It was January 18, 2009 when Eagles President Joe Banner stood outside the Eagles locker room after they had lost the NFC Championship game to the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 32-25, and told to CSNPhilly.com’s Derrick Gunn that insanity was doing that same thing and expecting a different result.” He tried to change that comment, but it seems like he kept the same mindset.
There’s no question that the Eagles have reduced the power and authority of head coach and Executive VP of Football Operations, Andy Reid.
Reid hasn’t been himself since the season ended. He has always been very methodical about his decision-making. You might not have agreed with his plan, but the fact of the matter was, that he always had a plan.
Normally when Reid made a move, you can tell that there was a plan in place, but that hasn’t been the case with the decision to fire defensive coordinator Sean McDermott and replace him with offensive line coach Juan Castillo. I think over time Castillo can be a good defensive coordinator in time, but he’s got a lot to learn and not very much time to learn it.
Unlike the offensive line coaching job, a defensive coordinator must call the defenses and coverages during the game and the only way he can really learn to do that is by doing it.
At practice throughout the week, an offensive line coach drills his guys play after play and drill after drill. Then he turns them loose on Sunday to go on the field and do their job. He waits on the sidelines between ball possessions and corrects their mistakes, but he doesn’t have to make play calls. A defensive coordinator has to play the chess match and learn the flow of the game.
That nonsense about Reid needing to step back before firing McDermott was garbage. He knew the job that McDermott had done immediately after the season because he was looking over his shoulder in each and every game. Reid knew that McDermott was lacking in experience but he also didn’t have the best personnel to work with. More importantly McDermott was one of his guys, but the big problem was that the rest of the front office didn’t agree with him.
So they overruled Reid and he had to fire the kid. Reid wanted to give McDermott a chance to get a new job before announcing that he was no longer with the team, but the front office wasn’t buying that, either. It seems that nowadays, whatever Reid wants to do he gets voted down.
Right after the season, Big Red told the media that McDermott would be back with full knowledge of what kind of year his defensive coordinator had in the 2010 season. The reduction of his power was exposed, yet again. It happened last offseason, when the front office let Reid know that Donovan McNabb had to go.
It surely didn’t make any sense that Reid would take off for Antigua without a defensive coordinator on the staff. The Andy Reid who had coached the Philadelphia Eagles for over at decade wouldn’t be taking off for Antigua with plenty of work on his desk. It didn’t make any sense at all.
Reid might have left with the thought of staying away for a week, but he slipped back into town under the cover of darkness and was back at work in the middle of that week.
Reid spent the next week or so interviewing candidates for the defensive coordinator’s job. You could understand him not being a happy camper.
Clearly, Reid’s power isn’t what it once was in the organization. He doesn’t like it and the trip to Antigua didn’t seem like a vacation as much as it was a chance to get some air away from the front office which had just forced him to fire his defensive coordinator.
After more than a week of interviewing candidates Reid decided to push back against the front office. He was going to hire another one of his guys and make him the defensive coordinator. It would be impossible for Reid to hire one of his guys because nearly all the coaches who were on the 1999 coaching staff were now head coaches in the NFL.
He knew of Castillo’s long time desire to be a defensive coach. Reid also remembered walking in on Jim Johnson and Castillo as they discussed blitz packages. He knew about his offensive line coach’s knowledge of the defensive side of the ball still he took his time about making the move.
Reid talked the front office into making Castillo the new defensive coordinator after he had convinced veteran offensive line coach Howard Mudd into coming out of retirement to take over for Castillo on the offensive line and join his good friend and Eagles new defensive line coach Jim Washburn on the Eagles staff.
What does this all mean? It means that Andy Reid’s days in the Philadelphia are numbered. He’ll get the chance to win in the upcoming season, but this football must make the playoffs and at least go deep.
None of this matters. The front office will do themselves and fans a favor if they tie and gag Reid and not let him anywhere near the draft war room. The biggest problem with this team is poor personnel.
