Jeffrey Lurie, Philadelphia Eagles owner, after the Eagles’ training camp, Aug. 3. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
NEW ORLEANS – If this Eagles season continues to go south, straight past the point of no return – which could happen tonight – I say it’s Jeffrey Lurie‘s fault.
The team chairman has been trying to have it both ways with head coach Andy Reid, and in the process he has all but ensured this will be Reid’s last season.
We all wondered last January what the effect would be of Lurie publicly putting Reid on the clock. We wondered again in August, when Lurie underlined it in red: “substantial improvement,” or new coach.
We don’t have to wonder about that effect anymore. We’re seeing it on the field. Lurie has diminished Reid as a leader and forced the coach to fly by the seat of his pants, instead of being able to address the long-term best interests of the franchise. A coach who felt he had job security might have pulled the Nick Foles lever by now. A coach who felt he had job security might have bitten the bullet and jettisoned Juan Castillo at the end of the 2011 season, instead of trying to jerry rig a Castillo-Todd Bowles marriage, then annulling it the moment he caught a whiff of last season’s problems, leading to defensive chaos against Atlanta last week.
Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/eagles/20121105_Les_Bowen_.html
Roy's Rants - For Your Information 
This move could be viewed two ways: Reid admitting he made a mistake hiring Castillo, his long-time offensive line coach, as defensive line coach in 2011. Reid stuck with Castillo this season. It could also be viewed Reid as scapegoating Castillo for problems that are bigger — such as an offense that struggles to score and turns the ball over, and a defensive lune that struggles to pressure the quarterback.