In an amazing announcement the Philadelphia Eagles have named offensive line coach Juan Castillo as their new defensive coordinator and also named Howard Mudd their new offensive line coach.. It’s a stunning development because Eagles head coach Andy Reid had been interviewing candidates from around the league.
It doesn’t cast a good light on the Eagles and the plan they had put in place to find a new defensive coordinator. They had been interviewing coaches from around the league and were supposedly waiting until the Super Bowl was played to interview coaches who were coaching in the game.
This puts a lot of pressure in Castillo to do the job. If he gets off to a rocky start, the Eagles will get blasted and so will he. He’s got to hit the ground running the defense must play well from the outset. There’s no time for learning on the job. To say the least, this is a tough spot for Castillo.
I have no idea how Reid was able to sign Howard Mudd as the new offensive line coach, but it’s great news. Of course, Mudd was the long-time offensive line coach for that high-powered Indianapolis Colts offense. He’s highly respected throughout the NFL and regarded as one of the best offensive line coaches in the league.
Castillo had been an Eagles assistant under Ray Rhodes. He continued under Andy Reid and had established himself as one of the best offensive line coaches in the NFL. He’s been an Eagles assistant for 13 years. Now Reid has decided to make him the defensive coordinator after interviewing and talking a number of defensive back coaches around the league.
The long-time offensive line coach has a defensive background because he played linebacker in college at Texas A&I Kingsville. He had played in the USFL for two years for the San Antionio Gunslingers.
His name had come up for the Cleveland offensive coordinator position, but nothing ever happened.
He is known as a tireless worker who never stops studying and coaching. I think he has a good chance of success at the position because he knows the offensive side of the ball so well. Castillo’s knowledge of the Eagles offensive blocking schemes and blitz pickups is second to none.
Remember Jim Johnson was a tight end during his career and was able to develop into being a tremendous defensive coach because of his knowledge of offenses. I’m not saying Castillo is going to be a good coach, but I think he has the chance to develop into one. The toughest part of this hiring is that Castillo has no time to learn on the job.
I think that knowledge of the offensive side of the ball will give him a big advantage when he’s putting together blitz packages. I’ve always felt that teams should let their defensive players sit in offensive meetings and let their offensive players sit in defensive meetings.
I know that Castillo wanted to be a coordinator and I supposed he went into Reid’s office and sold him on the idea that he was the best candidate for the job. He likely made the argument that he knows defenses as well as he knows offenses because he had to study the defenses to know how to pick up the blitzes and how to block different fronts in the passing and running games.
It’s going to be important that Reid hires a quality secondary coach because I’m not so sure about Castillo’s mastery of the passing game. They must have one of these secondary coaches in mind. That secondary coach they hire must have some experience and be able to properly advise Castillo on the passing game.
As for Mudd, he had coached for Colts for years, but he had been contemplating retiring for a while. He retired from the game after the Colts loss to the New Orleans Saints in the 2010 Super Bowl. From what I understand he spent some time with the Saints during the off season. Obviously, he must have realized that he hadn’t gotten all the football out of his system.
I see a huge advantage in hiring Mudd. He’s very knowledgeable in the blocking of blitzes and getting pre-snap reads on defenses. Mudd had a hand in developing the system they have in Indianapolis, so he could be a tremendous benefit to Michael Vick, Reid and Marty Mornhinweg in putting together a hot read and blitz pick system here in Philadelphia.
I think Castillo has a chance to be a very good defensive coordinator, if he’s given the proper support in the passing game, but the addition of Mudd might be an even better development.
The Eagles offense had been explosive and nearly unstoppable during the first half of the season, but once teams started blitzing Vick, the offense bogged down. There is nobody in the league that gets better pre-snap reads than Manning and the Colts. If Vick can master that art of getting pre-snap reads to a level any where near Manning, the Eagles offense would be scary to opposing defenses.