Joe Banner looks like he knows a lot about football. (sarcasm) Get this little pocket protector out of here along with Reid. Juan Castillo? Juan Castillo? Cut me a friggin break… If Jeff Lurie had any kind of balls he’d fire Bill Gates and Red
I’ll tell you what it means. It means you have totally misread the situation. G there is no way this can all be true. It’s just the way they operate. Those guys are kissing reid’s ass every step of the way. They have jobs because of Reid and they can’t count the money fast enough that this guy has made for them. His lack of power did’nt stop them from signing vick. How has that worked out for them financially. There on national tv every other week. I honestly believe that Reid see’s the importance of being around a little more for his family, and has asked for help with some of his duties. There are 20 teams in this league that would hire Reid the moment he was fired, You don’t think he has power? I’m not saying I agree I’m just saying to me thats the way it is. You truly believe this guy has no power and walked in to Lurie and Banner and said were hiring our offensive line coach to be the DC. C’mon man. Here’s another indication of his power, There is no way they would trade kobb if they were planning on getting rid of Reid. Reid is the key to vick staying long term no doubt. I seriously don’t think there gonna turn the keys over to vick if reid’s not here. Reid knows his worth and he’s not going to sit around and let these’s dudes make him look like a fool, he does that well enough on his own. He has turned Lurie from a millionare to a billionare. These guys maybe be making decisions but there is no way there not running them by reid and he’s not signing off on them. Thats just my read on it. I actually heard Mike Missinelli the other day say the eagles did’nt have a problem with Reid hiring Castillo as dc because he’s spanish. He said that was something Lurie could talk about in certain circles like he’s a good humanatarian, and then this way they would have a minority coach in place if reid leaves. That from an educated man. It’s all about making money not winning, and reid makes them money.
Clue, you are right on point here. G, you can’t shed your media bias/lens. From the media standpoint, the DC process makes no sense. But coaches don’t think like the media does. I don’t care who the coach is….if the media asks you about future personel decisions within hours of losing a game to end a season, you feed them any short bs phrase that will allow you to move on. Bottom line. And do you make a quick decision. Which is more important? Different answers for media and coaches…
G- I would agree that Reid has been a different coach and manager of the football operations, but I would trace it to the leave of absence that he took after the trouble with his boys. He has not been the same since, and his power within the organization has been diminished ever since. He lost “his” personel guy in Heckert when Banner wanted Roseman to rise within the organization, the McNabb and McDerrmott moves appear to have been made against his previous statements….the Vick / Kolb starting QB decision was a ping-pong affair if there has ever been one.
In the end, this coach has not been the decisive leader that he was in his earlier years. Because of a supportive fanbase the franchise has been able to grow and make a VERY healthy profit for the owner, so when he (Laurie) analysizes the situation, he doesn’t find any need to rock the boat before Reid’s contract expires. This Castillo move is beyond crazy, but as I look at it, it was Reid’s need to have a coach under him that is 100% loyal and will not publicly criticise him, or become a threat to his own job. The funny thing is, this decision is likely to be the very thing that ultimately dooms Reid here in Philly. The guy has not been “himself” for a number of years now.
i agree with banner. it is insane to do the same thing over and over and expect something different. SO WHY IS REID STILL THE H.C.? because his % from 2000-2004 was .7375 (59-21). since 2005 the eagles have been .5625 (54-41). THE EAGLES HAVE BEEN AVERAGE SINCE 2005. you can’t blame it all on mcnabb’s acl tear. you can’t blame it all on the passing of JJ (RIP). reid is still here because of his success since 2000. LET ME SAY THIS…..when lurie bought the team in 1994 i remeber his press conference. they held it at city hall. ed rendell was grinning like a chesire cat. lurie said two things that i will always remember (1)we will run this team like the 49ers and (2)nothing short of a super bowl victory will be acceptable. i guess what he meant was he would run the eagles like the 2010 forty-niners. our WRs can’t throw a block. our D is too small. it is sad to think that IF there is a 2011 nfl season that we have already been eliminated. eagles fans are suckers.
Clue – Right on!
do you think over time you could learn how to edit your writing in time?
“I think over time Castillo can be a good defensive coordinator in time”
NFL Team Rankings 2005 by Forbes
Rank Team Current Value ($mil) 1-Yr Value Change (%) Debt/Value (%) Revenue ($mil) Operating Income ($mil)
1 Washington Redskins 1,423 13 17 303 108.4
4 Houston Texans 1,043 10 29 222 57.6
8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 955 9 15 203 56.9
5 Philadelphia Eagles 1,024 8 32 218 54.2
10 Chicago Bears 945 9 20 201 51.5
17 Tennessee Titans 886 6 14 189 48.3
7 Cleveland Browns 970 9 10 206 47.1
2 New England Patriots 1,176 13 26 250 43.6
3 Dallas Cowboys 1,173 10 17 235 37.1
12 Miami Dolphins 912 7 27 194 33.4
20 St Louis Rams 841 11 5 179 33.2
19 New York Jets 876 18 11 179 33.1
25 Buffalo Bills 756 7 9 176 31.2
14 Kansas City Chiefs 894 17 15 186 28.2
9 Baltimore Ravens 946 9 29 201 27.8
6 Denver Broncos 975 7 21 207 26.9
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“That nonsense about Reid needing to step back before firing McDermott was garbage. He knew the job that McDermott had done immediately after the season because he was looking over his shoulder in each and every game.”
