PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Andy Reid knows all about second chances. That's why Michael Vick is getting one in Philadelphia.
Reid lived through the nightmare of having two sons jailed on drug charges. The Eagles coach felt the wrenching pain of standing in court, hearing a list of serious charges against his boys. Reid stood by his sons, vowing to use the lessons to help others whose lives were derailed by horrible mistakes.
It was an experience Reid couldn't help but ponder when he saw a disgraced young man looking for someone to believe he'd changed.
"I've followed Michael's situation very close with the things that my boys went through," Reid said. "They were right around the same time. I've had a chance to kind of follow that, and I know the things that Michael has gone through. On the other side of that, I know the changes that can be made."
At his news conferences, the normally guarded Reid likes to keep the focus on football, not family or much of anything else. Not long after his sons ran into legal trouble in separate incidents on the same day in 2007, Reid threatened to walk out of his media obligations if he was pressed about his personal life.
Two years later, a more open Reid voluntarily discusses the devastating impact his son's crimes had on him and his family. He's seen up close how Garrett and Britt Reid are progressing on the changes they needed to make to get on with their lives.
He believes Vick, with the right support system, can do the same and move on from his animal cruelty past.
"I know some people will not agree, but on the other hand, I think the majority will," Reid said on Friday as the Eagles introduced Vick a day after signing him to a contract. "Fortunately, in this country, if we handle ourselves properly, we are given an opportunity for second chances. I think people understand."
Britt and Garrett Reid are trying to make the most of their second chances.
Britt Reid is out of prison and has graduated from a drug court program. He enrolled in the program early last year after a series of run-ins with the law. He had been arrested in January 2007 on drug and weapons charges after he flashed a gun at another driver in a road-rage incident and police found small amounts of cocaine and marijuana in his vehicle.
While enrolled in the program, Britt Reid began working at a catering company. He remains on probation for one year.
His older brother, Garrett, is serving a two-year sentence in a state program for drug treatment after he pleaded guilty to smuggling prescription pills into the Montgomery County jail.
Andy Reid felt the backlash in 2007 as he refused to step away from the Eagles while his family unraveled under a critical public eye. The judge who sentenced the two Reid boys to jail likened the coach's home to "a drug emporium."
Reid stuck it out and led the Eagles back to the NFC title game for the fifth time in his tenure last season.
But the coach who spent so many nights sleeping on his office sofa after working 18-hour days eased off his workload to spend six weeks with Garrett in counseling.
There was no rush to judgment - or to sign - Vick once NFL commissioner Roger Goodell conditionally lifted the quarterback's suspension on July 27. Reid initially said the Eagles weren't interested, but his own experiences bubbled up when he was asked if he felt Vick deserved another shot in the NFL.
"Sure. I'm big on second chances at this phase in my life," he said on July 28.
Reid conducted a background search, met with Vick mentor Tony Dungy and talked extensively with Vick to gauge his remorse and sincerity in turning his life around.
"It's very important that people give them opportunities to prove that they can change, so we're doing that with Michael," Reid said.
Reid can't even answer if he would have been open to helping Vick - in the form of a one-year deal, plus a team option for a second season - had he not suffered through his family turmoil.
"I don't know that. I would hope that I would be, just like I hope that the fans will be," Reid said.
Vick, who decided to start an illegal dogfighting operation in 2001, saw his personal and professional career completely derailed in 2007. He was suspended indefinitely without pay from the NFL and convicted for his role in running a dogfighting ring - putting one of the most dazzling players in the league in prison.
Forgiveness from the public won't come easy for Vick. About two dozen protesters gathered outside the Eagles practice facility on Friday in opposition of the signing, one holding a sign that read, "Hide your beagle, Vick is an Eagle."
Animal cruelty is a highly emotional issue, and fervent animals lovers won't forget just because Vick scores a touchdown for the Eagles. Devoted Eagles fans won't care if Vick starts every day with a visit to an animal shelter as long as he scores touchdowns.
Reid knows both are important for Vick to become a story of redemption.
"I trust that we do the right things here, that we have done our homework and that Michael himself has his life going in a positive direction," Reid said.