Eagles Defensive Coordinator Juan Castillo may be one-and-done.

It is not an Earth-shattering statement to make that that Andy Reid’s decision to hire his long-time offensive line coach to become the Defensive Coordinator of the Eagles was a mistake.

It is obvious that Juan Castillo – a great guy who served the Eagles well for many years – is overmatched.

If there was one element the team, fans and observers all put at the top of their list of reasons the Eagles are heading into this Sunday’s road game against the surging Miami Dolphins with a 4-8 record is Castillo’s inability to lead a defense that lists so many stars on its roster.

At his weekly press conference, Castillo reflected on the season.

He first talked about how tough it has been on him overall.

“You know what, I think we’ve all experienced this in our lives,” Castillo said. “I think that the thing for me is that I just look at all my life, you work hard, you do the things the right way, you do it with class, you treat people the right way, you outwork people, and as a coach you get your players to outwork your opponent, and try to do it the right way, treat people the right way, work hard, fundamentals, and then good things happen always happen. We’re still in this, and I believe that. All my life it’s happened that way, so you have to believe that because we’ve been here before in this position. Fundamentally, that’s you’re foundation. Just like you, you have a foundation. Meanwhile, when things get tough, that’s what you go to. Nobody can break you, you know, because that’s what you believe in, that’s what’s helped you become who you are.”

Castillo was asked if he believed the players still buy into him as a coach.

“It’s the tape,” He said. “The thing that’s hard is, sometimes, I don’t know, you guys can sit down and watch the tape. I think our players, we watch the tape together. You know, we know what we have to get corrected fundamentally, scheme-wise, as far as what we have to do. So they know you know what you’re talking about. That’s the way it’s always been. I think that players in the NFL, they know if you know what you’re talking about. I think that’s pretty clear with those guys. I think they believe in what we’re trying to do, we just have to win some games.”

Castillo was asked the toughest of questions; what does he think about the report that head coach Andy Reid would have to decide whether to keep him or not at the end of the year.

“My job is to prepare for Miami,” Castillo said. “I feel like we have a good plan, and that is really the thing that I worry about. Our guys work hard, we want to win the game, we want to beat the Dolphins. We’re still in it. They’re letting us stay in this thing, and work hard to get better today. We worked hard, we had a good practice today. Today’s nickel. We have a good plan. Again, we talk about how important practice is, and preparation, go through this and then we’ll beat the Dolphins, and then we’ll worry about the next week. Really, that’s the most important thing right now for me.”

Surgery report: Information supplied by the Eagles Media Relations staff –
This week, Eagles safety Colt Anderson underwent an ACL reconstruction and partial meniscectomies in his left knee by Eagles orthopedist Peter DeLuca of the Rothman Institute. In addition, linebacker Moise Fokou underwent a repair of his high right ankle sprain by Dr. Steven Raikin of the Rothman Institute. Fokou’s surgery was performed at Jefferson at the Navy Yard. Anderson was injured at Seattle on December 1, while Fokou suffered his injury vs. New England on November 27. Both players are currently on the Injured Reserve list.