Philadelphia Eagles: Juan Castillo a Man Worthy of Another Chance

With all that said, this man deserves another chance. This world, and not just the sports world, has so few truly good and hard-working people—people who honestly earn every opportunity given to them.  That is not to say it is a bad world, but it is hard not to be jaded these days.

Juan Castillo is a good man. He is a hard worker. He has a huge heart and wants nothing more than to succeed and to win.

Castillo is a self-made coach. He was a defensive player, and was originally a defensive coach. He had no knowledge of the offensive line but still willed himself into being one of the best offensive line coaches in the National Football League.

He was originally hired by Ray Rhodes in 1995. After Rhodes was fired in 1998, Castillo drove all the way to Green Bay to let Andy Reid know that he wanted to remain part of the staff. He impressed Reid enough that he ended up being his offensive line coach for 12 years.

Actually, he impressed Reid enough to move him to defensive coordinator even though he had never done it.

Castillo, a few weeks ago, was asked about his future with the team. His response was an emotional and a passionate one, said with tears in his eyes:

"

The only thing for me is: I don't want to fail my head coach. I don't want to fail him, man. I don't want to fail my boss.

"

Here is a man who has been getting torched since the summer. He continued getting torched the entire fall and, so far, all winter. And all he wants to do is succeed for the people who believed in him.

Castillo is a hard worker and a passionate man. On a defense devoid of character and passion, Castillo brings a much-needed energy and enthusiasm to the unit.

Let's face it, he was handed a near impossible situation. He was forced to adapt to the style of a defensive line coach. He was forced to field a defensive team that had no ability at either the linebacker or safety position. He was forced to try to bail out an offense that made a living out of turning the ball over.

In the end, what he did was bring the unit closer together. He started to improve and to learn what he could and could not do. Maybe it took longer than anyone wanted it to. It certainly took longer than the Eagles needed it to, but Castillo is a good man who will do everything within his power to be a good defensive coordinator.

By any and all measures, Castillo's first go-round as a defensive coordinator was less than successful.  His defense blew five fourth-quarter leads, it was again a disaster in the red zone and stopped only one winning team.

Andy Reid has been given 13 years, and despite never delivering a single Super Bowl victory, he has been given a 14th. Certainly someone like Castillo deserves a second chance. If there is anyone in this town deserving of a second chance, it is Castillo.