PHILADELPHIA — Well, that didn’t take long.
Andy Reid is a leading candidate to become the next head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, two NFL sources close to the situation said Tuesday.
Several other reports also linked Reid to the Arizona job.
Reid will interview Wednesday with Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill and his son, team president Michael Bidwill.
The Cardinals interviewed Ray Horton, their defensive coordinator, on Tuesday and have a meeting set for this weekend with Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy. The interview with Horton would satisfy the NFL’s Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview minority candidates.
Messages left with Reid and his agent, Bob LaMonte, were not returned.
The Eagles fired Reid on Monday after a 4-12 season. Reid has not spoken publicly since owner Jeffrey Lurie decided to end his 14-year tenure with the Eagles, although he said as recently as last week that he wanted to continue coaching.
“He’s a football coach,” Lurie said Monday. “He wants to coach right now.”
Reid had one year remaining on his contract with the Eagles, believed to be in the neighborhood of $6 million.
If Reid ends up with the Cardinals, he will be reunited with Kevin Kolb. The Eagles traded the quarterback to Arizona in July 2011 for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a second-round draft pick.
Kolb has suffered a series of injuries during his two seasons in Arizona and went 6-8 over that span as a starter. The Cardinals also have John Skelton at quarterback. He has gone 6-7 as a starter over the last two seasons.
The Eagles will host the Cardinals next season.
The Cardinals fired coach Ken Whisenhunt and general manager Rod Graves on Monday. The openings could allow Reid to come in and have the same responsibilities he had with the Eagles — as head coach and vice president of football operations.
It once was assumed that Steve Keim, Arizona’s vice president of player personnel, would succeed Graves, but Keim reportedly was set to interview for the general manager’s job with the San Diego Chargers.
Reid could line up a staff relatively quickly. A number of his former assistants do not have jobs. He could have his pick of offensive coordinators, including Brad Childress, Pat Shurmur, and Marty Mornhinweg, who technically is still employed by the Eagles.
Juan Castillo, whom Reid fired in October as defensive coordinator, would surely follow his former boss, whether as the offensive line coach or a defensive assistant. There were reports that former Eagles and Cleveland Browns GM Tom Heckert would join Reid in Arizona, but he is more likely to wind up elsewhere, according to various reports.
Reid, 54, ended his tenure with the Eagles with a 140-102-1 career record including the playoffs. He reached five NFC championship games and one Super Bowl. He compiled a 64-32 regular-season mark in his first six seasons (.667), but went 66-61-1 (.516) in his last eight seasons.
Even though the Eagles were a combined 12-20 in his last two seasons, Reid said he hadn’t lost his desire to coach.
“I’ve got the same energy I’ve had,” Reid said Sunday after the Eagles’ 42-7 loss to the New York Giants.
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