This is the stupidest move I have seen in my history of being an Eagles fan.
wtf
Amazing. You have 50 canidates that are d-coordinators so your telling me a offensive line coach is more qualified then the defensive coaches in the superbowl. Are you kidding me. Howard Mudd the retired oline great coach from Indy has been lured out of retitrement to be the Eagles oline coach.
G-Cobb him knowing the Eagles offensive scheme so well is great if he played 16 games vs the Eagles. lol
R u kidding me our offensive line sucks so let’s put that coach on the defense and do nothing to make it better. Another AR puppet!
Wow.
Castillo knows the Eagles offensive blocking schemes and blitz pickups like the back of his hand.
—
Well pity he is never going to play aganist the Eagles. Weird move.
Oops, was already said by Dag.
this is a joke right? It took 3 weeks to hire a guy already on your staff? He is an O-line coach and you name him to the defensive coordinator job?
Is Andy Reid basically saying you fired my guy so Ill just name this guy? I have lost all faith in the Eagles. Especially since Winston Moss had said how much he would like the job.
Juan Castillo? Thats a fucking joke. Burn in hell Reid. I’ve had enough. I never ripped you for your decisions but this is by far the worst of your career. I hope you are fired next. You asshole.
Andy done lost his mind
Coaches from around the NFL who have worked with new defensive coordinator Juan Castillo are positive that he can make the switch from being a long-time offensive coach to a defensive mastermind.
Former Eagles linebackers coach and current Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera: “I’m really excited about this news and very proud of Juan being named defensive coordinator of the Eagles. First of all, Juan is one of the smartest and most dynamic coaches in the NFL. If anyone could cross over to the dark side (of defense), he’s the guy. Seriously, if anyone can do it, Juan Castillo is able to do it. I don’t know if I have seen anyone any more committed as a coach in this league than him. I was able to call on him so many times to understand how certain offenses worked and attacked. His knowledge of the game is very, very extensive and I consider him a mentor of mine in Philadelphia while I was working under Jim Johnson. He prides himself in his work ethic, which I know he got from his mother. More importantly, he’s a dedicated father, husband and friend and just a top-notch person.”
Former Eagles defensive backs coach and current Minnesota Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier: “I have a strong affinity for Juan going back to our days spent together in Philadelphia. I can remember Jim Johnson and our defensive staff putting our game plans together and we’d always get together with Juan just to make sure they were sound in terms of pressures and blitzes. Sometimes, I felt like he was on our defensive staff. And to do this day, he and I talk every week during the season to talk about other offenses in the league. That’s how much respect I have for him as a coach and how well he is able to understand the defensive schemes. I’m so excited that’s he’s going to be able to put those ideas to work for himself as the defensive coordinator in Philly. Andy Reid made a great choice.”
Former Eagles linebackers coach and current St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo: “Great move by Coach Reid. Juan is a football junkie who has always studied the entire game. He’s a detailed, aggressive, and passionate football coach – all attributes vital to coaching defense. I wish him all the best.”
Im actually sick to my stomach over this. Did they never have a plan at all? It took 3 weeks for this? I am in complete shock by this. I really hope this is some sort of joke.
what in the world are the eagles FO thinking.. You have a guy in winston moss basically begging the birds to give him a chance at running the defense but you have to tell him no because you are ganna promote ur offensive line coach to the job because he played defense in college..
andy reid must know 1 good thing about castillo is that he knows how to coach his players to get pressure put on a quarterback.. the thing reid forgot about that is that he was coaching the offensive line who are suppose to protect the quarterback.
Please somebody tell me 1 good thing about this move, because i dont see one…. im at work and getting laughed at by all the giants fans i work with on this dumb move… the way this offseason is going im pretty sure the eagles are ganna trade their 1st road pick and kevin kolb to the vikings for their 4th and 7th rounders… What the BLEEP is going on
Wonderful, now will Andy run the ball
Juan “Freakin’ Castillo”?
Let me get this right (PAUSE)
Rory Segrest sucks as a special teams coach and gets the Defensive line……..then
Jaun Castillo coached what could have been the worse offensive line this year and we reward him by promoting him to defensive Coordinator.
