Reids break silence on sons' battle with drugs

PHILADELPHIA - Eagles coach Andy Reid and his wife have dealt with their sons' drug addictions for years, through "Super Bowls and championships," and the coach plans to remain with the team as long as he can do the job and the owner will have him.

The Reids broke their silence about their sons' problems and vowed their support in an exclusive interview with Philadelphia Magazine for its January edition. They said they decided to give the interview in hopes of helping others.

In excerpts of the interview posted on the magazine's Web site Friday, Reid disclosed he and his wife have been dealing with their sons' struggles since 2002.

Reid declined to discuss the interview during his news conference Friday, referring to the statement he made a day earlier.

"It was a way to share our story with others," Reid said. "We've had tremendous support through this whole event. It was a way to reach out to those who are going through similar situations.

"It was an opportunity to do this while the players were still in town and let them have an opportunity to, likewise, to read about it so there would be no gray areas as they left town."

Reid encouraged everyone to read the interview, saying "it's all explained in that."

Both Garrett and Britt Reid have battled drug addiction and been sentenced to jail terms stemming from Britt's road-rage case and Garrett's heroin-fueled, high-speed crash in January.

"We've dealt with Garrett's situation for a long time, and we've done it through Super Bowls and championships," Andy Reid told the magazine. "And it's new to a lot of people, but it's not new to us."

Tammy Reid said, "We raised these boys. We taught them to pray, taught them to ride their bikes - you see this potential in him, and you're just not going to give up."

In the interview, Andy Reid said that he wants to remain with the team "as long as I can do my job to the best of my ability."

Tammy Reid questioned whether her husband's job status should be an issue.

"(Plus) we do have house payments, he does need to have a job," she said. "Any other dad, any other man who has things going on in his family, has not had it questioned whether he's going to retire or step down from his job. The CEO of any major company, it would never be in question."

The couple also spoke about a difficult six-month separation with Garrett in 2006, when their oldest son was living in his car in Arizona.

Tammy Reid told the magazine that, in a phone call Garrett said he wished he'd never done drugs and could come home and start over.

"You're thinking, let's try one more time," she told the magazine. "Because that's what you do as a parent. You think, OK, it didn't work the last couple of times, but there's still hope."

Garrett Reid was sentenced last month to 2 to 23 months in jail for a high-speed crash in which another driver was injured. Police said they found heroin, steroids and more than 200 pills in his car and he admitted using heroin on the day of the crash. Garrett Reid was later charged with five additional drug counts related to 89 pills authorities said he had smuggled into prison.

Britt Reid was sentenced last month to eight to 23 months in jail for pointing a gun at another driver on Jan. 30. He also pleaded guilty to charges including carrying a firearm without a license.

The magazine hits the newsstand on Wednesday.