Luck retire from the game at the tender age of 29 in the middle of a Week 3 preseason game.

I mean could you imagine how fans in the City of Brotherly Love would react if Carson Wentz retired after only six seasons? It’s honestly chilling.

More from Philadelphia Eagles

However, in a fitting bit of serendipity, Reich may actually be the perfect person to mentor new Colts’ starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett as he transitions from backup to NFL starter.

Why? Because he’s been there before.

A third-round pick out of Maryland back in 1985, Reich spent his first decade in the league as a backup – the first nine of which were in reserve of future Hall of Famer Jim Kelly. Over his first six years in the league, Reich started a grand total of six games, only attempted 211 passes for 1,598 yards, 15 touchdowns, and six touchdowns.

Basically, Reich played like a backup quarterback, but like every backup quarterback in the league, he was always on hand if the team needed him to step in and start in their time of need.

Fortunately for Reich, that opportunity arose in 1992 in the postseason.

With Kelly on the mend after suffering ligament damage in his knee, Reich won a pair of playoff games to push his Bulls to the AFC Championship Game for the third straight season – including what was at the time the biggest comeback in NFL history in a 41-38 victory over the Oilers.

Ironically enough, Kelly’s nephew, the oft-in-trouble Chad Kelly, is now the Colts’ primary backup quarterback behind Brissett, but that’s neither here nor there.

While Reich eventually earned his most consistent chance to start in 1996 as a member of the New York Jets, he will forever be remembered for his near-decade-long stint as a backup in Buffalo, and his fearlessness to come in for a future Hall of Famer and keep the engine purring in reserve.

Who better to help transition Brissett into a full-time starting role?

Granted, Brissett has already thrown for more yards in a single season as a fourth-year pro than Reich recorded in nine seasons at Buffalo, in large part because of his 15 game stint as a starter for the Colts in 2017, but nary a pundit currently considers the fourth-year NC State/Florida prospect to be anything more than an average starter.

With Reich at the helm and a varied collection of highly productive offensive weapons to throw to – not to mention one of the best offensive lines in the league – Brissett could shock fans across the league and keep the Colts in contention for a spot atop the AFC South.

I mean Reich was already a big contributor to the Philadelphia Eagles’ seamless transition from Carson Wentz to Nick Foles, and the team arguably found more success with a streamlined, RPO-heavy assault that relied on their 6-foot-6 quarterbacks’ strengths as a facilitator than their hybrid-West Coast brand of hero ball.

Next. Eagles should make Week 4 preseason final game for Josh Adams. dark

With more natural athletic talent and a bigger arm than Foles, if Brissett can limit the amount of time he spends with the ball in his hands – and by extension the number of sacks he takes – Frank Reich could keep the Indianapolis Colts in contention for a 2019 playoff berth – a thought that seemed almost unimaginable before Josh McDaniels broke his head coaching agreement and fractured the Philadelphia Eagles’ seemingly perfect offensive coaching hierarchy.

Home/Philadelphia Eagles