Castillo's firing: stunning and desperate
Andy Reid fires Juan Castillo
Castillo's firing: stunning and desperate
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
First reaction: stunned.
I am not surprised that Juan Castillo is not calling the defenses for the Eagles anymore -- and especially not after cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha openly criticized schematic decisions at the end of the Eagles' collapse on Sunday against the Lions. But I figured head coach Andy Reid would protect Castillo, leaving him in place and having secondary coach Todd Bowles begin calling the defenses from the press box. That way, Castillo could continue to wear the headset on the sidelines and relay the information to the players and save face. But no.
Yes, stunning. Castillo is out and Bowles is the defensive coordinator. A year and a half after the world guffawed in Reid's face when he turned his offensive line coach into a defensive coordinator, and months after he flirted with the idea of making a change and giving the job to Steve Spagnuolo -- which would have happened had Spagnuolo said yes -- Reid is very publicly admitting a grievous error. There is no other way to read this.
All of the talk about how things were turned around at the end of last season was just that, apparently -- talk. And any benefit of the doubt that Castillo received after this defense got off to such a good start in 2012 also evaporated pretty quickly. This kind of in-season change happens very rarely in the NFL -- and it is hard to remember a coordinator who was fired from a .500 team with overall defensive numbers that are not alarming.
But the trend obviously was. I have said all along that while we all had our suspicions, it was hard to really know about Castillo because none of us are inside the process, and because they did get better in the second half of last season, and because the defense has been pretty stingy overall in 2012.
But now we know, after two late-game losses, two more blown leads at the end, that Reid feels compelled to make the kind of in-season move that he has never been pushed to make before. He fired himself as the play-caller once during the bye week, but this is different. And it is desperate.
With that, mark down two days:
The day Reid replaced Kevin Kolb with Michael Vick.
The day Reid named Castillo as defensive coordinator.
If this goes badly from here, those are the days that will have gotten Andy Reid fired.
After the Castillo firing was announced, Rich Hofmann discussed the news in a video chat with Noah Coslov of Cinesport.
Just proves that Reid is for Reid and does not care about anything but saving his own skin. When you use and abuse others, somehow it comes back to get you. Juan may not have been a good coordinator but his side of the ball was only a very small percentage of the problem. Reid and Vick deserve each other.— Kioto- Bring in Bill Cowher!!— Philly Squid
- feel bad for castillo. he did coach the best offensive line in Eagles history, so he's no slouch. Andy set him up to fail. Hope the best for him. Andy is falling from his high horse, fast. As a fan who's very dissatisfied overall, this doesn't make me feel better. BUT - Bowles was very close to becoming the head coach in Miami this year, so he's no slouch either. Is Bowles the new Eagles head coach after the season? If I'm Andy Reid, assuming they will finish with an underwhelming season, I'd throw him the keys and move on. It has to wear on this guy (REID). The fans, media - we are tough, and this guy hasn't had it easy in recent years. Life's too short...— sore richard
- Clap clap clap, about time the stubborn mule admits he made a mistake, it was quite obvious to everyone else laughing about it from day 1. Andy Reid will show you alright, he'll show you that he's been drunk on power and deluded into believing whatever he thinks should work will work. Fans here have had enough for the last 7 years, please Andy fire yourself if you don't win the super bowl because I'm starting to find better things to do on Sundays than watch your poor excuse for a team make the same mistakes over and over again for the past 14 years. Groundhog day part IVX— TrollExterminator
- 10 games left 'til Reid is gone.— Tyrone Biggums
- Juan was not a scapegoat. He wanted the job. It's a job with high expectations. His play calling was questioned by his players. If you believe he was a scapegoat then you believe people who signed mortgages they couldn’t afford were without fault for the houses market crash.— SC Philly Fan
- The offense is second to dead last in points. Defense is 13th. Offense leads the league in turnovers. Do they fire the O coord? No. Do they bench the quarterback? No. Do they fire the offensive minded head coach? No. The defensive coordinator whose squad is the only reason this team isn't 1-5. How is that not a scapegoat? Based on your post I don't think you know what it means. — Sidewinder7
- Nice what if on the 1-5. Let us look at facts. In 22 games, the D has given up seven fourth quater leads. The offense had leads the last two weeks which the defense gave up. Based on your post you don't watch football. Bench the QB??? Why. No QB is going to do any better. The reason NY beat Brady twice is because of the pressure on the QB. In addition, we don't know what actions will follow for the OC, so don't jump the gun on not doing anything. — SC Philly Fan
- So will Bowles get to coach the whole defense now or will he still be stuck with this ridiculous wide 9? And when does Mudd get the axe?— JLH
- 86 John Castle.— SedatedManiac
- Is Jeff "not the most interesting man in the world" Lurie too busy on the web dating sites to see the obvious??? The Reid show has run its course viewership is dropping, cancel the show Jeff, PLEASE.— muckets
- I'm not saying Michael Vick was a great choice, but can anyone honestly say that the Eagles would be better off with Kevin Kolb as their starting QB?— SteveS11
- Kolb isn't a choice, Foles is. Vick leads the league in turnovers by a huge margin, can't read blitzes, is inaccurate, has NEVER won in this league. Foles is an unknown, he will not turn the ball over more then Vick (it isnt possible) and we have 10 games to see if he is a QB. If not you need to go shopping next offseason. — Sidewinder7
- 13 turnovers and juan still has the defense 12th overall. oh yeah. andys offense puts up 16pts per game and is ranked 31st overall. eagles at their finest this morning. this team hasnt done anything right in the last 6-7 years. ANDY REID IS THE PROBLEM. NOTHING HAS BEEN FIXED. NOTHING HAS BEEN FIXED. NOTHING HAS BEEN FIXED. NOTHING HAS BEEN FIXED. ANDY REID IS THE PROBLEM. NOTHING HAS BEEN FIXED. NOTHING HAS BEEN FIXED. NOTHING HAS BEEN FIXED. NOTHING HAS BEEN FIXED. ANDY REID IS THE PROBLEM. NOTHING HAS BEEN FIXED. NOTHING HAS BEEN FIXED. NOTHING HAS BEEN FIXED. NOTHING HAS BEEN FIXED. ANDY REID IS THE PROBLEM. NOTHING HAS BEEN FIXED. NOTHING HAS BEEN FIXED. NOTHING HAS BEEN FIXED. NOTHING HAS BEEN FIXED— Apollo Creed
- I hate to resort to cliches, but... too little too late.
PS: So long, Cas-See-Ya! (Stolen)— Jerome99RIP
