Eagles fire defensive coordinator Juan Castillo; Todd Bowles to take over

The Philadelphia Eagles have fired Juan Castillo as the team's defensive coordinator and will be replacing him with defensive backs coach Todd Bowles.

Head coach Andy Reid reportedly called Castillo into his office Tuesday morning to inform him that he was being dismissed and no longer has a role with the team. Castillo had been with the Eagles since 1995 in various positions. This was his second year as the team's defensive coordinator.

Bowles is in his first year with the club after briefly serving as interim head coach for the Miami Dolphins last season. The 48-year-old has never been a defensive coordinator in the NFL, although he has held defensive coaching positions in the league since 2000.

Reid made the strange decision promote his offensive line coach to the top defensive job in 2011 after firing Sean McDermott. Castillo had been the team's offensive line coach for the entirety of Reid's tenure, but had not coached defense since a stint as a high school defensive coordinator that ended in 1989. In his only full season in the role, the Eagles' defense wasn't too bad, dropping from 23.6 points per game to 20.5, good enough for 10th in the league. But many wondered whether others could do better with a highly talented group after the team missed the playoffs by a game last season.

The defense is currently allowing 20.8 points per game. The move comes before a bye week, giving the team slightly more time to adjust to any new schemes Bowles has.