Spagnuolo's future, Eagles' draft position
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Spagnuolo's future, Eagles' draft position
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
One of the first decisions the Eagles will have to make following Sunday's regular-season finale against the Redskins is what to do at defensive coordinator.
And more specifically, will Juan Castillo be back? Will they sell the idea that Castillo has improved as the season's gone on? That he's earned a full offseason to work with his players and show what he can do?
Or will they decide that some of their most talented defensive players - Jason Babin, Cullen Jenkins, Nnamdi Asomugha - are on the wrong side of the 30, and a proven defensive coordinator is necessary to make a Super Bowl run in 2012?
That decision brings us to a report out of San Diego. Per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Chargers plan on cutting ties with head coach Norv Turner once the season's over. But maybe more importantly, the team could part ways with general manager A.J. Smith.
How would that affect the Eagles? Per Acee, it would create a domino effect that would result in Steve Spagnuolo becoming the Birds' new defensive coordinator.
The story goes like this: Smith would be hired in St. Louis to become the Rams' new general manager, and he would bring with him Jon Gruden as head coach. According to the report, Gruden has decided to return to coaching in 2012, and ESPN is already preparing for him to leave.
Here's the key part from Acee that affects the Eagles:
League sources also said this week that it is all but certain that Spagnuolo will join Andy Reid’s staff in Philadelphia as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator.
Spagnuolo, of course, spent eight seasons as a defensive assistant here from 1999-2006. The Rams are currently 2-13. They were 7-9 last year and 1-15 in Spagnulo's first season in St. Louis.
What would need to happen for the aforementioned scenario to play out? The Rams would have to cut ties with Spagnuolo, which seems likely, based on several reports out of St. Louis and around the country. The Eagles would have to cut ties with Castillo. And Spagnuolo would have to want to join the Eagles. He will likely have other options: becoming a defensive coordinator elsewhere, taking a year off, etc.
The Eagles would also have to decide on their defensive philosophy if they brought in Spagnuolo. In St. Louis, and before that with the Giants, Spagnuolo relied on a blitz/zone-blitz scheme. While the Eagles have blitzed more in recent weeks, for much of the season, they've relied on pressure from the front four and Jim Washburn's wide-nine. Through 15 weeks, the Eagles lead the NFL with 49 sacks, and 45 of them have come from defensive linemen.
There's one more game to go, and then it will be decision time once again for the Eagles, as they look ahead to 2012.
DRAFT POSITION
If the season ended today, the Eagles would have the 13th pick in the first round. They currently have the same record (7-8) as the Cardinals, Seahawks, Chargers and Bears. The tiebreak is strength of schedule. In other words, the team with the weakest strength of schedule gets the higher pick.
There are currently 11 teams with a worse record than the Eagles. The Birds' pick can be no higher than No. 9, depending on what happens next week. There are currently six 8-7 teams, so the Eagles could drop several spots with a win against the Redskins.
The Eagles would also have picks 44 and 48 (in the second round) if the season ended today. They have their own pick, along with the Cardinals' selection from the Kevin Kolb deal.
If you missed it from Monday, I posted Man Up on the defense.
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Bad news guys..Andy,Jaun and Marty WILL be here next year...there is no way they(Jeff and Joe)will give up AR while still under contract...when in doubt follow the $$— crseloc- We can omly hope... Time's your's— Flyboy24
- We can only hope... Time's your's— Flyboy24
- I think Fisher makes more sense as D-cordinator, move Juan to linbackers coach. Fisher is familar with wide nine, and if promissed a shot at head coach when Andy retires to front office in two years, it could be a win-win for all.— camasbud
- I have an idea. Why don't we hire AJ Smith and Jon Gruden will be our head coach and he can bring in his own defensive coordinator. Everyone else can say bye bye. Duh!— dpell
- One more year of the fat man = one more year of ineptitude.— Justaschmuck
- I miss the days when sports reporting wasn't like TMZ. Now this "report" is going to spread like wildfire and it has absolutely no basis whatsoever. So to recap, this scenario hinges on a half-dozen guys all currently with jobs across the league, somehow agreeing to go somewhere else before losing/leaving their positions. Oh and he might want to casually mention the fact that ESPN just gave Gruden a 5yr extension to stay in the booth, which probably pays him twice what he'd make as a coach. Unbelievable
- with Catillo, Eagles lost to Ariz because they had an undersized late-round safety covering Fitzgerald in 4tt qtr instead of a shut-down corner whom they spent their big budget on -- that's his walking papers right there— warbiscuit
- makes little diff. wher they draft since they'll go for an undersized irrelevant defensive player regardless— warbiscuit
- don't tease me— 2ndNlong
- Eagles need a new offensive coordinator and field turf!— Joe Lis lives
- anyone who would overlook Spags is just a flat-out dope;.....Spags comes with national cred and if you can't see that you live under a rock;....that statement shouldn't be dignified with a response— SyddBarrett
- Castillo is not the major problem, Andy Reid is. He has total control of the football program - it's his coaches, draft choices, free agents and game planning and execution. We are not competing for a championship, we're competing for a 50-50 record. This is what we end up with after a decade plus of close but no cigar. We need a guy at the helm who's not a pass the ball addict, inspires tough, disciplined play, and actually knows how to put his players in a position to make plays. Reid's time has come and gone and I can only hope Lurie and Banner see the light. As Banner said, doing the same thing time and time again and expecting different results is insanity. We'll soon see how sane or insane Banner and Lurie are.— spaza837
- The Eagles D improved when the offense stopped turning the ball over a half dozen times a game. C'mon people, do youse watch the game or regurgitate what other people say? Philly fans are dumbest in the nation, unable to formulate thier own opinions.— SilliBilli
- That scenario may happen but IMO it will only happen if Reid can find a comfortable landing spot for JC. After throwing him into the fire I can't see Reid just throwing him to the dogs and making a scapegoat out of him. He got the DC job out of Reid's loyalty and for that reason Reid will try to make sure he has a job elsewhere before making a change. Can't lose Spags if he is available...and a head coach in waiting too? Too good to pass up but wouldn't want to lose Mudd or Washburn either. The improvement they brought can't be discounted so all that has to be melded into a cohesive plan.— tpizza
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