Roth not a big fan of Browns' new 4-3 defensive scheme

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Eagles promote O-line coach Castillo to defensive coordinator

The Philadelphia Eagles searched far and wide for a new defensive coordinator. In the end, they found him on their offensive coaching staff.

Juan Castillo spent 13 seasons as the Eagles' offensive line coach before being promoted to defensive coordinator Wednesday. (Brian Garfinkel/Associated Press)

Juan Castillo, who spent 13 seasons as the Eagles' offensive line coach and has been with the organization for 16 years, will switch to the defensive side of the ball and replace Sean McDermott, who was fired Jan. 15. The team, which lured Howard Mudd out of retirement to replace Castillo as offensive line coach, made the announcement Wednesday.

"It's a tribute to the hard work, the diligence and the kind of football coach he is," Eagles coach Andy Reid said of Castillo's promotion. "I think if you have the opportunity to talk to any player, if you have an opportunity to talk to any coach that has been a Philadelphia Eagle, and many coaches throughout the league, what might seem a little strange is just a very confident move, and one that will take our defense to another level."

A former linebacker at Texas A&I (1978-80), Castillo, 51, played for the USFL's San Antonio Gunslingers (1984-85) and also was an assistant at Texas A&M-Kingsville from 1982 to 1985.

"I think if you talk to the defensive guys, especially the front seven, I've always told them I'm a defensive guy who got stuck on the offensive side," Castillo said. "That took a lot of years of studying. That was a tough deal. What happens is you start to be perceived as an offensive guy."

Castillo is one of few NFL coaches of Hispanic descent. He is fluent in Spanish and has promoted the NFL product for its Spanish-speaking audience.

"Juan is one of the smartest and most dynamic coaches in the NFL," Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. "If anyone could cross over to the dark side (of defense), he's the guy. Seriously, if anyone can do it, Juan Castillo is able to do it. I don't know if I have seen anyone any more committed as a coach in this league than him."

Castillo joined the Eagles in 1995 as an offensive assistant under coach Ray Rhodes. Castillo was promoted to tight ends coach in 1997, then offensive line coach in 1998.

"I have a strong affinity for Juan going back to our days spent together in Philadelphia," Minnesota Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said. "I can remember Jim Johnson and our defensive staff putting our game plans together and we'd always get together with Juan just to make sure they were sound in terms of pressures and blitzes. Sometimes, I felt like he was on our defensive staff. And to do this day, he and I talk every week during the season to talk about other offenses in the league."

Castillo was one of four members of Rhodes' staff to be retained by Reid in 1999.

"Great move by Coach Reid," said St. Louis Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo, a former Eagles assistant. "Juan is a football junkie who has always studied the entire game. He's a detailed, aggressive and passionate football coach -- all attributes vital to coaching defense."

The Eagles confirmed that they interviewed New Orleans Saints defensive backs coach Dennis Allen and Chicago Bears secondary coach Jon Hoke for the defensive coordinator job.

The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Star Tribune in Minneapolis cited league sources in reporting Wednesday that Vikings assistant Joe Woods also interviewed for the position.

The Eagles won the NFC East this season, but they lost to the eventual conference champion Green Bay Packers, 21-16, in the wild-card round at Lincoln Financial Field. After a dramatic, come-from-behind, 38-31 victory over the New York Giants at New Meadowlands Stadium, the Eagles finished the season with three consecutive losses, all at home.

McDermott's defense finished 12th in the NFL, giving up 327.2 yards per game.

Mudd, 68, brings 36 years of coaching experience to the Eagles' staff. He most recently spent 11 seasons as the Colts' offensive line coach.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Steelers use defensive stand to send Bengals to fifth consecutive loss

CINCINNATI -- The ball headed straight for Jordan Shipley. So did James Harrison.

Care to guess which one won?

The often-fined Harrison lowered his shoulder and helped knock the ball loose from Shipley near the 5-yard line on Cincinnati's final play, preserving a Pittsburgh Steelers 27-21 victory over the Bengals on Monday night that left the AFC North with an old, familiar look.

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The Steelers (6-2) are again at the top, sharing the spot with Baltimore. The defending-champion Bengals (2-6) are in last place alone after their fifth straight loss, coming up one completion short.

