I've suggested players be traded - ask Allen Iverson - but I knew their contracts would shift to another team and they wouldn't be out of work.

I've criticized, so I accept criticism.

I've disagreed, so I accept people disagreeing with me.

But I've never said someone should be fired. I never thought that was my place or assumed that I understood enough of an organization's inner workings to make that call.

I figured that was an owner's exclusive domain.

Besides, it's just a crappy thing to do.

During my 13 years as a columnist, numerous readers have suggested that the Daily News fire me. I didn't appreciate it all that much.

But honestly, what else do you say about Andy Reid after the Eagles' uninspired performance in Sunday's potential season-killing, 13-13 tie with the dreadful Cincinnati Bengals ?

What conclusions do you reach after a decade of Reid's reign when the Eagles are drifting further from a Super Bowl instead of climbing toward it?

Can he tweak enough to make this team a legitimate contender? He hasn't over the previous three offseasons.

And if a new era is destined to start at the end of this season, is Reid the guy you want setting the agenda for 2009 and beyond?

No.

The Eagles' only hope to regain their stature in an evolving NFL is to bring in someone with an entirely different philosophy than the current coach/executive vice president of Football operations.

After a decade, this program has run its course.

Once, Reid had the Eagles going as good as any NFL team. There was a 5-year span when they probably should have won at least one Super Bowl.

But that window of opportunity slammed shut after the Eagles lost to New England in Super Bowl XXXIX.

Over the last four seasons, things have devolved into a disheveled organization that has fallen behind the curve for what it now takes to win championships.

Worse yet, Reid & Co. cannot or will not recognize it.

This isn't based on a tie with the Bengals. The Eagles aren't eliminated from the playoffs, and strange things can happen in this league.

But even if the Eagles miraculously make the postseason, does anyone believe they can go far, much less win the Super Bowl?

And after a decade of Reid, isn't winning a Super Bowl the only thing this is about?

Simply stated, I no longer believe Reid is capable of bringing that to Philadelphia. He can win more games, and make playoff appearances, but the big prize will remain off the Eagles' shelf as long as he directs Football operations.

It's clear that from his pass-first, -second and -third approach to offense to his questionable decisions in the NFL draft and free agency, Reid's philosophies have become antiquated in today's NFL.

Despite all of his bravado about how the Eagles are "going to get it straight," I don't believe Reid can get the Eagles to play better Football, because his core beliefs are out of touch.

His offensive game plans are from the turn of the century, when free-flowing passing was all the rage.

No more, and especially not in the rugged, smash-mouth NFC East in which the Eagles have sunk to the bottom.

Reid has accomplished a lot with the Eagles since he was hired in 1999, and his 101 career victories with them are not something to shrug off.

In fact, I'll defend him by saying the only thing Reid has not delivered is a Super Bowl championship.

But that's the rub, isn't it?

Unless you just don't like parades, the only thing that matters concerning the Eagles is winning a Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Reid drifts farther from that with each game.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the Eagles will turn things around and Reid will laugh in my face, but I don't think so. A big change is just over the horizon.

Longtime quarterback Donovan McNabb, Reid's first draft pick, will be headed out of town as the scapegoat for the Birds' failure.

And while McNabb's recent struggles have been detrimental to the cause, removing him won't dramatically improve things.

The Eagles' downfall is due to a system that has never respected the running game, even though history shows that is the way to Super Bowl titles.

The McNabb era failed to deliver a title because management thought it was terrific to draft a quarterback with the second overall pick, then refused to surround him with the superior skill players who would have helped him develop into a championship quarterback.

If Reid's philosophies remain the same, I can't see how heir apparent Kevin Kolb can succeed any more than McNabb.

Contrary to Reid's doctrine, a quarterback surrounded by better receivers and running backs will in turn become a better quarterback.

If the Kolb era is indeed about to start, owner Jeffrey Lurie needs to ask himself whether he wants Reid guiding it.

After a decade of coming up short of the ultimate goal, it's clear that the flaw is in the system, not necessarily the parts.

The system is Andy Reid, and until that changes the Eagles will never achieve anything more than they already have. *

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