Your whole article is about how Andy used to have plans we could see, but that he doesn’t seem to work from a plan now…well, maybe, the reason Andy didn’t tell everyone he was gonna fire Sean right after the season is because yes, he knew he had to replace him like we all did (last in the league in red zone defense gets you fired – ask ANY football analyst) but Andy clearly didn’t have his plan set yet…if they won that game there would be no need for a plan so Andy had not built it yet…that makes sense Cobb, right?
And for the record – the plan you falsely remember seeing in Andy prior to the AZ loss (nice random moment in time to choose…) is only due to the benefit of hind sight – you haven’t seen a single move coming that Andy has made – not drafting McNabb, not letting Trotter go to the Skins, not drafting Lito and Sheldon in the same year when we had Bobby and Vincent, not brinign Trotter back, not signing Jeff Garcia, not letting Dawk go, not drafting DeSean or LeSean, not signing Vick, not moving up to get Maclin, not trading McNabb…no one ever sees Andy’s moves coming – is that not OBVIOUS!!! That is why he is a genius, and the ultimate NFL poker face…
And if you check all his big moves over the past decade he doesn’t make many mistakes, so please stop writing like you know what you are talking about, admit you are just as lost as the rest of us when these moves happen, and trust Andy…no need to be a negative nancy, just cuz you don’t understand doesn’t mean they are wrong…watch, they will show you how football works…
Note Cleveland Browns only made 7.1 million less than Eagles. for all you know it alls that attribute money making to Reid
I follow adam shefler on twiter and he was tweeting that a rumor was going around the eagles were naming gruden hc on Tuesday. He said he had 3 sources of his deny it but does anybody else find it strange that even the idea of that is even out there?
Spot on G,
I have mentioned a few times in the past that Coach AR demise started 2
off-seasons ago when Banner refused to match or come close to the Bronco’s offer to retain Safery B Dawkins which Coach Ar was upset about, then continued with the basic non-confidence by Banner of AR’s buddy
GM T Heckert and was basically told Heckert him to seek employment
elsewhere so Banner could put his guy (Roseman) in the GM’s role..
Once CoacH AR had those family issues with his sons and had to take a leave of absences, both Lurie/BAnner did not want to have AR with all the repsonsibilities and authrity of completely running a Football Organization..
They know how hard Coach AR works and the relative success the EAgles Franchise has had during the AR Era, but at the same time both Lurie/Banner are looking forward and want to establish a succesion plan.. Another display was after JJ’s Illness, there was no real plan on his replacement and unfortunaltely for McDermott, was thrown in to the fire before he was ready..
This latest incident and annoucement of hiring Castillo as DC again tells me that Coach AR is surrounfd himself with a Coach he fully trusts and is loyal to and gets tha back.. Coach AR is on the hot-seat and if he goes down, He wants to go down with his people..after hiring Coaches Mudd/Washburn the pieces of the staff are falling together.. now they need a DB coach who can mesh in with these guys
I heard this weekend that Reid has talked with John Bunting about being LB’s coach. If that were the case…and they are able to get a top notch DB’s coach, I might feel better about the Castillo DC move….but honestly, I think I have sprained my neck from shaking my head so much about that one.
Has anyone heard of a rumor Jon Gruden was in town if it isn’t true why is the rumor swirling from one person to another?
Birdsfan….Gruden signed as offensive coordinator for the Bengals.
Where are you getting your information?
That’s Grudens’s Brother who signed as the OC for the Bengals, Songs,
C’Mon Man…
Read my post it says, adam shefler tweeted it this morning, he said his sources denied it but I found it funny it was even mentioned
maybe we can hire grudens sister to be our db coach.
If the Reid rumor isnt true I am going to punch myself in the nuts.
Dead on G. Whoever said that the Eagles are kissing Reid’s rear for the money he makes them doesn’t know his history. The Eagles sell out REGARDLESS of their record. I’ve been going since 1970!! They don’t need Reid to make money. In fact, he is starting to HURT their brand buy annoying and frustrating the entire Delaware valley. Change coaches and the cash still flows. As far as Reid’s days being numbered, your mouth to…….. We can only hope.
Guys and fellow posters..For the umpteenth time, Coach AR is signed thru the 2013 Season, He will be an Eagles HC at least thru the 2012 Season. He will have the 2011 & 2012 Seasons to get to a Super Bowl or he’s done, but not beforehand.. Owner Lurie/Banner will eat 1 year worth of his contract, but they are not going to eat 2 or 3 seasons worth of his contract, why is so difficult for many of you to understand this…It is what it is…
What is the difference between AR and Mike Tomlin? Tomlin is a leader – AR is a control freak. When the going gets tough, leader’s win and control freaks don’t. Control freaks need time to make decisions and that causes problems like bad timeouts, confusion on play assignments, delay of game penalties, etc. Control Freak gets you to the playoffs, leadership gets you a Lombardi. Tomlin did not win last night, but he didn’t lose to a control freak.
paulman
We understand what you are saying but we want to win the Super Bowl and the only way for it to happen is for Reid to go. So this rumor gave me hope for about 10 min. now I am back to reality. Baseball will be here before you know it. Thank God.
