Chaos now defines Reid's final days
Eagles fire Jim Washburn
Chaos now defines Reid's final days
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
The Eagles are gripped now by chaos. There is no other way to look at it. With four games remaining in a down-spiraling season, just hours after a late-night loss in Cowboys Stadium, they abruptly fired defensive line coach Jim Washburn, apparently telling him not to let the door hit him in the wide-9 on the way out.
In the midst of an eight-game losing streak, they now have fired a defensive coordinator (Juan Castillo), a defensive end (Jason Babin), a defensive line coach (Washburn) and, just for fun, a couple of front office executives.
As it turns out, even Nixon’s final days were more orderly than Andy Reid’s.
Washburn had, fairly or not, become a symbol of everything that had gone wrong with Reid’s tenure as coach. He was brought in as part of a radical overhaul of the coaching staff in 2011. He brought with him what was viewed by some as a gimmicky scheme, the wide-9 defensive front, and he was brought in and hired before Reid decided on a defensive coordinator. It was done exactly backward -- and then, when Reid promoted Castillo, his offensive line coach, to be the defensive coordinator, the scheme and the setup and the coordinator made for a trifecta of dysfunction.
It was the kind of gamble that Reid had never taken before. It was the kind of haphazard decision-making that was the exact opposite of Reid’s careful persona. Now, here we are.
I saw Washburn leaving the locker room after Sunday night’s loss to the Cowboys. He was dressed in a suit and tie, as is the custom, and he looked kind of mad at the world, his red face contrasted against his silver goatee. I didn’t think anything of it as Washburn left, by himself, and headed for a team bus -- because after eight straight losses, everybody associated with that team either looks angry or looks like they just witnessed a car wreck.
That Babin was one of Washburn’s favorites went without saying -- he resurrected Babin’s career when they were together in Tennessee, and Babin flourished as a pass rusher for the Eagles in 2011 -- and the team’s decision to fire Babin last week could not have been Washburn’s idea. That Washburn’s personality could be prickly also was not in dispute; he and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg got into it on the sidelines at one point last season, you will remember, and Washburn was very open about being concerned only with his guys and his scheme. Whatever happened behind them was somebody else’s problem.
In recent days, all of those elements must have been shaken into a toxic cocktail -- and it had to be toxic, because there is no way you fire an assistant coach in December for anything short of toxic. And while it speaks to Washburn, and to the perils of losing in the NFL, it speaks more to the head coach.
The thing has spun completely out of control now for Reid. The questions get harder, the answers get weaker, and the one thing you could always say about Reid -- that he was organized, that he could make the trains run on time, and that his teams were always modeled after his persistent, consistent personality -- is now being questioned in the cacophony of 3-9 and the certainty that Reid is about to be fired.
Chaos now defines. Chaos, and losing.
It was Washburn and Mudd, not Marty who had the tiff last season.— F. Harry Stowe- Wrong doofus! GIYF! Mor on! — gdibig
- At least Nixon had the good sense to resign.— pj katauskas
- Eagles by a mile.— F. Harry Stowe
- I think Big Andy is running out of warm bodies in Scapegoat Closet.— NM Eagle fan
- VA-PhillyPhan....Greenberg stated he read the Nixon joke on Rich's twitter account before he said it.— lawnboy9
- Does anyone know if we let Asomugha go, how much if anything will we owe him? I know he's due $15M next year, but is that guaranteed money? Will we have to pay a portion of that $15M? I'm pretty sure if (when) we cut DRC we will owe him nothing.— BleedPhilly
- cap hit is 4mm if they cut asomugha:
http://www.eaglescap.com/Players/NnamdiAsamugah.html
— hannibal barca - DRC is unrestricted free agent! Thank god they didn't give him an extension when all the talking heads were saying they should during TC this summer!
Want a good laugh, do a quick google search for DRC contract renewal - every fool writing a paper said they should! Of course they were the same ones saying how talented the defense was, so...— gdibig - Hey, don't forget your fellow Eagle fans. I wish I had a dollar for every fan that said that Reid stole DRC from Arizona. — watsonmr
- Vegas just put out an over/under on the number of Eagles coaches on the sidelines this week...NICE. dude for real?????vegas aint no joke!!!!this team WILL NOT win another game this year!!!
— Chatnboy - I have season tix behind the Eagles bench, it was Washburn and Marty going at it last year. Saw it happen live and well before the media ever reported it.— kdbned
- Nothing changes as we have said over and again: there are about 16 players worth keeping and the entire coaching staff goes so the fans will have to be patient as a new staff and many many new undrafted FA's plus some FA's take the place of the DB's and some O line guys. It is the D that is the most pathetic and that will be the job of the new group to make stronger or fans will be watching the Phantoms.— Koons
- BREAKING NEWS: The ongoing 14yr soap opera that is Andy's World, will not be renewed for the 2013 & 2014 NFL season. The "show" is seen, filmed, & played locally to a viewship of millions in the Philadelphia TV market. The "show" has been so bad, that sport bar's across the area have placed signs on their plasma screens stating..."talk to the person on your left. If no one is to your immediate left, please see yourself out. Thank you for your patronage." Yes, folks, IT is that bad! Our beloved Beagles have eaten some of that nasty Kansas City beef! They are the Cardinals of the the southwest. The Jets of the northeast. Our professional football team would probably finish dead last in the Ivy League. Right behind the dreaded Cowgirl's. Yes, we ARE that BAD! Question is, how do the Beagles transform back to the Eagles of old...I'm talking back when they had the KELLY GREEN uniforms! Here is the remedy...it is an expensive cure...but...a cure nonetheless! (1) Head Coach...somebody with a Super Bowl win or wins! He can hire his coaches. (2) Bring Larry Fitzgerald WR here...give him whatever he wants...he is dying in the dessert! (3)MLB WHOEVER is the meanest, dirtiest, fastest, strongest, most intimitating manchild at this position...get him! (4) two CB's & free Safety that know HOW to cover! & (5) As in 5 guys with massive girth, height & talent to protect the QB. Lastly, neew coaches, players, attitude....then please CHANGE BACK TO THE OLD KELLY GREEN UNIFORMS! That's it. That's the recipe. Do it & win. Don't do it & lose!— frank castle
- Washburn and Mudd are close buddies, have been so for years. He would have left at the end of year anyhow. They might win one or two out of what is left. Go for high draft picks.— BigLadd
