Castillo takes high road; Lurie acknowledges skepticism

Former Eagles defensive coordinator Juan Castillo remained loyal to his boss in the face of his firing, while team owner Jeffrey Lurie said he questioned Castillo's hiring in the first place, according to reports in the CSNPhilly.com and the Philadelphia Daily News.

Castillo teared up during an interview with CSNPhilly.com, as he described his relationship with Reid personally.

"I love Coach," Castillo said. "I said it before, I'd take a bullet for Coach. Coach gave me the opportunity of a lifetime, man. And I didn't get it done. And that's hard. But as my players know, keep working hard and if you outwork people, maybe somebody will give me a second chance. And then I can get it done."

Meanwhile, Lurie told the Philadelphia Daily News that he had reservations last year about Castillo's 2011 promotion.

"Yes I did," Lurie said. "But I let Andy make that call. I respected his decision. He felt it was the best thing to do at the time, and I don't interfere in that area."

Lurie added that it was Reid's decision to fire Castillo.

Some reports speculated that Castillo became Reid's fall guy, since Reid's job is also on the line. While the reports suggest that offensive turnovers and poor kick coverage have made it especially difficult for the defense, Castillo blamed only himself.

"Last year, Coach hired me to do a job," he told CSNPhilly.com. "The job was to help him win a championship. And I didn't get that accomplished. I know the guys are looking out there, we always talk about being a warrior. A warrior means that you get the job done no matter what. And the bottom line is we should be 5-1. The hard part for me was that I let down Coach Reid, I let down the organization and I let down the city."

-- The Sports Xchange