Castillo to become defensive coordinator
The Philadelphia Daily News - Eagletarian
Castillo to become defensive coordinator
In a shocker, the Eagles ended up staying in-house for a defensive coordinator.
Juan Castillo, considered among the best offensive line coaches in the league, will take over the defense and replace the fired Sean McDermott.
The Eagles also will hire Howard Mudd to coach the offensive line. Mudd was a senior offensive line coach for the Indianapolis Colts before retiring after the 2009 season.
The Eagles, it seems, have interviewed more than the three publicly identified candidates -- Dennis Allen, Jon Hoke and Joe Woods for the position. Despite assertions to the contrary, they did not want to wait until after the Super Bowl to interview Steelers or Packers assistants.
Castillo, 51, has never coached defense on the professional level. He joined the Eagles in 1995 as an offensive assistant. He later coached tight ends and has been the offensive line coach for 13 seasons.
As a player, he was a linebacker at Texas A&I and for San Antonio in the USFL and also coached the position at the college level.
Reports had indicated that Castillo could be considered for offensive coordinator positions with Cleveland and Minnesota, but those interviews never materialized.
Left guard Todd Herremans tweeted, "Congrats to Juan Castillo! He's worked hard and earned it. I hope the defense is ready to work! LOL"
In statements distributed by the Eagles, three former Eagles defensive assistants who are now head coaches weighed in on Castillo.
Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera: “I’m really excited about this news and very proud of Juan being named defensive coordinator of the Eagles. First of all, Juan is one of the smartest and most dynamic coaches in the NFL. If anyone could cross over to the dark side [of defense], he’s the guy. Seriously, if anyone can do it, Juan Castillo is able to do it. I don’t know if I have seen anyone any more committed as a coach in this league than him. I was able to call on him so many times to understand how certain offenses worked and attacked. His knowledge of the game is very, very extensive and I consider him a mentor of mine in Philadelphia while I was working under Jim Johnson. He prides himself in his work ethic, which I know he got from his mother. More importantly, he’s a dedicated father, husband and friend and just a top notch person.”
Minnesota Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier: “I have a strong affinity for Juan going back to our days spent together in Philadelphia. I can remember Jim Johnson and our defensive staff putting our game plans together and we’d always get together with Juan just to make sure they were sound in terms of pressures and blitzes. Sometimes, I felt like he was on our defensive staff. And to do this day, he and I talk every week during the season to talk about other offenses in the league. That’s how much respect I have for him as a coach and how well he is able to understand the defensive schemes. I’m so excited that’s he’s going to be able to put those ideas to work for himself as the defensive coordinator in Philly. Andy Reid made a great choice.”
St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo: "Great move by Coach Reid. Juan is a football junkie who has always studied the entire game. He’s a detailed, aggressive, and passionate football coach - all attributes vital to coaching defense. I wish him all the best.”
In Mudd, the Eagles get 36 years of experience as an offensive line coach, including his most recent stint with the Indianapolis Colts from 1998-2009.
Mudd began his coaching career as an offensive line coach at the University of California (1972-73). Prior to joining the Colts in 1998, his NFL offensive line coaching stints came with San Diego (1974-76), San Francisco (1977), Seattle (1978-82), Cleveland (1983-88), Kansas City (1989-92) and Seattle (1993-97).
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Poll: Good move by Eagles? Vote: Eagles Stay or Go
Well, those were not "canned" coaches responses. I guess we see what happens with it.— soccerwonk
Huh?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?- Huh?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
- Smart move by the Eagles to get quotes from these coaches around the league. It's going to take continued PR to sell this move. Once the season begins, wins will keep Castillo popular, but fans' patience will be very short if the Eagles lose and give up lots of TDs. I know Castillo helped King Dunlap sort of play like an NFL player, but then Castillo also kept him on the team, a highly questionable decision. This team just seems totally intent on being 10-6, never going all the way.— armchairGM
- Hey Eagles, I know a Pizza man that has more defensive experience than Castillo.
All I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you. The reign of the current crew will come to a SCREAMING halt after this year and we will finally get a coach that can win the big games and make critical game adjustments.
Lets go Phillies. The Eagles are quickly becoming the 3rd team in this town! hahaha. Work ethic does not make him a defensive genius. And he has more experience than McDermott how? HAHAHAHAHAHA!— SlinkTMP - OK, so Howard Mudd seems to have good credentials. Why did he retire?— petergou
- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA THE EAGLES ARE NOT THE GOLD STANDARD-JUST PLAIN STUPID.....LETS GO PHILLIES!!!!!!!!!!!! The offense line coach as the defensive coordinator....I've seen it all???!!!!! hahahah
I am officially off the Reid/Laurie bandwagon. It's not about winning the SB, it's about profit. With the stadium filled and us in the playoffs most of the time, they're happy. But not me. When Laurie sells the team and they get a coach smart enough to win a SB, please let me know. Until then, I HATE YOU RIED & LAURIE for wasting the past 12 years, next year and who knows how many more.— desjones- My initial reaction is a resounding "Wha....???"— TBear
- The Eagles clearly wanted to bring in Mudd, but not lose a good coach in Castillo, so they moved over to the defense. My guess is that Washburn will have a heavy hand in that D.— WWW.WEEMSWEAR.COM
Huh? WTF? (stunned silence)— Mabus- I AM DONE. SORRY. Stop it. Don't give me "he is a great pick" and "Great work ethic." We need new blood. I have supported this team forever but I am done done done done.
PR? They do not need PR. We fired one guys with experience for one that played D in college once. I like Juan, but come on. CHEAP, IGNORANT, AND BLIND TO THEMSELVES AND THEIR ORGANIZATION. Watch the national media have a field day with this too. Horrible. they held out to get guys and those guys all PUBLICALLY said they are not leaving the Packers, bears, and Steelers.... so they came up with another "we know better than you" scheme.— SlinkTMP 
Comment removed.- Nickels. Good one. — StorminNorman
- The offensive line coach? Has Reid been sniffing glue?— p-diddy
