Lurie Sidesteps Castillo Question

With so many other topics to cover – Andy Reid, Michael Vick, Joe Banner – it took until the final question of Jeffrey Lurie’s press conference for someone to mention Juan Castillo.

Luckily, though, our boy McManus was able to ask the owner about the Eagles’ defensive coordinator. And his response was telling.

Is Lurie comfortable with Castillo? Does he feel he is the right man for the job?

“I don’t think it’s for me to say,” Lurie said. “It’s really for Andy Reid to say. Those are his calls. I’ve never interfered with his judgment of who should be the coordinators and who he hires like that.

“We’ve had discussions, but I think one of the important things we did in the offseason I didn’t even mention was bringing in some impressive leaders into the organization and the roster. DeMeco Ryans, very impressive leader. Tom Donahoe into scouting, very impressive leader. And on the coaching staff, Todd Bowles, very impressive leader. Again, the more one can build the roster and build the coaching staff in a way that makes sense, the more chance you have for success.”

If you were looking for some kind of vote of confidence for Castillo, it’s not in there. In fact, Lurie made clear that the outside-the-box decision was Reid’s, and Reid’s alone.

Not only that, but he brought up Bowles, the Eagles’ new secondary coach and someone with 12 years of NFL experience coaching the defensive side of the ball. Someone who the players have praised all summer for the knowledge he’s brought to what looked like a confused unit last season.

It’s natural for Lurie to have reservations about Reid’s decision to promote Castillo, but he made no attempt to hide his doubts on Thursday.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.