Pman….yeah, I hear what you are saying about the Laurie Eagles being unwilling to eat any of Reid’s contract….I would agree…however if there is anyone looking for a possible way for AR not be be coaching the birds, it would be the other part of the rumor which was that AR would move to full time front office…so technically they would not be eating the salary.
I don’t believe the rumor, but do see a senerio where it could happen. That being said, with all of the recent position coach hires, it would really be a stretch to see them getting rid of Reid. Face it guys….this guy will be in charge for at least another season.
Schiller Do you need new knee pads. With all the money Reid make for the Eagles? he can afford to buy you a pair.
What all that means to me is that GCobb has become preoccupied with provide evidence of some ridiculous conspiracy theory. Do you realize how preposterous it sounds when you suggest that the “front office” would step in and force Reid to make a coaching change, and then allow him to choose whoever he wanted as a replacement? Does it not occur to you that Jeff Lurie and Joe Banner would not insert themselves in a situation unless they wanted to control the outcome.
Do you lay awake at night and dream up these scenario or what? You know the funny part…is when Andy Reid does eventually get fired, which we all know will come one day, GCobb will be claiming that he predicted it.
G, i by no means am an andy fan. Most years im calling for his head. I believe you when you say his days are numbered BUT this was a huge article that has LOTS of opionions. Here are some quotes from you that i would love to know more about…….
“Reid talked the front office into making Castillo the new defensive coordinator”
“It seems that nowadays, whatever Reid wants to do he gets voted down”.
“Clearly, Reid’s power isn’t what it once was in the organization. He doesn’t like it”.
BTW…. i tottaly agreed with all of this until they let him hire Juan. For me…. that shows that he is still in control. This Gruden thing is obviously a hoax by eckel btw, but if it did happen (and it wont), then id say he hired juanall on his own to position his way out. But thats not whats happpening.
hey Rev… I had the same thought about the FO & Reid, but wonder if by them letting him make the Castillo move…..are they just giving him enough rope to hang himself?
No one else will say It so I will..
The Eagles FO likes to be the first in thinkgs (except winning Super BOwls)
by they got this green technology going on at the Stadium, they took a gamble at acquiring QB Vick when is was a PR Risk and now they want to be the 1st Organization to have a Hispanic Head Coach of a NFL Franchise..
Mark my words, Juan Castillo will be the next HC of the Eagles after the 2012 Season when AR either moves upstairs in the Front OFfice or resignes or gets fired…Lurie and Banner both know that attracing the fast growing segment of the US Population (wich is Hispanic) is a huge market for new fans, sponsorships, and quite possibly, the future of the NFL as it continues to get world-wide.. . I am not saying anthing is worng with this
I am saying that this will be the plan moving forward, knowing how both Lurie and Banner like to be 1st in things (outside of winning Super Bowls )
Paulman…. we’ve marked your words before. save it.
for the last time people….. the eagles are not ALL about money. I mean…. they are but not more than any of the other teams. They have gambled at times and they have sat back at times. We can argue all we want about Andys lack of talent at LB and return men. about the lack of effort in landing a big WR back in the day. We xcan make fun of them for putting Kleco at Fb but its not because they didnt want to spend any money. Do you think andy cares about the money? Dont you think he could go to the skins or wherever and ask for whatever players he wants? Its not about money. Its about his SYSTEM. He may have to play tug or war a tad bit but its not like they wont get him players if he asks.
Pman….interseting theory….one problem… wasn’t Tom Flores the first hispanic coach? He even won a superbowl….I will not mention who he beat in ’80.
Even if you’re (Lurie) making all the profits in world in a highly competitive sports entertainment industry, sooner or later you want the Oscar (Lombardi trophy) for production (Eagles). Lurie’s fault is he has too much patience and the handwriting is on the wall. Too many changes in asst coaches have taken place for there not to be “something going on.”
Personally believe Reid is gone if he is not in SB by end of his contract. This same HC thing cannot go on forever. If the Castillo hiring shows as a major mess during the coming season, it will create a MAJOR problem with fans and Reid won’t survive it. This coach has NO PLAN.
True Greenfan, Flores was the 1st Hispanic (from his mother side I believe) HC in the NFL and the league has grown in popularity then as has the demographincs on the US for that matter, and besides, the Raiders only beat the Eagles for the Super Bowl in 1980 so it doesn’t really count …