PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Quintin Mikell thought it could happen. He just never thought Andy Reid would actually do it.
“We were like, ‘Nah, we don’t know if Andy will pull the cord [so] soon.’”
Heading into the 2010 season, the Eagles were preparing for a new era at quarterback.
That April, they parted ways with Donovan McNabb, arguably the greatest player at the position in franchise history, in a trade with Washington.
Kevin Kolb, a 2007 second-round draft pick and, up to that point, McNabb’s understudy, had been tapped as the heir apparent.
“He’s a second-round pick,” said former Eagles safety Mikell during an “unCovering the Birds” interview. “They’re going to keep giving him an opportunity.”
The irony is that, in some ways, Kolb never really got a chance.
The Eagles’ 2010 season opener against the Green Bay Packers at Lincoln Financial Field was supposed to be a big reveal in more ways than one.
The Eagles were sporting their classic throwback Kelly Green uniforms for the first time since rebranding to midnight green in 1996. But most significant part of the big reveal against Green Bay, however, was Kolb.
He had seen spot duty at quarterback the previous three years, including back-to-back 300-yard passing performances in 2009 while filling in for an injured McNabb.
The Eagles thought Kolb was ready.
“It was all Kevin Kolb,” said Marty Mornhinweg, the Eagles’ offensive coordinator from 2006 to 2012.
“We spent time, energy, and money [on Kolb], and we fully expected him to have a heck of a year.”
But midway through the second quarter of Kolb’s 2010 debut, everything changed.
Flushed out of the pocket on a third down play, Kolb scrambled to his left. Before he could either throw the ball away or get to the sideline, he was chased down by Packers linebacker Clay Matthews.
The hit flattened Kolb, leaving him with grass in his helmet and looking out of sorts.
“When you see a quarterback take a hit like that, you can see it in his eyes,” Mikell said. “They’re not used to getting hit like that. Immediately, it was like, ‘Oh, shoot.’ You could see it in his eyes. And that was it.”
In the figurative sense — yes, Kolb’s shot at being the Eagles’ top quarterback ended right then and there.
Incredibly, he returned to the field for another series before the half.
“Knowing what we know now, he probably shouldn’t have gone back in,” Mikell said. “It was a different world back then. Guys number one, you want to play for your team, and when you know that your potential for losing your spot is very high, you want to get back out there.
“It was tough, but looking back at the decision and seeing and understanding what we know now, it probably wasn't the best decision.”
Mornhingweg told The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane on “unCovering the Birds” that Kolb came over to the sideline and said, “Man, I am dizzy, things are spinning on me.”
“I’m going, ‘Oh, geez. Have you seen the trainer?’ He says, ‘I’m not sure I can be really efficient. I’m not sure what I can do and what I can’t do.’”
After that conversation, Mornhinweg approached the Eagles’ backup quarterback.
The backup, of course, was Michael Vick.
“I’m going, ‘Ok, Mike. Let’s get warmed up.’”
During the halftime break, the Eagles decided to keep Kolb out for the rest of the game. He was ultimately diagnosed with a concussion and missed the following week, too, when the Eagles played at Detroit.
Vick, whose once MVP caliber career had been derailed by a nearly 2-year federal prison sentence for his role in an illegal dog fighting operation, hadn’t logged meaningful action at quarterback since the end of the 2006 NFL season.
In a combined six total quarters against the Packers and Lions, he completed 64% of his passes, threw for 459 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 140 yards on 19 carries.
Two days after the Eagles’ win in Detroit, Reid held an impromptu Tuesday evening press conference and announced that Vick would be the Eagles’ starter the rest of the way.
Kolb, upon clearing concussion tests, would be relegated to No. 2.
Mikell, who played for the Eagles from 2003 through 2010, was surprised.
He remembered how Reid handled McNabb during McNabb’s final years.
Even with Vick’s pedigree and improvements, Mikell never envisioned the Eagles making a change so quickly, regardless of circumstances.
“I think part of it was because of the way things ended with Donovan,” said Mikell. “I love Donovan, but he was kind of on the decline [and] he still never got pulled. Good or bad as he played, he never got pulled. The way things always worked with Andy with quarterbacks, they have a very, very long leash.”
But Vick showed too much promise. Players, coaches, management, and fans couldn’t unsee what Vick had done in relief of Kolb.
The genie was out of the bottle.
“It just had to be him,” Mikell said.
Mornhinweg said all of their plans were focused on Kolb.
“But if you go the other way, it feels like you’re pulling a guy [Vick] who’s playing at such a high level,” he said. “So that was a very difficult decision for Andy Reid.”
What factors did Reid weigh? What were some other players on the roster thinking at the time?
Listen to “The Kelly Green Quarterback Controversy” on the latest “unCovering the Birds,” to find out!