Spags Open to Joining Eagles

With Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie refusing to give Juan Castillo a vote of confidence at his press conference earlier this week, it's likely that Castillo will be fired. In fact, I don't know why they haven't done it already. I'm SHOCKED that Andy Reid would take too much time off the clock while making a critical decision. But I digress.

So the Eagles are going to need a new defensive coordinator. And LOOGIT who just became available on the open market! Why, it's former Rams head coach and former Eagles assistant Steve Spagnuolo, who confirmed his interest in reuniting with his former team.

A source close to Spagnuolo said today: Spagnuolo, 52, expects to coach in the NFL next season, and would be interested in any opening that might occur with the Eagles.

Spags served as an assistant to the late and lamented Jim Johnson from 2001 until 2006, before moving the Giants and orchestrating a defensive scheme against New England that resulted in perhaps the greatest upset in the history of the Super Bowl. With Spags back in the fold, the Eagles would almost certainly see immediate improvement on defense.

Two of Castillo's major failings were that he A) Had a lousy scheme and B) Tried to implement that scheme with virtually no offseason. Spags would be able to go back to a defense that resembles Johnson's old designs, and he'd have a full offseason to turn his players into blitz-happy killing machines. Plus, as I said on Monday, Spags would make for a perfect interim head coach if Reid is fired next season.

This makes too much sense not to happen. But Spags will be a valued commodity for any team that's looking to restructure its coaching staff. So the Eagles have to act fast and pull the trigger NOW. If they dither about and Spags ends up elsewhere, it'll be a bad omen for what lies ahead in 2012.

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