Eagles fire Johnnie Lynn
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
Eagles fire Johnnie Lynn
Jeff McLane, Inquirer Staff Writer
The ax fell first on Johnnie Lynn.
Could it fall again, and if so, who will it descend upon next?
The Eagles announced Saturday that they "released" Lynn not long after CBSportsline.com initially reported that the secondary coach was out. It is unclear when Andy Reid relieved Lynn of his duties, although the Eagles coach has been conducting exit interviews with his staff over the last week.
The Eagles aren't expected to make changes within their offensive coaching staff, but there could be additional moves made on the defensive side of the ball, a source close to the situation said.
The future of Juan Castillo remains the most speculated upon. The defensive coordinator isn't likely to be fired but could be shuffled into another post, perhaps as Lynn's replacement.
That would conceivably pave the way for Steve Spagnuolo to return to the Eagles as defensive coordinator. Spagnuolo, a former defensive assistant under Reid, was fired by the Rams on Monday after three years as their head coach.
It's unclear if the Eagles are even interested in Spagnuolo. Reid hasn't publicly spoken since immediately after the Eagles ended their season a disappointing 8-8 last Sunday. He won't meet with the media until he has made all of his staffing decisions.
Lynn, who previously coached for the 49ers, Ravens, Giants and Buccaneers, lasted all of one season with the Eagles. He was brought aboard last February as Reid remade his defensive coaching staff in the wake of defensive coordinator Sean McDermott's firing.
Lynn replaced Dick Jauron, who took the defensive coordinator job in Cleveland. Mike Zordich was promoted to oversee the safeties with Lynn in charge of the cornerbacks. Despite having three Pro Bowl corners in Nnamdi Asomugha, Asante Samuel and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Lynn's unit did not live up to expectations.
Still, the problems in the secondary appeared to be more scheme-related. Asomugha played more zone defense that he ever had in Oakland. Samuel's ball-hawking abilities were neutralized by less blitzing. And Rodgers-Cromartie had never played in the slot until this season.
The Eagles defense allowed 27 passing touchdowns a season after surrendering 31. Cornerbacks accounted for only six total interceptions.
The cornerbacks weren't the only ones to struggle under Castillo in his first year as coordinator. The linebackers, under first-year coach Mike Caldwell, were not equipped to take on additional run-stopping responsibilities because of the new alignment up front.
Defensive line coach Jim Washburn had a successful season if his performance is judged by his unit's 46 sacks. But Washburn and his unique wide-nine may not mesh with Spagnuolo's scheme if the former Giants defensive coordinator is indeed hired.
Comments (57)
Could this be a sign they are keeping Juan? Why would they fire just a CB coach if they are considering bringing in a new DC who would likely make a lot position coach changes.— HAROLD Eskin- Yo, turn on Comcast Live! Andy Reid is holding a press conference where is announcing the firing of the laundry guy, the head of cheerleaders, and the two kids who pull up the nets before field goals. Cleaning House! — UncleStosh
- Can you say scapegoat? Really!? This guy was told to fit square pegs into round holes while the clueless defensive coordinator stood around high fiving everyone and he's the one to get fired? Can this organization become more of a joke?— JLH
- No to the contrary, if you are bring in a new DC you might want him to have at least some of his guys— sdcaphil
- Harold you're shortsighted as hell. This could be THE precursor to bringing Spags back. If they give Spags the DC job then Reid can save his favorite son Juan & let him coach defensive backs (which he's never done anyway).— thomaspfoolery
- Mudd has one year left, then Juan will move back to Oline. Spags will go from secondary coach to d coordinator in 2013. Make sense? Lolz— SilliBilli
- Who dermined the cornerbacks play ZONE when their strengths are in Bump coverage??— tulsaphil
- juan better be fired next. fire juan 'bad d' castillo !!!!— psualum
Comment removed.- the future is bright now that that guy isn't holding us back— bababooey2yall
- Oy vey. Of all the guys to fire first. I'm lmfao out here in the desert. Heck, he may end up being the only firing! Wouldn't that be a hoot!— eaglefaninAZ
- Juan better be next. I've supported Reid all along but Juan needs to go!— Norm3
- Reid is out of nine lives. If he doesn't make good decisins and bring in a proven D Coorindator, then its over without playing a game. For sure Juan has grown in the job, but not enough to avoid giving up leads in the 4th quarter and/or getting the defense to play as 1-unit.— Lerze777
- Howie Roseman will be promoted to CB coach.. those moron position coaches that coach thier own position. how stupid is that.— CharlieGarner25
- Big deal. They'll just replace him with another loser.— ej610
- Reid cannot "fire" Juan. It would be an admission that Andy made a huge mistake. They bring Spags in as dc and "reassign" Juan. Everyone saves face and we, the fans, suffer through another year of futility!— rvabully4ever
- Juan must be back. Why fire a position coach, and leave the def coordinator in place. There was actually talk during the year that this guy Lynn would fill in as def coordinator if Juan was fired in mid season. Instead he's the one going.— watsonmr
- It seems that the angle is that Juan stays as the DC and Spags is named the Defensive Assistant Head Coach above him. They get rid of the position coaches outside of Washburn(except the ones Spags wants because he has connections to some of them).— UncleStosh
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- I think I speak for all Eagles fans when I say.. Who the hell is Johnny Lynn? Its not the Janitors' fault the Defense couldnt stop anyone of that the offensive line took too long to gel before Vick was walking around with ribs poking out of his jersey.