Damn……..We will never get a Superbowl.
Blind spot Andy is just giving his loyal coach a pay day knowing this is his last year as the head coach.
At least Andy’s loyal to someone other than the Eagles fans.
Man!
@dag. He gets high praise from other coaches but why does it take 3 weeks do make this move? I just don’t get why it took so long?
I’m going to put on every piece of Eagles apparell I own..then set myself on fire. Dumbest move EVER!
Apparently many are saying this is a great move. That many former coaches call him for advice. He knows defenses in and out. Coaches are calling him brilliant and that he has had this job on the quiet tip for a few weeks. On another note. The Eagles have the best oline coach in Howard Mudd the best defenisve line coach in Washburn and best S/T coach in Bobby April.
this is a boneheaded move that states Roseman is a MORON and has no football knowledge! stick to the calculator you frickin &&*^^%$%$%%
the only problem now, who is going to be the LB coach and secondary coach?
I really hope they get him some very good assistants. The have a great D-line coach. Now we need a LB and DB coach.
You kidding me?
LOL, WOW, I am shocked….no comment!
The elements of the west coast offense are used by most of the teams in the NFL. I will admit that it doesn’t look good from the outside that they would look all over the place then decide to select a coach who was here all along isn’t good.
This is yet another move by Reid that says “F you” to fans and others in the NFL. There could be multiple reasons.
1. Reid is trying to help out Castillo become a head coach in the league in a few years.
2. Nothing out there was to their liking once Jim Mora said No.
3. Reid is expecting a contract extension and is willing to do something out of left field knowing he has job security.
In other words, we will not win the Super Bowl while this fat ass is here. But I had been saying this for years.
Expect Nnamdi Asomugha and Haynesworth to be Eagles. This team is going for broke. Todd Herremans just tweeted to Daily News live the defensive players better be ready to work.
Maybe they hired him to protect themselves from tampering charges? If not I’m on my last straw with this team!! The raiders have a better shot at winning then this team. So sick of this!
I would feel a lot better if I could hear from Paulman about this topic.
WTF, I come home from work and this is what I see? W…..T……F??????? I hope Andy is making the right decision. I don’t think he is, but I guess I will have to deal with it for now. If this doesn’t work out though, they need to fire Reid next year or definitely let him walk after the 2012-2013 season. He did play LB in college, but wow.
Getting Mudd as our new O-line coach was a great move though. I can’t even concentrate on that though, because of this move of making Castillo the D-Coordinator. WTF??????
@dag. They better sign Nnamdi and Haynesworth to help out. Also a LB would be nice.
Also they better sign Logan Mankins to come play guard here. With a 68 year old O-line coach, he wont be around forever to develop rookies. They need some more talent on the offensive line.
ReidSucks_Sucks,
Paulman is probably too shocked to respond. He is probably in a state of shock and just staring at his computer.
So, how is this an upgrade from McDermott? Did Juan have the tutelage of the legendary JJ? Because his awesome blocking schemes did such a good job of protecting Vick, he gets a promotion? The Eagles are going to spin this move more than a Phil Mickelson sand wedge. They must have missed out on their real candidate and then figure he was as good as anyone else out there. To paraphrase what Ray Didi would say – “this move is puzzling”.
Can’t be any worse than hiring a secondary guy who’s never been in charge…no different than a special team cosch becoming head coach…McDermott was what 37… Tomlin was like 36… Juan’s been around… Totally unexpected but hey, I’m ready for some new blood….good luck Juan…
wow… I’m nearly speechless…. out of all the decent candidates out there that were atleast decent.. i mean they all coached on very good defensive football teams and we higher our own OL coach… only the Eagles would do something this ridiculous. Out of everything though.. this!
I’ve never seen a coach more fired up then Castillo is at camp.He rides the o-lineman like a champ. Has gotten alot outta back-ups and got Justice to realize his full potential.
