Reid's silence an ominous sign for Castillo
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
Reid's silence an ominous sign for Castillo
Jonathan Tamari
The Andy Reid watch is officially over. The Juan Castillo watch continues.
And that difference seems very telling the day after Jeffrey Lurie's press conference.
Lurie looked at this past season, recent history and Reid’s hold on his locker room and decided he wanted the head coach back for a 14th year. So he said so and put to rest questions about Reid’s immediate future.
Reid has had the same chance to look back, and has not yet endorsed Castillo or even set a date to talk to the media about what awaits in the next few months. The logical conclusion to many observers is that Reid isn’t talking because he’s exploring his options, is likely to shake up his staff and doesn’t want to meet the media until his new plan is in place. (That doesn’t necessarily mean Castillo is gone – he could be reassigned or left in place with a new coach above him, but the effect would be the same, a new voice on defense).
If there was no change, it would be a simple matter for Reid to say Castillo is back and explain his reasoning. If Reid wants to make a change, that takes time. He might want Steve Spagnuolo, but Spags probably has other options he can also check out. Maybe there are less obvious candidates he needs to feel out. Last year Reid said Sean McDermott would return only to fire him days later. He obviously wants to avoid a repeat by having his moves set before publicly discussing them.
Lurie said Tuesday that Castillo’s future is Reid’s call, but many of his comments pointed toward a change. He emphatically dismissed the Eagles' late season surge – which coincided with the defense’s improvement.
“We weren’t playing Green Bay, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and some of the best teams in the league,” Lurie said. “We proved we could dominate against teams the last half of the year who weren’t that competitive. There’s a lot to be said for the players coming together and the coaching staff holding this group together in a way that was impressive. To hold onto that as the reason to be completely optimistic is, I think, fool’s gold.”
Those four games were Castillo’s best argument for returning. With those contests – against four teams that missed the playoffs and none that had a winning record – the Eagles D finished 8th in yards and 10th in points allowed. But before those games the Eagles were 17th in yards and 22nd in points, and the lasting image before the winning streak was Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch running wild through the defense.
Lurie also made clear that Castillo wasn’t the Eagles’ first choice (helping explain how it took so long last offseason to finally name an in-house replacement for McDermott).
This year, perhaps there are more options. Spagnuolo is on the top of many fans’ wish list and makes sense, though he’ll probably have other choices as well. Two things that might hamper a search for a new coordinator:
-- Do the Eagles keep Jim Washburn, whose pass rush was excellent but whose style essentially dictates to his boss how four of his players line up and might discourage some potential coordinators?
-- Will hot prospects be wary of coming to coach under Reid knowing that without a major success next season, the entire staff could be cleaned out? (The counter argument is that maybe candidates see themselves as eventual Reid replacements, but the guess here is that once the Eagles and Reid break up, the organization goes for an entirely clean, new start).
One last item that may point to a Castillo change was Lurie’s reference to past teams that struggled one year only to win titles the next season. The 2008 Saints went 8-8 and missed the playoffs, but won the Super Bowl the next year. The 2006 Giants were also 8-8 and won a championship the next season.
In both instances, the teams changed defensive coordinators and improved their leaky defenses.
The Saints dumped Gary Gibbs for Gregg Williams. The Giants? They fired Tim Lewis and brought in Spagnuolo.
Doubt a third DC in 3 years will produce anything but chaos. Then it will be 4 DCs in 4 years when everyone is axed. If they go that route the only one that makes sense is Fisher who already endorsed Washburn's approach. Spags? Only if he can work WITH Wash. JC will have already had a soft landing place if he is removed but I doubt it will be with the Es. In the end I'm guessing no change at all.— tpizza- Miami and washington were low level teams, but jets and boys were in the playoff hunt, not exactly stiffs.— mikemaddog
Comment removed.- Better believe that the arroga...check that...the protectionism of Andy will allow for an inept Castillo to return. This will once and for all end any speculation that there is an ounce of accountability in this entire franchise. Seems only the Fans have any passion for winning and that, sadly, is wearing thin!— younged
- So there you have it....the "fool's gold" standard!!!— SMOKEY811
- if they flat out fire juan for reid's blunder (promoting someone to a position in which they were not qualified), they are idiots. they already lost mcdermott in this fashion.
juan has been around the orginazation a long time and could help out in some capacity. put him back on the OL, make him an assistant D coach or something. don't simply kick him to the curb, along with his experience and knowledge, because YOU promoted him to a position he wasn't ready for.— chadp1234 - Here's one possibility (among many): Reid is waiting for Jeff Fisher to land a coaching gig. Then, Fisher will "lure" Washburn away, which allows Reid to hire a DC like Spags without the constraints of Washburn's system.— Penfold18
- And then he can save face by keeping Juan as an assistant under Spags? Hmmm... would Spags go for that? Something to think about.
- And then he can save face by keeping Juan as an assistant under Spags? Hmmm... would Spags go for that? Something to think about.
- Yes, the defense had a lot of problems, and yes, they finished strong because they played crappy teams in the end. But all teams play crappy teams, no one's schedule is that much more difficult than anyone else's. With a rookie DC who was handed a defensive line coach whose style absolutely required top notch linebackers, plus a head coach who doesn't think that linebackers and safeties are important, AND insisted on their rookie 4th round pick starting at middle linebacker, overall its not a popular thing to say, but Castillo actually did a pretty good job. Yes, the team blew 5 fourth quarter leads, but at least one of those was due directly to an offensive turnover (San Fran). He deserves to continue for one more year if Reid does.— mjc1
- That Giant SB defense was freakishly athletic and I wonder how much of that run was Spags or that they just needed "someone" with a little knowledge. That said - Don't see how you can bring back Castillo. He was not ready and still isn't.. not his fault but you can't make the same mistake twice. How does Fisher make that wide 9 work but we can't?— HighDrama
- If Reid gets rid of Castillo, it won't matter who the new DC is if they don't improve the LB and Safety positions.
— vegasscott - SMOKEY811 FUNNY!!!!! i was saying NickleStandard
castillo should be offered a job for sure! he actually filled in ok in a pinch since nickles reid & nickles banner couldnt hire anyone else— dheis - Bingo, Penfold18! Spags and Rivera were always Jim Johnson's top protege's, not McDermott. I suspect Reid would want Spgas to run his Defense at this point. But, like him or not, Andy has a heart— he would try and make sure there's a face-saving path for Washburn to leave the team. And, your suggestion regarding Jeff Fisher provides it. The longer it takes to hear from Andy, the more likely your scenario plays out.— Dave in Cincy
- Yeah, Reid's silence is an ominous sign just like Lurie having a press conference was an ominous sign for Reid...
Castillo will be back, I think.— ICDogg