Get a grip FO. You must really believe the fans are stupid as hell.— Zeru - Face it! The Eagles may never win a Super Bowl with Jeff Laurie as the owner. He's only interested in filling the stadium and making movies (which Hollywood still will not recognize him). I'm tired of hearing/reading that the Eagles are "gold standard" of franchises. It's 10K gold at the most and you can buy it at KMart.— Anne Arkey
- I agree. At first I believed as long as Reid is head coach the Eagles would NEVER win a Super Bowl and that's still my belief. But now, I have to add Lurie to that equation because he's the one that's letting Reid hang around. So, as long as Lurie is the owner of the Eagles, they will NEVER, EVER win a Super Bowl. Therefore Eagle fans, we shall go to our graves knowing we will die WAY before we see a post-Super Bowl parade in this city. We are forever cursed. — essell
- Face it! The Eagles may never win a Super Bowl with Jeff Laurie as the owner. He's only interested in filling the stadium and making movies (which Hollywood still will not recognize him). I'm tired of hearing/reading that the Eagles are "gold standard" of franchises. It's 10K gold at the most and you can buy it at KMart.— Anne Arkey
- It is a quandary, which Reid has put himself in...he won't fire Castillo, because Castillo is one of his loyal cadre of backslappers. But he can't demote Castillo, because it would make Reid look bad, and he'll never do that (knowingly). Spagnola would likely demand the DC position, and I doubt he'd take a back seat to Castillo. Then again, Spags might just not come here, and everything still stay nice and happy at NovaCare.
- Comment removed.
- "Has been" head coach + wannabe management + satisfied owner = Philly's worst sports franchise. Period. Eagles fans deserve better but will not get it until the franchise is sold to someone who, in addition to making a buck, commits to winning a championship. Until then, fans had better get used to hearing that 8-8 is a great year in a tough division (even if the NFC East has had only 1 Super Bowl champ in 15 years).— RF8
- Keep firing...defense needs an overhaul beginning with the coaches.
Next,some linebackers with the size and attytude to dominate in the NFL.
Then a safety who can hit AND cover the field.
To wrap it up a few BIG bodies at DE and DT...Cole's not young in NFL yrs. and Babin is a sack machine only.
Overhaul....Andy gets it right or he's gone...love the guy but he's had more than enough time.— greenbloodVAEagle - BIG WUP....LETS GET TO THE MEET---WC AND HIS BUDDY... ANDY WHO PUT HIS PAL WC IN AS DC--WHO HAD ZERO NFL EXPRIENCE...but Jeff is ok putting his 1 bil $$ BUSINESS in the hands WC...who are we kidding...?— carmen2
- i want Jaun to return i am enamored with having Spagnuolo back in the fold but i dont know how that would work ...i think the defense played well down the stretch there are positions mainly the linebackers that need to be addressed but lets give Juan some credit he is a new def coordinator new coordinator period he had a new staff put together no real off season for installing new schemes and new personal (look how many new def players we had )and the unit finished 8th in the league i think that should buy him at least another year a new coach means new scheme and new personel to fit that scheme i cant stand another season of growing pains let them play if he cant get it done then get rid of him but go look at the defensive stats the guy earned another chance !!— positive eagle
- That's what he gets for missing all those tackles!— TomM
- So it wasn't Juan's fault afterall. All we needed was a new DB coach. Can you say Superbowl?— greenflyer
- Comment removed.
- There's an interesting blog regarding the '05, '07 and '11 seasons at http;//phillypressbox.com. Check it out. Those are the 8-8, 6-10 and 8-8 seasons. It's interesting that Jim Johnson was the DC of the '05 and '07 teams. It was posted a few days ago so you'll have to go to the bottom of another post to get to it. Pretty good writing.— Hitman20
- Need some attitude on defense. I've never seen a team without one hitter - what a bunch of arm tacklers. They need to draft Vontaze Burfect from Arizona State. He may get a few personal foul calls, but he is a disruptive force and an intimidating MLB.— Bobphxville
- I heard Reid has now installed HipHop as Quarterbacks coach.— Drew777
- Uh oh....reid stays.....lynn goes......Rev Al ain't gonna like this one bit— ghostmarine
- Somebody had to be fired. Let's pick the linebackers coach and blame the whole season on him. That's the ticket. Next year we can start with a fresh slate..oh wait....its going to be the same script, and the same writers. Insanity is defined as doing the same things over and over while expecting different results. You gotta love those crazy Birds.— Larry Byrd
- Reid doesn't want to hire a defensive coordinator who could be his replacement, so he's hiring basically the equivalent of high-school coaches.
