Eagles

Eagles to hire Bowles; Castillo remains DC

Philly.com, Inquirer, and Daily News coverage of the Eagles

Eagles to hire Bowles; Castillo remains DC

POSTED: Monday, January 30, 2012, 10:16 AM

The Eagles will keep Juan Castillo as their defensive coordinator. (Clem Murray/Staff file photo)

The Eagles are set to hire former Miami interim head coach Todd Bowles to be their defensive backs coach and Juan Castillo will remain defensive coordinator, an NFL source told The Inquirer on Monday.

The team will meet with Bowles, who remained under contract with the Dolphins until only recently, today and it is expected that he will accept the job. He will be in charge of the entire secondary so safeties coach Mike Zordich will be under Bowles.

The announcement will come later today and Eagles coach Andy Reid will meet with the media on Tuesday.

The Eagles had a vacancy after Johnnie Lynn was fired earlier this month.

The decision to keep Castillo as defensive coordinator ends weeks of uncertainty over his future. Reid obviously decided that the final four games of the season in which the defense showed improvement was enough to keep Castillo in charge of the unit.

There have been reports, since confirmed to The Inquirer, that the Eagles had shown interest in bringing former assistant Steve Spagnuolo back to run the defense. But Spagnuolo chose to take the defensive coordinator job with New Orleans.

Castillo, in Mobile, Ala. last week to scout the Senior Bowl, declined to comment on his status.

"You got to go through Andy,” Castillo said, deferring Reid. "I'm just working."

The 48-year-old Bowles has vast experience as a defensive backs coach in the NFL. He had been Miami's secondary coach since 2005. He was also assistant head coach from 2008-11. Before Miami he worked in Dallas, Cleveland and in New York with the Jets. He has never been a defensive coordinator in the NFL, but held that role at Grambling State in the late 1990s.

Bowles had a hand in developing Miami safety Yeremiah Bell, who represented the AFC in the 2010 Pro Bowl. In his three years in Dallas, three Cowboys defensive backs were chosen to a combined five Pro Bowls, including three by safety Roy Williams. In 2007, three-fourths of Dallas’ backfield cornerback -- cornerback Terence Newman, safety Ken Hamlin and Williams -- was selected to the NFC All-Star squad.

Bowles is a Temple graduate. He played eight seasons in the NFL with the Redskins and 49ers from 1986-93.

Bowles' days in Miami were up when the Dolphins hired Joe Philbin to be their next coach and it was decided that he would not be retained. Bowles had interviewed for that opening along with the Oakland Raiders head coaching job.

The Raiders, who had also interviewed Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, hired Denver defensive coordinator Dennis Allen instead.

Jeff McLane @ 10:16 AM Permalink | 170 comments

Comments (170)

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 10:23 AM, 01/30/2012

WOW! Just WOW....

— bleedinggreen

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 12:16 PM, 01/30/2012

The angry sharks are swimming around my head on this non-decision. It's pure insanity.

— aNutter1inDgutter

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 10:25 AM, 01/30/2012

Let me guess Juan Castillo will be the scapegoat next season?

— eaglessuck@life

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:47 AM, 01/30/2012

The facts show that our organization has been extremely successful over the last 10 years and Jeffrey and I don't understand all of the negativity. Have faith in the #1 team in Philadelphia.

Joe

— Joe Banner - Eagles President

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 12:01 PM, 01/30/2012

#1 team? the only team in the city to not make the playoffs #fact

— MrBigDizzle

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 2:11 PM, 01/30/2012

See, that's what the Kool-Aid will do. You believe that the only non-playoff team is actually the best team in the city.

OR

These might be the effects of smoking crack.

— Lonewolf11

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 3:30 PM, 01/30/2012

Seriously Joe? The #1 team in Philly? The Eagles organization was a top three in the NFL organization. Those were the golden days! The Jeffery, Joe, AR, and Howie team are now at best middle of the pack. You lost your edge Joe. The long term planning of this organization has been its absolute downfall. When JJ succombed to cancer, it became painfully obvious that you were completely unprepared and nepotism carries you only so far. Your personnel department is in absolute shambles and your VP of Football Operations needs fired and refocused on his coaching responsibilities. Who is being held responsible for the wonderful draft picking by this team. It was what made this a dominant organization. Now you've become nothing short of being the northern version of the Washington Redskins....good luck this year!

— Truth Become