I’m not saying that it is likely, or even that it isn’t likely, but we have to prepare ourselves for a situation in which Charlie Manuel gets fired the same way we had to with Andy Reid. The man has brought us a run of NL East championships and a World Series since he was hired to be the manager of the Phillies in 2005. He might be the best manager in Phillies history, and will hold a special place in the hearts of Phillies fans forever.
But it might be his time. The Phillies are on the brink of a complete overhaul with players like Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Jimmy Rollins–the nucleus of those great teams–getting older and older.
It might be time to start over.
It isn’t unlike the situation with the Eagles and Andy Reid. Reid struggled in his last years with the team – and if Charlie has another bad season, it could very well be the same with him.
Is Charlie on the same path as Andy?
So let’s look at Reid’s firing. In the 2012 season, his “ultimatum” season, he started off well, going 3-1. Then things fell apart and the Eagles won just one out of the next 12 and Reid was fired the day after the regular season ended.
The fans knew it was coming. The media knew it was coming. Some outlets even reported – in my opinion, erroneously – his firing minutes after the last game ended. The players even knew it was imminent.
I don’t think it’ll be like that if Charlie gets fired. If he gets fired, it’ll probably be midseason, and there will still be a lot of questions about whether or not he’ll get axed. But the fallout will be the same. A longtime manager/coach leaving a team after much success. It’ll be sad. It’ll be weird not having him as our coach.
Philadelphia’s two biggest sports teams will have had a coaching change in the same calendar year – oh, and both coaches just so happen to be the best in the history of their respective teams.
And that is why this could possibly be such a unique situation in Philadelphia.