Credit that last rib-jolting hit -- legal all-around -- by the Steelers' on-the-spot defenders.

"The defense held strong," said Ben Roethlisberger, who was 17 of 27 for 163 yards with a touchdown and an interception that helped the Bengals rally at the end.

At the end of a night full of foibles, tricks and missed chances, the Steelers turned to their one constant to finish it off. That unyielding defense came through again.

"This is how the Steelers play ball," defensive back Ike Taylor said. "We might get a blowout here and there. But we're always in tough close ballgames. As a defense we just want to close them out. That's what we did tonight."

Pittsburgh seemed to be in control when Antwaan Randle El threw a 39-yard touchdown pass off a trick play to open the fourth quarter, building a 27-7 lead made possible by the Bengals' many mistakes. Pittsburgh also had points set up by a fumbled kickoff, a blocked punt and a missed field goal.

Then, the Steelers turned sloppy as well. Roethlisberger threw an interception that set up Terrell Owens' second touchdown catch of the game, and Jeff Reed missed a 46-yard field goal try that would have clinched it with 3:59 to go.

The drama had just begun.

Last year, Cincinnati jump-started its perfect run through the division by rallying to beat the Steelers 23-20 on Carson Palmer's touchdown pass with 14 seconds left. When Reed's attempt swerved left, the Steelers got a bad feeling.

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"They had Carson Palmer and company with timeouts," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "And that's a horror movie and we've seen that before."

Palmer led the Bengals downfield with the help of a wacky play. His pass to Cedric Benson was tipped, but the running back made a juggling catch for a 16-yard gain on third-and-long. Chad Ochocinco's only catch of the game moved it to the 12-yard line.

On fourth-and-5, Palmer found Shipley open over the middle in first-down range, but the Steelers converged and squeezed the ball out to end it.

"I ran in the middle of two guys," Shipley said. "I felt like I had it, and they knocked it out of there."

Palmer was 22 of 36 for 248 yards with an interception and touchdown passes of 19 and 27 yards to Owens.

"I think Carson played a great game under a lot of heat," said Owens, who had 10 catches for 141 yards. "He put the ball in there in tight situations. You look at the last four or five games we've played, it's been a play here or there that's made the difference."

It was fitting that Harrison had a shoulder in the final play. He got his third fine of the season, this one pushing the total to $100,000, for a hit last week on the Saints' Drew Brees. The linebacker got summoned to Commissioner Roger Goodell's office for a meeting.

Goodell was at the game on Monday night, watching as the Harrison-led defense got the best of the Ohio River rivalry.

Eight seconds into the game, the Bengals already were in trouble.

The Steelers won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Bernard Scott got the kickoff and fumbled at the Cincinnati 25. Pittsburgh needed only four plays to score, with Rashard Mendenhall pushing the final yard for a 7-0 lead.

When Scott held onto the ball as he was tackled during the ensuing kickoff, some Bengals fans gave a derisive cheer. They were incredulous moments later when William Gay burst through the middle of the line untouched and blocked Kevin Huber's punt at the Cincinnati 30-yard line -- Pittsburgh's first blocked punt in two years.

Reed's 25-yard field goal made it 10-0, just like that.

"Initially, we created some opportunities for ourselves," Tomlin said. "You knew it was going to be a 60-minute game."

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The Steelers lost two offensive linemen on a second-quarter drive. Left guard Chris Kemoeatu hobbled off with an injured right ankle. Center Maurkice Pouncey limped off with an injured right leg two plays later, but returned in the second half. Then, left tackle Max Starks went out in the third quarter with a neck injury.

With the backups in place, the Steelers managed to stay ahead. Roethlisberger threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward, his 15th TD catch against the Bengals -- Ward's highest total against any team. And Randle El's first pass of the season went for a touchdown that seemed to put it out of reach.

Notes: The Steelers got DE Brett Keisel back from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for the past two games, but he aggravated it and left the game. ... Ward extended his streak to 186 consecutive regular-season games with a catch, moving ahead of Owens for third place on the all-time list. ... It was Randle El's fifth career touchdown pass. ... Owens' two TDs gave him 151 career. On his last one, he caught the ball at the back of the end zone and inadvertently ran over a security guard looking toward the stands. The guard wasn't hurt.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

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