NFL coach Andy Reid’s son, Garrett Reid found dead at training camp
August 6th, 2012 by faye
Garrett Reid, the oldest son of Philadelphia Eagles Coach Andy Reid, was found dead on Sunday morning in his dormitory room at the Eagles team training site in Bethlehem, Pa., following his troubled life which included a struggle with drug abuse and numerous trips to jail.
According to reports, 29-year-old Garrett Reid could not be revived anymore when the police responded to a 911 call on Sunday. The county coroner said an investigation was underway. The Lehigh University police said there were no suspicious activities were involved. No cause of death was given either.
According to the Philadelphia Eagles team, Andy Reid asked that training camp should continue. Andy did not attend the team’s morning walk-through, which started with a prayer by the players or afternoon practice. However, team owner Jeffrey Lurie said on Sunday afternoon that he expected Garrett Reid to return to the team this week and to be on the sideline when the team opened the pre-season against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night.
Garrett Reid had reportedly been working with the Philadelphia Eagles strength coaches during training camp.
“It’s a tough morning for all of us in the Eagles family,” General Manager Howie Roseman said in statement, announcing the death of Garrett Reid after the early practice. “Garrett grew up with this team, which makes this news even harder for us to process.”
Roseman added, “On a personal note, we’ve been with Andy for a long time. He’s always been strong for us; we’re going to be strong for him right now. As a father and a friend, we’re all hurting,” Roseman added.
Just last week, Andy Reid was unusually relaxed right after a morning walk-through at the training camp, even entertaining a war veteran he had befriended during the man’s long recovery from injuries and making jokes with visiting reporters. Entering his 14th season with the Philadelphia Eagles, Reid spoke of not allowing himself to think about the pressure of his job as a coach.
However, the personal troubles of his son, Garrett Reid, weighed heavily on Andy and had been entwined with his work for at least five years. Back in 2007, he took a five-week leave of absence from the team and accompanied Garrett to a drug rehabilitation facility after admitting that he had used heroin before causing a car accident that sent a woman to a hospital.
That same day as Garrett’s accident, his younger brother Britt pointed a gun at another motorist during a road rage incident, and drugs were also found in his car. Both Reid boys eventually spent time behind bars. At their sentencing, a judge had described their family’s home as “more or less like a drug emporium.”
While Garrett Reid was in jail, he was caught smuggling prescription pills into his cell. According to the legal docs, Garrett said he started abusing alcohol and drugs after he graduated high school in 2001. He added in court documents that he began dealing drugs in 2002.
“I don’t want to be that kid who was the son of the head coach of the Eagles, who was spoiled and on drugs and OD’d and just faded into oblivion,” Garrett Reid said at his sentencing.
Then, when Andy Reid returned from his leave of absence from the team, he told reporters he had at least briefly thought about resigning from his job because of the troubles caused by his sons.
“If I tell you after a loss or a win that I do a lot of thinking, I’m sure you can add that up for this,” Andy Reid said in 2007. “Yeah, you go back and think through a lot of things.”