Why the Eagles lost out on Spagnuolo
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Why the Eagles lost out on Spagnuolo
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
After news broke last week that Steve Spagnuolo had chosen to become the new defensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints, a couple key questions surfaced, pertaining to the Eagles:
1. How much actual interest did the Eagles really have in Spagnuolo?
2. Would Juan Castillo be back for a second year?
We're still waiting on an answer to the second question, but Dan Pompei of the National Football Post provided some clarity to the first question in his column today.
Per Pompei, Spagnuolo's decision came down to the Eagles and the Saints. And the deciding factor was Drew Brees:
The Saints can thank Drew Brees for Steve Spagnuolo. The Saints’ new defensive coordinator had his choice of a number of jobs. Among the other teams that either were in hot pursuit or had expressed interest were the Eagles, Falcons, Colts, Bucs and Vikings. It came down to choosing between the Eagles and Saints, and Spags picked Brees over Michael Vick. Why? An offense that scores 38.5 points per game can make a defensive coordinator look pretty smart.
I think that point has merit. In fact, I wrote as much last week. If Spagnuolo's goal is to again become a head coach, his best chance to get another shot is to lead a defense that gets to the Super Bowl. The Saints have a better chance to get there than the Eagles, largely because of how Drew Brees and Sean Payton stack up to Michael Vick and Andy Reid.
According to Pompei, Brees was indeed the difference.
The report also confirms what many have assumed: Reid clearly is not 100 percent sold on Castillo returning for his second season as the team's defensive coordinator, although he may still be the fallback plan. We'll find out (at some point) whether Reid is looking at other candidates, or whether he'll bring Castillo back.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, the Eagles could lose Marty Mornhinweg. Mornhinweg interviewed with the Raiders on Friday, according to reports, and Pompei says he looks like a "strong candidate" to land the job, although it's early in the search.
And finally, Jim Washburn will not be headed to St. Louis to reunite with Jeff Fisher and Gregg Williams. Per Jason La Canfora of NFL Network, Mike Waufle will be hired as the Rams' new defensive line coach.
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Oh, so it was racism?— TVGuy22- Should we assume, then, that the DC candidate is still on a team in the final four? Or could it be that Raheem Morris from the Colts is who they are pursuing? Because saying Castillo is a fallback without designating a wish candidate is troublesome.— beegal99
- Raheem Morris from where?
The Bucs?— ekw555 - It seems to be a clear comment about Vick. I wonder if there are undercurrents in the league about Vick that are not spoken openly. Everyone in the media seems sold on the come back story, but maybe others know better. Vick dis not seem to be able to get points in the second half of a lot of games this year. A championship quarterback can. We were so focused on Reid doing a lousy job perhaps we failed to not other bad situations like Vick. If Vick had a few less pics and a few more points Reid might be looking like the coach of the year. hmmmmmmmmmmm— Larry Byrd
- Todd Bowles is rumored to be a possibility.— simplefreedom
- You're presenting Pompei's report as a "fact." What is the source? How do we know it's not someone's speculation? Why would Spagnuolo not interview with the Eagles is he was a candidate for the DC position? What are thinking, Sheil?— soulman386
- 5not4:
The Eagles played 6 games against teams in the top third of the league offensively and lost 5 of them. In those losses, they gave up an average of 32 points a game.
They also managed to lose games to two passers ranked in the bottom third of the leagues, John Skelton,and Tarvaris Jackson and game up an average of 26 points in those games.
Their 4 game win streak came against Moore, Sanchez, Grossman and McGhee. Only Moore will be starting next year.
Not sure which Eagles defense you were watching— banned - Another way of looking at it is, if Reid doesn't get it done next year, Spags isn't lumped in with him and is the logical choice to be head coach in PHL.— Jim Daly
- If Marty leaves, birds should sell the house, the car, and the dog, and go get Chip Kelly from University of Oregon. He would make a great O cordinator and eventual head coach when they kick Andy upstairs.— camasbud
- Now the truth of it! Reid wanted no part of Spags replacing him as coach! The next DC will be just as bad as JC and Andy will be happy again! Ask yourself a real question and that is "CAN YOU REALLY TRUST ANYBODY ABOVE THE PLAYERS LIKE REID, LAURIE AND SO ON??? "WAKE UP"— losteagle
- Plain and simple; Arrogant Andy didn't want Spagnoulo or any other experienced DC. He wanted Castillo back to prove he never, ever makes a mistake. This reminds me of that valuable lesson, "Two wrongs don't make a right". With Howie continuing to provide the Defense with late round (Cheaper), talentless slugs and Soupy Sales unknowingly putting them in position to fail, Jabba the Reid's last year as Head Coach should be comical at best.— younged
maybe Joe Banner should just be the DC, its made up of garbage that he and Howie picked. No semi-respected DC wants any part of that brilliant concoction. smallest weakest linebackers in the league, with small De's doing thier own thing in a Wide-9, with new CB's that dont know the system, oh and terrible safeties that also have proven no ability to be good at all. and you have to watch Andy throw the dumbest playcalls in the NFL half the time and ruin any chance of winning most games. dream job.- banned - Eagles Defensive Rankings in 2011: PPG/10th, YPG/8th, RushYPG/16th, PassYPG/10th, Sacks/Tied for 1st. To your point, they did take an inordinate amount of time to gel AND, Castillo was and remains, OVERMATCHED. The FACT is, the 2011 statistics listed above show that the Eagles already have a pretty good defense. My contention is that once they acquire a stud LB and a stud safety, the Eagles have the makings of a Top Ten defense across the board. Also keep in mind that the large number of turnovers by the offense this year really put the defense in a bad spot time and time again, YET, they still finished 10th in the NFL in PPG against. Here's the difference between you and I: I am a true fan who acknowledges the Eagles current weaknesses AND strengths. You on the other hand choose to sweep the true facts under the rug, since they certainly do not in any way support your pessimistic viewpoint. What's next? Are you going to tell me that statistics and rankings be damned, the Eagles defense just plain sucks and always will? Really?— 5NOT4
- Another article to get the negative whiners fired up about nothing, basically it’s a shot at Vick. First and foremost there was nothing official on whether the Eagles were actively pursuing Spags or vice-verse, just a lot of media gossip. Secondly where are the quotes that came from Spags stating his reasons for choosing the Saints and who the heck is Pompei, just another gossip hound trying to feed fanatical emotions. The last time I looked, besides the Katrina bowl the Saints won years ago, they and the Eagles have both been one and done in the playoffs. What’s more the Saints can't seem to win a playoff game outside their own stadium. People need to stop feeding into all the negative garbage that comes from these (Pompei, local media) guys’ mouths; it’s all speculation drummed up to get you guys riled up. And who is Pompei anyway.— realtruth
- Trivia...Bill Belichik was 36-44 with the Browns,('91-'95) and 5-11 in 2000 with the Pats.....now he is a HOF coach...can Andy become that?— Romus
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