As the Dream Team disintegrated to 4-8, the options facing coach Andy Reid became clear -- he’d have to relieve first-year defensive coordinator Juan Castillo of his duties, or Reid would be fired.
But something happened on the way to an ultimatum. The Eagles’ defense has improved.
As a result, Castillo’s status remains unclear. Players like quarterback Mike Vick publicly have pushed for no changes to be made, which presumably would include keeping Castillo in his current role. But reports have surfaced linking Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo to the position held by Castillo, if (when) Spags becomes the former coach of the Rams.
So what would happen to Castillo? A popular theory, which we may have endorsed a time or two, would move Castillo back to his long-time post of offensive line coach, with Howard Mudd retiring.
But Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer points out the major flaw in that fairly simple (and thus appealing to me) chain of logic. Mudd has changed the blocking schemes, and Reid may not be interested in changing them back, especially since the offensive line has, in time, made the adjustment to a man whose style they initially resisted.
Of course, Mudd may decide to leave on his own, which would force Reid to consider reverting to Castillo’s style or finding someone who can teach Mudd’s methods, such as assistant strength and conditioning coach Eugene Chung. But center Jason Kelce told McLane that Chung may not be ready to take over the job.
Regardless of how it plays out, a decision to move Castillo out of the defensive coordinator position doesn’t mean that he’ll automatically move back to coaching the offensive line, which could make Reid more likely to try to keep Castillo where he is.