The "search" is over. In the end, the Eagles did in fact make a hire, pegging former Dolphins assistant and interim head coach Todd Bowles to coach their defensive backs. On the other hand, Andy Reid chose to retain Juan Castillo as defensive coordinator, and according to Reuben Frank, never even considered a replacement.
But enough about that. The addition of Bowles is certainly welcome. A product of Temple University, Bowles played safety in the NFL for eight seasons, seven of those with the Washington Redskins. He spent the the last seven years in Miami as the secondary coach, and went 2-1 in December after replacing Tony Sparano as the club's head coach.
In a sense, getting Bowles to coach the secondary was a steal. Bowles has been considered for several head jobs, and at the very least, a coordinator position should be right around the corner. In fact, his name was mentioned among the potential candidates to replace Castillo.
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As for what kind of impact Bowles will have, that remains to be seen, but there is plenty of room for improvement back there. Nnamdi Asomugha struggled to adopt Castillo's concepts, and the safeties haven't developed as quickly as we all would like.
Whatever he does though, it appears it will have to fit in a Juan Castillo scheme. As it turns out, we'll find out next season whether that's for better or worse.