Spagnuolo to Saints; what now for Eagles?

WHATEVER changes might be in store for the Eagles' defense for next season, Steve Spagnuolo won't be part of them.

Spagnuolo agreed yesterday to become defensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints, according to Fox's Jay Glazer. The Eagles were believed to have been waiting to see what he did before settling on their plan for defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, though no one with the Eagles ever actually said this.

So, what now for the Birds, who very pointedly have not affirmed Castillo's status in the nearly 3 weeks since their 8-8 season ended? There is no reason at this point to think the Eagles will do anything other than march forward with Castillo, despite his obvious growing pains in his first year in the job after being promoted from offensive-line coach. There has been no buzz whatsoever about the Eagles and any other unemployed coaches with d-coordinator experience out there, such as Herm Edwards or Eric Mangini. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean there isn't some secret plan being hatched in the shadowy halls of NovaCare. But if there is, it's a real secret plan.

An Eagles spokesman said yesterday that Castillo will be in Mobile, Ala., next week with the rest of the team's contingent at practices for the Senior Bowl. The spokesman said it isn't clear whether head coach Andy Reid will attend; Reid doesn't always make the journey to Mobile, and it would be hard to do so this year without encountering those pesky media folk Reid has avoided since season's end.

New Orleans might offer Spagnuolo less overall defensive talent than the Eagles, but there's no question that improving the Saints' leaky defense is a high-profile job that could get Spagnuolo back into the head-coaching mix very quickly. As long as Sean Payton is the head coach and Drew Brees is the quarterback, the Saints, 13-3 this season before losing to San Francisco in the divisional playoff round, will be prominent NFC contenders.

Spagnuolo was fired after going 10-38 in three seasons as the head coach of the Rams. He began his NFL coaching career with a 1999-2006 stint with the Eagles in various defensive roles, then was the Giants' defensive coordinator when they won the Super Bowl 4 years ago.

Spagnuolo still owns a residence in Philadelphia, hometown of his wife, Maria. But that wasn't enough to get him back here, where Reid probably has less job security than Payton and the direction of the team is murkier.

Payton's former defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams, left this week for the same job in St. Louis, under Spagnuolo's successor, Jeff Fisher.

Spagnuolo had also been connected with openings in Minnesota and Atlanta, but Atlanta hired former 49ers head coach Mike Nolan. Minnesota coach Leslie Frazier, an Eagles assistant during Spagnuolo's time here, indicated yesterday that he never got to the point of offering Spagnuolo a job with the Vikings. Frazier spoke on a conference call after hiring former Colts defensive-backs coach Alan Williams as his defensive coordinator.

"Steve and I, we talked all throughout the season, at the end of the season and after the season, about a lot of things. I just knew that after the season he was going through a lot, just trying to ascertain about what his future was," Frazier said. "We didn't really get to the point where we were talking about working here in Minnesota, but just trying to help him work through some of the feelings he had after the Rams."

If the Eagles do still want to shake up the defensive hierarchy, they face some hurdles, starting with the fact that defensive line coach Jim Washburn's "Wide 9" setup is unconventional.