Report: Eagles will retain Juan Castillo as Defensive Coordinator

The Juan Castillo experiment will continue for at least another year.  According to Jeff McLane of the Inquirer, the Eagles are going to hire Todd Bowles as their defensive backs coach and keep Castillo as the defensive coordinator.  Bowles, who was the interim head coach for the Dolphins for the final 3 games last season, brings more than a decade of NFL experience as a secondary coach and should help the talented Eagles secondary live up their potential.

As for Castillo, once the Saints hired Steve Spagnuolo, it seemed inevitable that he would be back as D.C.  I am of two minds when it comes to Castillo; on the one hand, he awful in the beginning of the season as the defense looked unorganized and confused; on the other, the defense was awesome down the stretch and Castillo showed real improvement in his game-planning.  Sure, the offenses the Eagles faced were terrible in the final few games but Castillo had the defense clicking in December.  Hopefully, given a full training camp to prepare, Castillo can get the defense rolling starting in Week 1.

It's telling that Andy Reid's job is on the line this season and he is willing to keep Castillo around as the defensive coordinator.  This could either be something that costs Reid his job or a move that makes him look like a genius.  At least the Eagles defensive coordinator in 2012 now has actual experience coaching defense.