A fan visiting Eagles training camp was asked by security to remove his Donovan McNabb jersey-Washington Redskins edition-at the alleged request of Eagles Head Coach Andy Reid .  The man complied with the request, but it poses some interesting questions.

I've covered NFL training camps and I am here to tell you that if your team's head coach actually notices what a fan is wearing and tells a security guard to tell the guy to take it off, you are in for a losing season.  Coaches do not notice nor care about anything else than getting reps in.  The 200 or so people braving the heat to watch the drudgery of practice are a blur to them and way off their radar. 

Honestly, do you think Packers coach Mike McCarthy would stop drills if you wore a Vikings number four jersey to a Packers practice?  Or that Bears coach  Lovie Smith would charge into the stands and strip a fan of an Alex Brown New Orleans Saints jersey?  Not hardly.

The guys that do notice this stuff and do something about it are the media relations guys.  Everything they do is spin, spin, spin, control the message, control the story, control the media.  Seeing a guy in a McNabb Redskins jersey is a red flag to a savvy PR guy and having him get a security guy to have a fan remove it is well within their realm.  The fact that this story got out is annoying to some media guy, who is probably threatening radio stations right now with the pulling of their press credentials if they don't let it go. 

Don't believe me?  Then you've never received some of the phone calls I have from angry media relations guys.

While I have heard of people asked to remove clothing that might be offensive (best not wear a fireloviesmith.com shirt to a Bears practice) I have never heard of someone being asked to remove another team's jersey at a practice or a game.  If this trend spreads, don't expect to wear that Red Sox jersey at Yankee Stadium any time soon.