If a Jason Hanson field foal attempt was just a little more off line, there's a good chance we wouldn't have seen Todd Bowles in front of the media yesterday afternoon.
But 4-2 seems pretty far from 3-3, Andy Reid's job is on the line, and the defense made, in Nnamdi Asomugha's estimation, a crucial mistake in blitzing Detroit in the fourth quarter.
And so here we are, in spite of every other problem this team has so clearly evidenced it has over the last two seasons.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Might any of the above explain why Todd Bowles was shocked when he was informed that Eagles had fired Juan Castillo Tuesday morning?
“I was shocked,” he said. “In this game, you kind of see things
every year that kind of make you surprised until you stop being
surprised. It’s the profession you choose. You win, you’re great. You
lose, you stink. That’s our business, and you’ve got to understand that
going in. “Me and Juan had a great relationship.
He’s a great coach, he works hard. We had a great relationship as a
staff, and that’s going to be sorely missed for us.”
Taking nothing away from Bowles comments — I think it's possible he really was shocked — it seems doubtful many of the fans or writers were all that surprised. This specific move — removing Castillo for Bowles — has been repeatedly mentioned as a possibility dating all the way back to when Bowles was hired last winter.
But if we are to accept Bowles comments, wouldn't that seem to indicate that he didn't think things were going so badly for the defense?
News
Whatever Bowles' level of surprise, Castillo was fired yesterday, in part, because he was the easiest person to axe. And he was the easiest person to axe because the head coach put him a position to fail, set him up for a barrage of criticism which Juan received, and then fired him even when the long-time offensive line coach performed better than many would have assumed.
When Todd Bowles gets Mike Vick to quit turning the ball over, then, and only then, will I be shocked.