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.

Stick a fork in 'em: Eagles embarrassed by Patriots

What started off promising quickly turned ugly as the Eagles blew an early 10-0 lead and got blown out by the Patriots, 38-20.  Here are a few of my thoughts on yet another poorly played game by the Eagles:

-The Patriots have a world-class offense but the Eagles defense was nothing short of terrible today.  From botched coverage to bad play-calls to undisciplined penalties, the defense wasn't even close to slowing down the Patriots attack.  It all starts with Juan Castillo, who somehow forget to come up with a game plan to stop Wes Welker, or any other Pats receiver for that matter.  Castillo is in over his head and completely overmatched by opposing offensive minds and needs to be fired ASAP.  Who would have thought that an offensive line coach wouldn't make a good coordinator?

-On that note, it's beyond clear that Castillo never should have been moved to the defensive coordinator spot.  The man responsible for that hiring has to be held accountable, as well, so it's finally time for Andy Reid to go.  Reid might yet be a great coach again but this team needs a fresh voice in the locker room.  They also need someone who will make a better play call on a 4th and 1 at the goal line.

-DeSean Jackson played yet another terrible game, dropping at least two touchdowns and failing to make big plays in big spots.  Jackson has cost himself millions of dollars with his terrible play and has basically played his way out of town.  He simply doesn't do enough on the field to be worth the headache.

-Vince Young was actually pretty respectable, throwing 400 yards as the Eagles went into catch-up mode in the second half.  He did have a few bad throws and an interception but Young filled in admirably for Michael Vick.  There is definitely no quarterback controversy, however, as this is Vick's team when he is healthy.

-Only 14 touches for LeSean McCoy?  Come on, Andy!

-The season is now over for the Birds.  No miracle Wild Card birth.  No miracle playoff run.  It's time to face reality, this team needs to hit the reset button.

Eagles blow yet another 4th quarter lead

Different week, same story.  The Eagles once again were unable to hold onto a 4th quarter lead against an inferior opponent, this time blowing a 7 point lead to the Cardinals in a brutal 21-17 loss.  Here are just a few thoughts on another terrible effort from the Eagles:

-I'm not usually calling for coaches heads after losses but I've seen enough of Juan Castillo as defensive coordinator.  He has a ton of talent to work with yet guys are constantly out of position and receivers are repeatedly left open.  How about actually hiring a defensive coach to coach the defense?

-As for Andy Reid, if things continue like this for the rest of the season, he needs to go, too.  While he can't be blamed for everything, if you have this much talent to work with yet can't get them to play up to their ability, that has to be a reflection on the coach.  If Reid isn't reaching his players, he isn't an effective coach.  I would give him the rest of the year to spark something with this team or show him the door.

-Michael Vick had a brutal, brutal game.  Sure, he was without DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin for much of the game, but Vick repeatedly made bad decisions with the football and struggled to get anything going through the air and should have been picked off 4 times.  He has definitely come back to earth this season; I wonder if the Eagles regret giving him that big contract.

-We have established that LeSean McCoy is a beast.  Why isn't he getting more carries in the 4th quarter?  That he only had 17 touches in this game is completely the fault of the coaches.

-John Skelton threw for 315 yards against the Eagles "dream" secondary. Yep, that's John Skelton, Kevin Kolb's backup.

This season is definitely over now, Eagles fans.  While they still have the talent to beat nearly every team on their schedule, this team just doesn't have the will to get it done.

Season over: Sloppy Eagles fail once again

Another week, another disappointing performance by the Eagles.  This time, the Eagles made a tremendous comeback but still had a critical turnover that led to a 31-24 loss to the Bills.  Here are some of my thoughts on the game:

-Juan Castillo has to go.  Now.  The defense was unable to stop the run, put any pressure on Ryan Fitzpatrick or make any plays in the secondary.  The defense is loaded with talent and guys that have made plays in the past so there has to be an issue with Castillo and his schemes.  The one thing this group did well in the last few weeks was get to the quarterback and they couldn't even do that this week.

-Jason Avant had one heck of a game statistically, catching 9 passes for 139 yards, but he made two terrible plays that cost the Eagles the game.  When a sure-handed guy like Avant can't hold on to the ball you know things just aren't going your way.

-Michael Vick doesn't deserve much of the blame for this one.  Of his 4 interceptions, only one was a truly terrible pass.  Vick is doing everything he can with what little time he is given and scrambling for his life when there is nothing open downfield.  He can't be blamed for tipped passes becoming interceptions and for the inept line in front of him.  What he can be blamed for is his terrible mismanagement of the clock at the end of the first half.  How does that happen?

-How about giving the ball to LeSean McCoy more often?  Only 15 touches for Shady, who still managed over 100 total yards.

