Clem Murray
/ Philadelphia Inquirer
PHILADELPHIA, PA -- Philadelphia fans get mad at their sports teams when they don't perform up to what they consider par. It's what they do.
Philadelphia media attacks their sports teams on TV, radio, and in print when they don't perform up to what they consider par. it's what they do.
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid stays the course and trusts his instincts no matter the anger from the fans nor the attacks from the media. It's what he does.
And he's been doing it for 13 seasons in the toughest sports town in America.
So thinking Reid would bail on his friend, Port Isabel native Juan Castillo, just one year after appointing him defensive coordinator, doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
Castillo has been tied with Reid since the Texas A&M-Kingsville graduate showed up in a snow-covered Green Bay parking lot, asking Reid for a job when he heard the then-Packers assistant was going to be the next coach in Philly.
When Reid shocked the NFL cognoscenti by moving Castillo from coaching offensive line, his job for 12 years, to defensive coordinator, despite Castillo's lack of experience on that side of the ball, it was obvious that the Eagles coach believed in his longtime assistant's ability to do the job.
And that kind of belief doesn't dissipate over a single season. Even one as up-and-down as Philadelphia's.
As Jeff McClane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported today:The decision to keep Castillo as defensive coordinator ends weeks of uncertainty over his future. Reid obviously decided that the final four games of the season in which the defense showed improvement was enough to keep Castillo in charge of the unit.
Andy Reid was looking for a sign that would reinforce his belief in Juan Castillo.
He found one.
And now will the Eagles coach prove the doubters wrong again?
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