Stubborn to a Fault
Added on Oct 17, 2012 by Scott in
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It’s no secret that Eagles head coach Andy Reid marches to the beat of his own drum. For all his success in Philadelphia, and there’s been a lot, he’ll ultimately be remembered for the wrongs instead of the rights. Like for instance his mind-boggling decision to promote offensive line coach Juan Castillo to defensive coordinator prior to the 2011 season.
It made no sense then and it makes even less sense today, especially since Reid fired his longtime friend on Tuesday. It was a move that should have been made ten months ago, but Reid — steadfastly loyal to his friend — gave Castillo the benefit of the doubt that he would improve. In hindsight, it was huge gamble by Reid and one that could ultimately torpedo his team as well as his career.
Things looked promising two weeks into the 2012 season. Castillo’s defense held firm against Cleveland and Baltimore, successfully harassed quarterbacks Brandon Weeden and Joe Flacco, and stymied running backs Trent Richardson and Ray Rice. Perhaps he had learned from his past mistakes. Maybe Reid was in fact correct to give him another season. However, the champagne was prematurely popped, and in Week 3 the Birds were burned in the desert by the upstart Cardinals. Castillo was slow to adjust to Larry Fitzgerald being lined up in the slot against rookie Brandon Boykin, and the result was big play after big play. It sounded the first of many alarms to be heard in the coming weeks.
A missed last second field goal by Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes masked another spotty performance from Castillo, who was once again repeatedly exploited in the slot, this time by wide receivers Victor Cruz and Domenik Hixon. Not much was said of it after the game because the Eagles beat their hated rivals to improve to 3-1, sitting atop the NFC East. Then the proverbial wheels came off.
Back-to-back fourth quarter collapses resulted in losses to Pittsburgh and Detroit. Castillo this time found himself being gashed by both the run and pass as the Steelers and Lions took advantage of egregious schematic errors to pound the Eagles defense into submission, and once again inflict damage by lining up receivers in the slot. Rather than dictate to the offense, Castillo was guilty of reading and reacting, which in today’s pass happy league is a big no-no. It would end up being his fatal error.
Castillo’s blunders aside, the blame here falls squarely on Reid’s stubborn shoulders. For reasons that even owner Jeff Lurie didn’t understand, Reid believed a man who had never coached on the defensive side of the ball in his professional career was the right choice for the job. He should have realized this wasn’t the case after the disastrous 2011 campaign, but he did what he always does and stood by his convictions, crossing his fingers his old friend would raise the sinking ship.
The irony is Reid himself will be the next coach out the door, because he’s the ultimate decision maker. Lurie has for the most part left his coach alone for 14 seasons, allowing him to control the football operations. But a win-or-else ultimatum has been issued and it’s one that Lurie has no intention of recanting.
Firing Castillo was the correct decision, but Reid had better address his woeful offense if he wants to salvage the season and his job. They rank 31st in scoring and quarterback Michael Vick has committed 13 turnovers. Reid has managed to avoid the ax for the last few years, but his signature stubbornness may have finally landed him in a trap that even he can’t escape.
