Juan Castillo, first impressions
A coach's first impressions
Juan Castillo, first impressions
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
The date was April 18, 1998. That is was a long time ago goes without saying. But it is the first time I remember Juan Castillo speaking.
He had been on Ray Rhodes' staff for a couple of years in an entry-level position, learning the business of NFL coaching. Now he was the offensive line coach in what pretty much everyone knew was going to be Rhodes' final season as the Eagles' head coach. This particular day was draft day. It was the day the Eagles picked Tra Thomas.
As part of the media sales job, reporters were brought into one of the players' meeting rooms at the Vet, those old, cramped, damp places with the stained ceiling tiles and the ever-present hint of rodents watching your ever move. There, Castillo popped in a videotape of Thomas and commenced coaching.
I can't tell you exactly what he said, but the memory is full of "whams" and "bams" and whatnot as Castillo grew more and more excited about the player his team had just drafted. His enthusiasm impressed everybody that day. It was really kind of infectious, even given the hard-bitten crew to whom Castillo was preaching.
So much has happened since then, obviously -- topped off Wednseday by Castillo's unlikely elevation to defensive coordinator. Since Andy Reid doesn't allow reporters to talk to his position coaches, most of our communication with Castillo over the years has been limited to nods of hello and observations of how hard he took the losses. Sometimes he would be sitting in the lockerroom -- especially on the road -- and just staring kind of forlornly into the distance.
But after the Wednesday press conference was over, Castillo was talking to a circle of reporters outside the auditorium at the NovaCare Complex. This whole thing really is a bolt from the blue, and I have no earthly idea how it is going to work out. I still don't understand why they took this chance.
But standing there, listening to Castillo, there were no "whams" or "bams" but the same enthusiasm for the task ahead was plain.
After all of these years, that part has not changed.
@edseagles: Worst. Theory. Ever. (1) The "open offensive coach position" was filled by Mudd. In fact, that was the the key lynchpin that the Eagles claim they needed to move Castillo to DC (2) Childress does not "need" a job. He is being paid millions by the Vike NOT to coach next season, and (3) If this move was all about opening up a position for Childress, why not move Juan to LB coach? Why DC? C'mon, man. Think for 4 seconds before you post.
On another note, lets hope Juan works out. This was risky. If nothing else, I give Reid credit for not caring about that fact that everyone will soundly mock this move.— Zee77- First of all, the players available to the defense next year will NOT be as good as last year: 1)Graham will not be recovered from his SERIOUS knee injury. 2)Neither will the other new kid at Safety. 3)Juqua Parker is a year older, and so are the other veterans in the line. 4)The draft will only net us so much. And unless KK is traded for a high draft pick, not very much to celebrate at all. So Juan won't have very much to work with, but he has a crew that played their hearts out for Opie. So here's hoping THAT stays with them. I wish Juan and the Iggles the very best of luck for the coming (and future) season/s. FLY IGGLES FLY!!!— TBear
Remember when Reid was hired as our Head Coach after serving as a QB coach? Except for the elusive Supe we've enjoyed some pretty good football around here since! You know what you're getting in Juan and it's all good. Can't wait to see him do his thing...excel!- I've just listened to 2 Juan Castillo interviews w/ radio & tv. First impression, he seems like a really, really nice guy ... self-made from a difficult background, an incredibly hard worker, etc. BUT to hear him say that he has a a lot of experience w/ coaching defense just is not true. Yes, he had discussions w/ JJohnson etc. but it's a huge leap from chalk talk to being "the man" who formulates the entire defensive scheme. I hope he is successful, but I'm not holding my breath. I think Juan will do a good job preparing them before the game, but his inexperience will show when he has to make in-game adjustments. Sound familiar ...Andy?— misterhman
- I'm all for promoting from within but this move is nothing more than to keep Reid in his control mode. An offensive position coach to a defensive coordinator? Give me a break please. Reid wouldn't even consider waiting to interview one of the coaches from GB or PITT. I don't think he wants any outside or honest opinions or coordinators who might give a negative opinion of his defensive players. Castillo will not stir any waves and Reid will continue to be king. I sincerely believe that he is more concerned with control than he is winning a Super Bowl. He has been in control for over 12 years now and still no Lombardi. By naming Castillo the DC we can expect the same status quo in regards to the organization's acceptance of their close but no cigar position. Hard workers do not necessarily translate into qualified coordinators. I think this is one more slap in the face from Andy Reid to the intelligence of the fan base. It's time to stop the arrogance and same old same old with this team under Reid's tenure. Andy Reid will never ever win a Super Bowl, not here not anywhere. He is not capable of it as evidenced by his 12 years of futility and his lack of acknowledging or confirming that his style of playing as well as drafting does not and will not work, nor will he admit that changes to his methods and philosophy must be made to achieve the ultimate goal. I have seen enough year after year to know that nothing is going to change with this team with Reid in charge and in control. If he could he would, but he can't so he won't.— billro33
- "The defensive coaches ALWAYS came to Juan for his input..." Yeah
tommazza that really worked out great when the other teams got into the Red Zone.— essell - @mazza....you hit the nail on the head..I posted about this yesterday, give the guy a chance..All these armchair GM's want a known 'Defensive Coordinator" same old recycled coaches. Good coaches aren't readily available, fired coaches are. Now we need a cpl studs....— TexasYankee
- An earlier post was mentioning how some of the past coaches of the Eagles have fared. For the record, the legendary Buddy Ryan not only never got to a championship game, he never won a playoff game as the Eagles coach. Love him or hate him, Reid is the most successful coach the Eagles have had since 1960.— hawk18
- Castillo wasn't that great as a Offensive Line Coach. He may be a quality guy, but I can't tell he's been an effective line coach based on the productivity, or lack of from the recent Eagles Offensive Line.
The Eagles this year gave up near 3 sacks a Game and caused a Quarterback switch.
This was a move to avoid the cost of hiring a quality d coordinator. Budget hire. The McDermott hire was a move to save money. We been Suckerized Again.
— Dexter - Attention all you negativity experts: Go back to last week when all the names were being mentioned from other teams. NONE of them were already coordinators. All of them were position coaches with famous names, as declared by sportswriters. The Iggles and any other team must make a risky decision when selecting a coordinator be/ it's usually a promotion from position coach. Who among us all can predict with certainty what position coach will become a good coordinator? Some poor coordinators are saved by having an abundance of the essential winning ingredient....talented personnel. juan C. knows plenty of defensive football but he'll need plenty of def. personnel to succeed......and personnel is another story for another staff member, are you listening Howie??????????— stoneman
- I wish the guy luck, but I wasn't impressed by the O line this year particularly after some of the injuries. For me, the backup should be just as good as the starter, that's how stars are born.— annec
- Another dumb decisions in a string ofdumb decisions. However, he seems to survive because of the blind loyalty of the Philly press.
Let's fac e it, we even have dumb editors on the Philly newspapers.
Philadelphia has become the joke of the sports world.— marioP
