I’m flabberfuckinggasted(*).
(*)Copyright!
I love Juan Castillo as an Offensive Line Coach – OFFENSIVE LINE COACH! How the hell can The Walrus defend this?! Well, you can listen to his half-assed, cliché-loaded press conference here. And here. FYI, Reid mentions that Castillo has always been a Defensive coach – which makes sense since he’s been the team’s Offensive Line for 13 years.
The move isn’t necessarily unprecedented. Reuben Frank (@roobeagles) pointed out on Twitter: “Notre Dame hired a defensive coordinator who had never coached defense. He was a college & NFL QB and TE. His name was Jim Johnson.” But that was in 1977. And not in the NFL.
Look, Juan Castillo is a really, really good coach and I am positive that he CAN coach the Defense… But that’s not what the Eagles need. This team desperately needs a defensive-minded mastermind, not just a guy that can coach up players (no matter how much Castillo claims to be a “defensive guy”). Can Juan Castillo seriously call the plays on Defense? Can he help find the right personnel for his fledgling Linebacker corps or a stud Defensive Tackle? Can he come up with a Defensive gameplan to dominate a playoff game, ala Rex Ryan versus the Patriots?
Then there’s the deeper issue here… Who exactly is making the decisions with the Eagles coaching staff? We all assume that Andy Reid has final say over all hires and fires, but ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio has been claiming that moves, particularly the McDermutt firing, came from over Reid’s head. Is there an internal power struggle going on behind the scenes? Possibly, and we can certainly look at the Castillo promotion in three ways:
- Eagles Management decided, with the looming work stoppage, to force an in-house promotion to save money – especially if they end up firing the entire staff following the 2011 season (let’s cross our fingers!). With their long history of fiscal responsibility (see: Cheapness), this seems more than likely.
- Andy Reid, in his own stubborn way, decided to balk at The Billionaire and The Devil’s “supposed” demands to upgrade the Defense and instead promoted one of “his guys” to stick it to them. Not necessarily likely – doesn’t seem like The Walrus’ style – but if Sal Pal is right, who knows?
- Juan Castillo forced Reid’s hand, as he was pining to move up to Offensive Coordinator when/if Marty Mornhinweg left for another job. Maybe Cincinnati contacted Castillo before they went after Jay Gruden and he threatened to leave unless he was promoted in some way? This seems pretty likely (and thanks @briangoldberg for bringing this up on Twitter).
The thing that really doesn’t make sense – and lends credence to the last point – is that the Eagles could have waited four days, interviewed Darren Perry or Winston Moss, and then still have made this move. The timing screams of desperation and is a clear sign that the team was horribly unprepared moving forward with this Defensive Coordinator search. Why even interview Jon Hoke and Joe Woods? Why flirt with Jim Mora, Jr. and Dennis Allen? Something is completely off about this whole situation.
Maybe Juan Castillo turns out to be the next Jim Johnson. Maybe he’s the next Sean McDermutt. Either way, the Eagles just made fools of themselves with a highly-public and unsuccessful Defensive Coordinator search, that ended in the inexplicable promotion of an Offensive Line Coach to Defensive Coordinator. No matter how it turns out down the line, the Eagles have egg on their face.
Can we please just get it over with and Fire The Walrus?
Fire The Walrus 
This is beyond absurd. Reid is a flipping idiot that has somehow swindled his way into the NFL. He has betrayed the fans. I for one can no longer support the Eagles. I’ve waited all my life and got nothing from the Eagles but heart ache. If Reid isn’t going then I am.
Juan Castillo as Defensive Coordinator that makes as much sense as hiring Vince Young and Randy Moss for corporate team building exercises.
How about the fact that the Eagles do not have the right defensive guys on the field. It would be one thing if Juan Castillo had the players in place to make a great defensive scheme, but let’s face it, the Eagles do not have the guys either.
However, I’m going to stick with my team and have faith in the Eagles. Maybe this is some type of genuis?
Did you press the mute button when Andy mentioned that he wasn’t going to lose his line coach (think about how much Andy loves offense and lineman and the type of coach that Juan is) until he had a replacement? He also mentioned he has an up-and-coming line coach who he obviously wants mentored by Mudd. Do you get the puzzle metaphor yet?
This is beyond absurd. Castillo’s high school experience somehow qualifies him to be a Defensive Coordinator in the NFL? Once again, we are screwed as fans from the “Gold Standard”.
No, this makes prefect sense. As long as the the fans continue to flock to games and sell out the seats and buy the mechandise like mindless drunkin idiot’s, there will be not change. Joe Banner said it right “what is the definitions of insanity?” he was referring to the fans not the team. They are using our endless devotion against us, we cheer, hope, and pray as we are lead on with promise of a chance to make to the Superbowl, just to agonize over a loss and listen to the Walrus tell us he takes full responsiblity and needs to put his guys in a better position to win. Um… Hello it’s not deja vu… it’s “INSANITY!!!” So until the majority of fans can take Susan Powers advise and “STOP THE INSANITY!” nothing will change. Realize that the Eagles do not care about winning a Superbowl, because they are making what is most important without it, MONEY!! Does anybody remember what one of the first thing Jefferey Luries did when he came to Philadelphia?? He changed to uniforms, to help promte sales.