Think about it, do you think Castillo or Mohrniwig could be a head coach? Exactly.— fmMD - It's ridiculous to think they will make JC the secondary coach since he has never coached that position...oh wait...more likely that JC stays in place and Spags is Asst. HC. Reid has faults but I can't see him hanging JC out to dry when it was Reid who put him in that position in the first place. Secondary was horrible anyway so Lynn got booted, eh.— tpizza
- I feel better. This move will propel the eagles to the superbowl.— Tyrone Biggums
- So, Andy is firing coaches based off of what criteria, poor player performance on the field. If this is the case then the linebackers and safety coaches should have been pink slipped with Johnny Lynne. Then Reid should've step down but that would be to much like right. I can only surmise that Reid has not held his season ending press conference because he is waiting until he closes some business that he is working on, perhaps hiring a new D Coordinator and trying to figure out what to do with Juan. I hope he gets it right this time, I can not take another wasted year of Eagles football. Superbowl or bust (Andy) 2012. Go Eagles !!!!— Eaglehaslanded
- Good! This is just the start. The secondays was terrible this season even with the people we had. The coach is supposed to make adjustments and jnow what players he has and their abilities....Lynn couldn't. Still we understand he was forced to do somethings 'cause of what was going on up front...but that's the way it goes..when you're responsible..to take the heat. Mike Zordich should be next as the safety play was equally terrible....and get rid of Jaiquawn Jarrett too.— tony b
- Oh sure, the eagles missed the playoffs and were 8-8 because of Johnny Lynn.
Tell Reid the Texans won the first playoff game with their third string quarterback. But then they have a good coach— mario1239 - WHO?— banned
- One thing I know...no one is going to work harder than Juan. They're going to work hard and keep imrpoving fundamentals. No one will work harder. Evertime I hear Juan say those things it makes me think of "we have to do a better job of putting our players in the right position and that starts with me". I wonder if Mohrninweg is going to get his own BS tag line to say after every loss too.— jimbo jones
- FIRE MORNINGHEG!!! The Eagles were a defensive team! Why fire any defensive coaches? Juan's D was TOP 10 in the NFL. Incredible for a 1st year coordinator. FIRE MORNINGHEG!!! He reduced a star studded offense to a 38 turnover laughingstock.— Dallasrulez
- Ooh, ooh, ooh, I need a job. I used to throw footballs in my yard, and know how to carry a helmet.— Atomic Fury
- I don't know if this Johnnie Lynn was a good coach or not. To me, it seems like he is taking the fall for the DC's scheme.— Penfold18
- It's doubtful that the Eagles could have achieved our expectations with 5 new starters on Defense and no feel for each other this year. Juan wasn't the man for the job under these circumstances. However, Juan managed to bring the Defense together as the year proceeded.
Five new faces on a NFL Defense with no off season work is a tough assignment.— Dexter - The EAGLES had 3 ALL-PRO cornerbacks playing out of position for most of the year.They were ALL-PRO because they were great man to man cover guys.JOHNNY LINN did not have them playing zone. It was CASTILLO. Blame the right person. I guess he'll be shining REIDS shoes and setting his dinner plate,so that he can still coach. TEN MILLION REASONS why REID is back. Can you guess what they are?— tudj
- What I see possibly happening is that Mike Caldwell would be either let go or just moved somewhere,then if they do pursue Steve Spagnulo they bring him in to coach the LB's and have Juan on a short lease to begin the season and maybe have Steve make the Defensive calls or just demote Juan to a LB coach(since he was a LB)and give Steve the DC gig upfront..— scotty_one
Everybody has a problem with Juan Castillo. This dedicated Coach is tireless in his team ambition to make this the best defense possible. You won't find anyone who is more sincere in getting the job done. There were so many 'Intangibles' working against this first-year DC.- Relax, everyone. This is just the first step (I hope) in the process. There's GOT to be more to the plan than this.— dlscholt
- Spags' resume is far from impressive.— gho_matt
- I guess no one realized that the EAGLES D was ranked 8th overall this year,Castillo did a hell of a job without having any LBs to work with.UMMMM,sometimes during a game the D needs to rest,and with the O(that gets all the praise)turns over the ball so often to where the D is always on the field,what do you expect.Some of you people out there never see the big picture,sure the d gave up 4th Q leads,but by the end of the game and always on field due to turnovers they were tired,wouldnt you be if your unit is on the field more that the O ?look at the stats and time of possession.then you will see that even though the d had its rough spots,they were not to blame for this horrible season.— ackid38
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Birds' Eye View is the Inquirer's blog covering all things Philadelphia Eagles and the NFL.
Jeff McLane
Inquirer Staff Writer
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