After 14 months of ups, downs, good moments and bad, the Eagles fired Defensive Coordinator Juan Castillo after just 22 games with Philadelphia.
It seemed to come as a sigh of relief to many, as the Eagles have struggled on the defensive side of the ball since the departure of the late and great former defensive coordinator Jim Johnson in 2008. While neither the Eagles nor their fans should have expected Castillo to jump in and fill Johnson's shoes right away, the sky high expectations entering the 2011 season fell short. Way short.
With big name acquisitions on defense during the 2011 off season such as Nnamdi Asomugha, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Jason Babin, and Cullen Jenkins, many deemed this team famously as, "The Dream Team." Well, the dream team opened up to a 4-8 record, and many were calling for Castillo's job long before that. But with a strong 4-0 finish, the Eagles finished 8-8, securing Castillo's future for at least one more season, or so we thought.
After coaching the offensive line for the Eagles from 1998-2010, the promotion of Castillo came as a shock around the NFL. Coach Andy Reid had a lot of trust in Castillo after more than 15 years with the Eagles, as Castillo came into the organization in 1995 as an offensive assistant. By 1997, Castillo was promoted as the tight ends coach and was promoted once again to coach the offensive line in 1998, a position he would hold until 2010.
Looking at the statistics for 2012, the Eagles rank 12th overall in defense, according to the NFL's most recent defensive power rankings. Although 12th overall does not seem terrible, it is when the team is giving up the points that is costing them games. On Sunday against the Detroit Lions, the Eagles gave up 17 points alone in the final 15 minutes, giving up the 13-6 lead entering the fourth quarter and falling to the Lions 26-23 in overtime.
After the firing of Castillo, Eagles' secondary coach Todd Bowles was promoted to the position of defensive coordinator. Entering the bye week, the Eagles will face the Atlanta Falcons on October 28 with a 3-3 record, just one win better than the 2011 Eagles at the same point. If the mediocrity continues for the rest of the season, the Eagles will not only be searching for a defensive coordinator at the end of the season, but also for a new head coach.
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