-I'm so glad Juqua Parker was healthy enough to suit up this week so he could make a boneheaded play a the end of the game to seal the loss for the Eagles.

-By my count, Jamar Chaney made the first play by a linebacker all season long when he picked off Fitzpatrick.

At 1-4, this season is effectively over for the Eagles.  Sure, they could rattle off a few wins and find themselves back in the NFC East title picture, but does anyone see any reason to think that this team is going to magically start playing well?  This is clearly a broken team that has talent but can't seem to put all of the pieces together.  All that is left to play for this season is Andy Reid's job.

Guest Post: Trying to make sense of the Juan Castillo promotion

Guest Poster Mark Trible gives his thoughts on the Eagles curious promotion of Juan Castillo:

Andy Reid’s vacation-long decision was announced, as the Eagles’ Offensive Line Coach became their Defensive Coordinator on Wednesday. Sounds shocking, I know. And, for those of you out there that heard the news, I’m sure the opening sentence of this piece is helping you digest the move again. I couldn’t quite digest it either.

Juan Castillo is as qualified to run an NFL defense as Rex Ryan is to run a humility clinic. With a few years of high school coaching and a brief USFL stint as a linebacker as the only key points on his résumé, the move brings about bewilderment to Eagles fans everywhere.

How did it come to this? It’s really quite amusing to try to come up with an answer. Of course, this all started with the tragic loss of Jim Johnson to Cancer in the off-season prior to the 2009-10 season. Johnson gave the franchise and the fans an identity for the defense. His impressive blitz packages were eccentric, beautiful and for the opposing offenses, bewildering. There seemed little harm in promoting his assistant at the time, Sean McDermott to replace him. Wrong.

McDermott’s unit struggled when he was in charge, and after a disappointing playoff exit, the heat was on Reid to make a move. He made that move by firing McDermott. Reid then brought in Jim Washburn to coach the defensive line, a move that was applauded by everyone in the NFL community. So as it came down to a few linebacker and secondary coaches in the Super Bowl for the job, it became apparent that the Eagles would grab a solid coach coming off a successful season.

Wrong again. The reason this move is puzzling goes far beyond the fact that Castillo has been an offensive coach. It goes beyond the fact that his offensive lines haven’t been great lately. The most puzzling part about the move is that Andy Reid needed to get the heat off his back. Step one was clearly to fire McDermott. Step two was to hire a defensive mind that would restore credibility. Reid didn’t exactly use the second step.

There’s little doubt that the reviews of Castillo’s work ethic are accurate. I’m sure he will be in the Novacare Complex all day and night, if for no reason other than to save his boss’ you-know-what. I believe Leslie Frazier when he says that Castillo is a great football mind, and when Ron Rivera raves about his preparation. But, I don’t believe for a second that the team can move forward with Castillo and Washburn without going outside of the franchise for a secondary coach and a linebackers coach.

Perhaps, the plan was to throw a ton of money at Washburn, throw a ton of money at a linebackers coach like Green Bay’s Winston Moss. Then, throw a ton of money at a secondary coach like Minnesota’s Joe Woods, who was interviewed earlier in the week. For Eagles fans everywhere, they had better hope that’s the plan. Because when the team goes looking for a starting cornerback, I would highly doubt the fans want to lean on what two line coaches feel is best. And, it goes without saying that fans aren’t interested in what Reid thinks is best on the defensive side of the ball.

The hiring of Washburn does give hope to the fans that the team will spend a good amount of money putting together a stellar defensive staff. If they can’t do that, Castillo will be on less than a short leash with those in Philadelphia. In a city that remembers the great defenses of Buddy Ryan and Jim Johnson, he has big shoes to fill. There will be no ‘grace period’ for him to find his footing.

McDermott found that out the hard way, and he had nine more years of NFL defensive coaching on his résumé.

Follow Mark on Twitter (@Mtrible) for more great Flyers and Eagles thoughts.

Eagles promote Juan Castillo to defensive coordinator

After an extensive search where they interviewed a number of defensive gurus from around the league, the Eagles have decided to promote Juan Castillo, their offensive line coach, to defensive coordinator. Yeah, that isn't a typo, the Eagles have decided that a guy who has been their offensive line coach since 1998 will coach their defense.

To call this move curious would be an understatement. The last time Castillo coached a defense was 1989 and it was a high school team. While Castillo will certainly have no problem fitting in on the Eagles coaching staff, it's definitely fair to question his knowledge of the defensive side of the ball since he has no NFL experience there. Needless to say, Castillo has a lot to prove.

To replace Castillo, the Eagles have hired Howard Mudd to coach the offensive line. Mudd had the same position with the Colts for nearly a decade and is considered one of the best o-line coaches in the game.