Report: Washburn was roadblock to Spagnuolo
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Report: Washburn was roadblock to Spagnuolo
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Over the weekend, I linked to a National Football Post report that said Steve Spagnuolo's decision came down to the Eagles and the Saints.
And he chose New Orleans in large part because Drew Brees provided a better chance than Michael Vick and the Birds to win the Super Bowl.
But there were other factors involved as well.
SI.com's Peter King says one of them was Jim Washburn:
Someone Who Knows told me a major roadblock to Steve Spagnuolo taking the defensive coordinator job in Philadelphia was the presence of very strong personality Jim Washburn on the defensive line.
King's note is interesting because he mentions Washburn's personality, not his system.
Last offseason, Andy Reid hired Washburn to coach the defensive line before appointing a defensive coordinator. By all accounts, the Eagles' pass rush was among the best in the NFL under Washburn. The Birds finished with 50 sacks (tied for a league-high), and 46 of them came from defensive linemen. If you look at which defensive players met or exceeded expectations, almost all played on the defensive line. (Jason Babin, Trent Cole, Cullen Jenkins, Mike Patterson).
During the past several weeks, there's been a lot of talk about whether the wide-9 could co-exist with a system that relied on blitzing and dropping linemen back into coverage. Paul Domowitch of the Daily News wrote a good piece for SportsWeek saying yes, the two aspects could co-exist.
But apparently, Spagnuolo's reluctance had more to do with Washburn's strong personality than his system. During the Eagles' loss to the Patriots last season, Washburn and Marty Mornhinweg had to be separated after a heated exchange on the sideline.
King also reports that Sean Payton emphasized three things during his pursuit of Spagnuolo: winning, Brees and total autonomy. Obviously, his recruiting pitch worked.
As for the Eagles, Les Bowen of the Daily News and Jeff McLane of the Inquirer are reporting from the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., where Juan Castillo isn't saying much.
It seems clear now that the Eagles were interested in Spagnuolo, but no one knows for sure in what capacity. Plan B could either be to fall back on Castillo or pursue another coach.
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Let's get Curtis Lofton. 100 tackle guy. Maybe the Cardinals will cut Bradley, better than anything we have. Audie Cole from NC State is big strong tough and has heart, i live in NC. What else do you need to know Howie Boy ?— oldBird- I posted last week that Washburns presence could prevent outsiders from coming here. If you take the job, he comes with the package, and you had the confrontation he had with Marty M that could cause some to look elsewhere at a better situation. And really, Spags went to a far better situation than there is here in Philadelphia.— watsonmr
- Gee, now that I think of it, I would not have had any job if "strong personalities" scared me off. My career would be wonderful if everybody just rolled over and said "OK, whatever you want, sir!" What a crock of bull. I doubt that the story has any merit.— billtfla
- Now you're back peddling. Yesterday you reported that Michael Vick was the reason Spags didn't come to the Eagles (totally absurd). Today it's Washburn. I'm sure the truth is somewhere in the middle.— bm2957
- Reid is probably the true reason Spags didn't come here. Reid's need to control everything is a real deterrent to get real coaching talent
- You know it takes me about 5 to 7 posts being read to know that I need to stop reading. There are so many of you who think you know EVERYTHING, and in reality know NOTHING... I understand that us Philly fans are intense, passionate....rah, rah, rah. But constantly bashing the team as you you do and then selling out every game, or parked behind a TV set watching them with your jersey on, makes no sense. For whatever the reason are, some will never find a way to say anything positive about Vick, regardless, and I do know what some of those reasons are, face it. If you a real fan, get behind the team and support what they do, and stop bashing, because some of you sound rediculous.— hawaiiphillyfan
- WOULD YOU WANT A JOB WITH THE CIRCUS. THIS IS SAD.— Pete60
- Blah Blah Blah same old story now this guy was the reason bull nobody wants to come here because this team hasn't won anything— william20
- Quit kidding. You are saying that the Eagles would rather keep Washburn than hire Spags? I know for a fact that when the Eagles contacted Spags he turned them down flat. There were two other team consiodering hiring Spag, one for head coach. When he didn't get that he went to the Saint.— mario1239
- Quit kidding. You are saying that the Eagles would rather keep Washburn than hire Spags? I know for a fact that when the Eagles contacted Spags he turned them down flat. There were two other team consiodering hiring Spag, one for head coach. When he didn't get that he went to the Saint.— mario1239
- Quit kidding. You are saying that the Eagles would rather keep Washburn than hire Spags? I know for a fact that when the Eagles contacted Spags he turned them down flat. There were two other team consiodering hiring Spag, one for head coach. When he didn't get that he went to the Saint.— mario1239
- I wouldn't want any part of this mess if I were Spags.— Lil Ratman
- For all of you Reid haters, who do you want to replace him? Is anyone better available? We are all looking for the second coming of Jimmy Johnson. Jeff Fisher would have been great! Was never going to happen.— andivalspoppop
- I'll bet most Eagle's reporter were picked last their whole life. Why are they telling me about sports? FIRE MORNINWEG!!! 38 turnovers.....38 turnovers......38 turnovers..... Spag is a loser, Strahan would not be coming with him. Castillo rules! He's the only real man left besides Reid. Most Eagles reporters are scared of real men.— Dallasrulez
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