Just because he was an o-lineman coach means jack.How do we know he doesnt have a scheme or plan in place that made Andy go with it Or whomever was makign the decisions. Think he just walked in and said “IM DOWN WITH BEING THE D-CORD!”…Andy…ok…f all this searching stuff…you got it!!
Any of you guys know him? NO.
Anyone know what these other dudes would have brought to the table? NO.
Anyone think the players know who this guy is and will respect his position by knowing what he’s done with soem of the o-lineman we’ve had?YES.
Stop sounding like a buncha crybabies aboue Castillo getting his shot. Your all gung-ho over s-canning Mcdermott and blaming him for the defense being a sive in the red-zone. Castillo is a damn good coach who like Todd said…will make guys work.
Stop whining and get behind the new leader of our D. Think he wants too bring the rukus back too Philly!!!? NO QUESTION!!! Go Birds.
Go complain about the snow!
Anything is better than McDermott. He couldnt evaluate his own talent and he gave us the worst redzone defense in 27 years in NFL. Rest assured The FO will give Castillo all the weapons he possibly can have to make this work. Get ready for 2 blue chip FA.
Chuckrob…word son.
I’m so aggravated right now. I can’t believe this. An offensive line coach? How is this an upgrade from mcdermmott. I love the optimistic people. Just wondering were u guys the same ones that said oh no big deal if the eagles don’t have a punt returner or a fullback. Remember those years before. U sit back and say this. I wish him luck but I’m unimpressed
the best news is this guy is no longer coaching our o line which has sucked since hes been here . now our o line should get better , and our d line should get better (washburn). but if he is such a brilliant deffensive mind how comes he couldn t help pick up the other teams blitzes , its telling me this whole deal is a one year deal for everybody including reid !
Jon Runyon on Daily News Live. Just stated Juan spent so much time with Jim Johnson and the defense that he is very prepared to be D-coordinator. Juan is the hardest working coach he has ever seen. The defense will work like its never worked before.
I think a lot of Juan but I must admit that this is a huge gamble. He doesn’t have any time to learn on the job.
Thats why our O-line sucked last year, idc how fired up you are. McDermott was terrible too, but there is also a major lack of talent. We sit here for weeks waiting on a d-coordinator, waiting to see how we are going to improve our team to get better and we do this? in what universe does that make sense? come on man… coached o line since 1998, how is that any good for defense?
Keeping McDermott would have been better than this. This sum BULL
The big question now is what were they doing all this time. You can’t tell me that they had a sound, comprehensive plan of replacing Sean McDermott as defensive coordinator.
WOW i am shocked but im willing to give him a shot. Jon Runyan was just interviewed he said castillo an JJ spent hours strategizing against each other. I know he knows what offenses are going to do but the playcalling aspect will take time. E A G L E S EAGLES!!!
This is crazy. Why didn’t they hire washburn as the dc. I would’ve respected that more than this move. It’s time for Andy to go, NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
dag, to be fair, it doesn’t matter what Jon Runyan or anyone else says. Right now this is probably the most questionable move under this regime ever. It’s 1 thing to be a defensive position coach in as the coordinator but an offensive position coach? Come on son. I don’t give a fluck what people have to say. They hyped up McDermott and stated he could get the job done. How’d that workout? Truly the dumbest move. And then you have the Titans D line coach working under a freaking offensive position coach. They better be counting on him and the rest of the assistants to do the job because this guy isn’t.
Castillo will be an upgrade over McDermott if I never see 1) Trent Cole dropping into coverage. 2) Brandon Graham at DT. They better hire some absolute brainiacs at DB and LB coach, although I see more promotions from within in our future.
G, you are correct. It shows that what ever they had originally planned blew up in their faces. I’m sick of all the FO apologist that think Andy is some mastermind that always has a plan. They got desperate. Period.
An i love how some of you are saying our o-line has sucked since hes been here. Thats a joke our o-line was rock solid for years if u actually watched the birds. It was shaky the last couple of yrs do to injuries lack of depth an a major lack of talent justice sucks MJG sucks cole sucksss.