Juan Castillo remains loyal to Andy Reid, even after Reid fired Castillo as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator.
In an interview with CSNPhilly.com, Castillo teared up as he described just how much he cares for Reid personally, and how disappointed he was that he wouldn’t continue to work with Reid professionally.
“I love Coach,” Castillo said. “I said it before, I’d take a bullet for Coach. Coach gave me the opportunity of a lifetime, man. And I didn’t get it done. And that’s hard. But as my players know, keep working hard and if you outwork people, maybe somebody will give me a second chance. And then I can get it done.”
Some would say Castillo just did take a bullet for Reid. With Reid’s job on the line, Castillo was made the scapegoat for the team’s 3-3 start, even though the reality is the defense has actually played reasonably well this year considering the way the offense’s turnovers and the bad kick coverage on defense have constantly put the defense in bad field position.
Castillo, however, says he’s looking in the mirror and not blaming anyone else.
“Last year, Coach hired me to do a job. The job was to help him win a championship. And I didn’t get that accomplished,” Castillo said. “I know the guys are looking out there, we always talk about being a warrior. A warrior means that you get the job done no matter what. And the bottom line is we should be 5-1. The hard part for me was that I let down Coach Reid, I let down the organization and I let down the city.”
Say what you will about the way Castillo coached, but he sure is handling his firing with class.