Frank: Keeping Castillo won't get it done

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The Eagles defense should actually be fairly decent next year, assuming the Eagles sign a veteran middle linebacker, move Jamar Chaney back outside, trade Asante Samuel, let DRC and Nnamdi play outside corner and bring in one more safety.

Decent. Improved. Respectable.

Another year in the same system, an off-season to further learn the playbook, an off-season for Juan Castillo to grow more comfortable in his role. A little more depth, a little more talent.

This wont be a catastrophe. This wont be a disaster. The Eagles will build on what they did the last month of the seasonallowing 11.5 points per game in four straight winsand theyll be a much improved defense in 2012 than they were in 2011.

Only one thing.

Much improved is not good enough.

Much improved doesnt win Super Bowls.

With the news Monday that Andy Reid will retain Castillo for a second year as defensive coordinator (see story), the odds of the Eagles' winning their first championship in more than half a century just took a big giant punch in the stomach.

This is a whole lotta nothing. This is same ol, same ol. This is status quo.

And if owner Jeff Lurie keeps his word, status quo means the end for Reid.

When Reid hired Castillo a year ago to become the Eagles third defensive coordinator in four years, I wrote that he was staking his career as Eagles head coach on the move. It was a bizarre and risky call, wayyyyy out of the box, and based on an 8-8 record and five blown fourth-quarter leads in 2011, it was a failure.

But Reid, as weve seen, sometimes puts loyalty ahead of wisdom. How else can you explain Rory Segrest's sticking around for five years? How else can you rationalize another year of Juan?

How will Reid spin this decision if he ever decides to re-emerge from his NovaCare bunker and actually speak in public?

Hell talk about the improvement he saw later in the year from the defense, hell talk about the defenses season-ending No. 8 ranking, hell talk about how it was really turnovers that destroyed the Eagles season and not the defense. Hell talk about youth and inexperience and injuries and the lack of OTAs and minicamps and all the other excuses weve heard all along.

And there is some truth in all that. Certainly all that stuff held the Eagles back. Held the defense back. By the end of the year, the defense actually resembled a decent unit (against four straight non-playoff teams).

But it all comes down to one thing. If you want to win a Super Bowl, if you want to give your team the best possible chance to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy in early February, youre simply not going to do it with a career offensive line coach as your defensive coordinator.

You just arent.

Now, the Eagles did bolster their defensive staff with the addition of former Temple star Todd Bowles, who Ive said all along should have replaced Castillo the instant the Dolphins cut ties with him. The Eagles now have a solid group of assistants, with Jim Washburn on D-line, Mike Caldwell handling linebackers and Bowles and Mike Zordich coaching the secondary.

Thats an improvement but not enough.

The Packers had Dom Capers coaching their defense when they won the Super Bowl last year. The Saints? Gregg Williams in 2009. The Steelers had legendary Dick LeBeau when they won in 2005 and 2008. When the Giants won it all in 2007, their defensive coordinator was Steve Spagnuolo, whom the Eagles never even contacted when he was dismissed by the Rams. The Colts in 2006? Ron Meeks. The Patriots in 2004 and 2005? Romeo Crennel.

And so on.

These are all highly regarded, big-time, experienced, veteran defensive coaches.

When its third-and-three at midfield in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl and youre trying to protect a one-point lead, and Tom Brady or Kurt Warner or Peyton Manning is in the huddle getting ready for the biggest play of the season and all of a sudden you see a formation you didnt see on film, which coach do you want getting the defense ready for a crucial snap?

A guy whos been doing this at a high level for decades? Or a guy who two years ago was coaching Max Jean-Gilles, Nick Cole and Stacy Andrews?

This isnt about blasting Castillo. Trust me, hes a good man whos going to work his butt off and do his best, no matter what role Reid puts him in. I really do admire Castillos desire to leave the comfort of coaching the O-line without hesitation and put himself out there in a foreign position thats far out of his comfort zone. Takes guts.

No, this is about Reid and another bewildering decision that isnt going to help this team accomplish the only goal thats escaped Reid in his 13 years in Philly. Winning a Super Bowl.

The Eagles will be a playoff team in 2012. Theyll be good enough to win their 10 or 11 games. Maybe even 12 if Michael Vick can play consistently smart and cut his turnovers in half.

But 2012 isnt about winning 10 or 11 games. Its not about just getting into the playoffs or being in the mix.

Its about winning the whole darn thing or finally blowing everything up and moving forward with a new coach, a new staff, a new direction, a new vision.

And theres just no way retaining Castillo is the best way to achieve that goal.

What if the Eagles do reach the Super Bowl next year?

Can Reid honestly believe the Eagles would have a better chance to beat the Patriots or Ravens or Steelers or whatever AFC team theyd face in Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans with Castillo as their defensive coordinator and not Mike Nolan or Jack Del Rio or Spags or any of the other legit candidates who were available these past few weeks?

No way.

Theres only one goal that matters anymore, and this does not help them get there.

E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com

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