Chaos now defines Reid's final days
Eagles fire Jim Washburn
Chaos now defines Reid's final days
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
The Eagles are gripped now by chaos. There is no other way to look at it. With four games remaining in a down-spiraling season, just hours after a late-night loss in Cowboys Stadium, they abruptly fired defensive line coach Jim Washburn, apparently telling him not to let the door hit him in the wide-9 on the way out.
In the midst of an eight-game losing streak, they now have fired a defensive coordinator (Juan Castillo), a defensive end (Jason Babin), a defensive line coach (Washburn) and, just for fun, a couple of front office executives.
As it turns out, even Nixon’s final days were more orderly than Andy Reid’s.
Washburn had, fairly or not, become a symbol of everything that had gone wrong with Reid’s tenure as coach. He was brought in as part of a radical overhaul of the coaching staff in 2011. He brought with him what was viewed by some as a gimmicky scheme, the wide-9 defensive front, and he was brought in and hired before Reid decided on a defensive coordinator. It was done exactly backward -- and then, when Reid promoted Castillo, his offensive line coach, to be the defensive coordinator, the scheme and the setup and the coordinator made for a trifecta of dysfunction.
It was the kind of gamble that Reid had never taken before. It was the kind of haphazard decision-making that was the exact opposite of Reid’s careful persona. Now, here we are.
I saw Washburn leaving the locker room after Sunday night’s loss to the Cowboys. He was dressed in a suit and tie, as is the custom, and he looked kind of mad at the world, his red face contrasted against his silver goatee. I didn’t think anything of it as Washburn left, by himself, and headed for a team bus -- because after eight straight losses, everybody associated with that team either looks angry or looks like they just witnessed a car wreck.
That Babin was one of Washburn’s favorites went without saying -- he resurrected Babin’s career when they were together in Tennessee, and Babin flourished as a pass rusher for the Eagles in 2011 -- and the team’s decision to fire Babin last week could not have been Washburn’s idea. That Washburn’s personality could be prickly also was not in dispute; he and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg got into it on the sidelines at one point last season, you will remember, and Washburn was very open about being concerned only with his guys and his scheme. Whatever happened behind them was somebody else’s problem.
In recent days, all of those elements must have been shaken into a toxic cocktail -- and it had to be toxic, because there is no way you fire an assistant coach in December for anything short of toxic. And while it speaks to Washburn, and to the perils of losing in the NFL, it speaks more to the head coach.
The thing has spun completely out of control now for Reid. The questions get harder, the answers get weaker, and the one thing you could always say about Reid -- that he was organized, that he could make the trains run on time, and that his teams were always modeled after his persistent, consistent personality -- is now being questioned in the cacophony of 3-9 and the certainty that Reid is about to be fired.
Chaos now defines. Chaos, and losing.
Why fire any of them when they're all going to get fired in a few weeks? Unless one of them isn't. Say it isn't so.
It's amazing how quickly the fortunes of a team can change with a few bad drafts, some ill advised signings and a few headscratching coaching changes.— dlivesay- Big Blue
And the fact that you're reveling in other people's misery shows you to be one stellar human being yourself.— CoettaGarner25 
Comment removed.- Now cut DRC and Asomugah and Nate Allen!!!!— RealizticFan
- Squizzy MaGee -- Lurie never says anything publicly during the regular season, so what he does afterward is a matter of conjecture. What we do know is that when Kotite lost 7 in a row he was gone, and when Rhodes went 3-13 he was gone.
It seems to me that the root of this team's problems come down to the original decision to hire Washburn and Mudd and give them much more authority than a position coach should have. Castillo's promotion was because no experienced DC would accept an independent D-line coach with his own schemes. How can you game plan if the line is doing one thing and the rest of the team is doing something else. Same with Mudd and the offense.— blank reg - I know this is a lot of upheaval, but that doesn't mean the upheaval is chaotic or disorganized. Washburn deserved to be fired, and firing him now will get Washburn out of his current contract and make him available to other teams. Losing is one thing, but you can't have mutinous position coaches or players. Reid, knowing he will be fired at season's end, is doing the right thing, including naming Foles the starter.— p-diddy
- THIS carnival that is the NFL, is quickly becoming a national joke! There are 32 teams on display each week. More than 50% of them are no better than the dead skunk you passed with the windows down yesterday. The stink is that bad. Depending on how the wind is blowing, we're getting it from all sides. Yesterday, the smell was coming up from Jerry's Playpen in Arlngton, Texas. We got a double dose of stink from both teams! The Cowgirls are as bad as the Eagles. Then the smell hits us from North Jersey. What the Jets & the Cards were emitting was a HAZMAT issue! Further north, we had a slaughterhouse effect from the Jags & the Buffalo Bills. Coming from the midwest the smell of a dirty catbox should arrive by tomorrow from the Lions & the Colts! Don't worry, the road apples from the pony's will be rolling in soon! This is the NFL folks! As bad as the teams are, the people COACHING these pathetic teams are worse! The only problem is, once they are fired, they simply change their zipcodes, license plates, & maybe their voter ID....The stink follows them like bad hygiene! Teams hire what other teams fire! I guess if you feed people EGABRAG in one town & dump it, then redo the recipe, maybe add turkey instead of chicken, feed them, see if they like it, who knows, maybe they won't recognize that what they are eating is the same GARBAGE just in another town only spelled differently.— frank castle
- Too many cancers and not enough leaders - oh and Washburn was a cancer too. How many times did u see him arguing with other coaches on the sidelines? Good riddance.— smarterthanyou
- The tough guy, Jeff Lurie, will let Andy "resign" after the season and take the money for next year, if he chooses not to work somewhere else. Jeff is a scared little man now that Banner isn't there to pull the trigger for him and Andy is driving off the cliff with his team. Andy, or any real coach wouldn't pull these latest moves on his own. They'd never get a good assistant to work for them again. He's doing it for Jeff and laughing to the bank. Arrogant Andy is afraid to get fired and show he failed the last 4 years.— Ballgame
- fire vick today— JKJ
- Not so fast Rich. Could it possibly be that Lurie has mandated that Reid clean house with the idea that with a new staff of competent coaches he would allow him (Reid) to stay on. At this point nothing would surprise me. PS, Good game Nick.— drenner
- When Andy brings another Super Bowl Championship to the Big D in his first season as Cowboys head coach, Philly will still be stuck with lousy teams and lousier sportswriters.— Gnip Gnop
- What does the football team and this record have to do with dogs,thats like a an ex who keep bringing up I messed up prom night, (get over it,dag!). Now my date life will be cursed, not!, but its time to rebuild and Andy should have half his stuff already out of the complex of the Eagles.— Charliewonk
- WRONG...there has been chaos ever since McNabb left and Andy did not go with him.....His choice of mudd, washburn, april and the switch of JC showed the dysfunction,.....we are now moving into stability and talent evaluation and the new coach won't have to fire the drek, it will be gone.....the only bad news is that an accoutant will be making football deceions......and we will suck till they get a football man in here...........and tell me this....which coach worth a dam will not want to have all final say on players....— nuggett
- Hey Bedpan you know what's funny? Andy Reid may still be the coach of the Eagles next year. You'll have another crack at ripping them for another season as fans are wretched in misery.— TrollExterminator
