During the lockout, if you wanted football news that did not have some sort of legal jargon mixed throughout, the only thing to look at was draft news.

Mock drafts, big boards, and all other sorts of stuff that usually proves worthless when all is said and done was the only thing to give us our fix.

Unfortunately, as is the case most years, I'm left pulling out my hair wondering how and why the guys with journalism degrees think their opinion should be taken seriously.

Then I get the urge to dive off a bridge when their opinion actually is taken seriously and regurgitated by some fans.

It happens every year in Philly without fail.

This year, the "expert" opinion that has my head spinning is all the talk about what a huge need right tackle is for the Eagles.


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The chance that Kevin Kolb remains a member of the Philadelphia Eagles seems to be dwindling by the day.

Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com is reporting that, according to a league source, the "Eagles are hoping to acquire at least a first-round pick and a second pick somewhere in the first three or four rounds for Kolb."

I don't doubt that head coach Andy Reid and general manager Howie Roseman have told that exact thing to any teams calling about Kolb, but if a team like the Arizona Cardinals offers up their first-round pick, which is the fifth pick overall, I believe the team will jump on that offer.

Reid is fairly greedy when it comes to trades, always trying to squeeze the other team for all they're worth, but asking for a pick in addition to the fifth overall pick, or any pick in the top 10, would take some gall. Just asking could turn a potential trade partner off and kill the deal.


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According to SI.com's Peter King, the Philadelphia Eagles have received an offer from a team that includes a first-round pick.

King also points out that head coach Andy Reid and general manager Howie Roseman believe they can get a better offer if they wait (not that they really have a choice until the Brady v. NFL ruling on April 6th), so there's a chance that the pick being offered is in the latter portion of the first round.

Of course, that's assuming there really is an offer at all.

That's not to say King is necessarily lying, but there's a very good chance the Eagles are the ones who leaked this information to King. And as we know, the team is not above leaking false information to get some of the more quarterback-needy teams a little closer to the edge.

It's quite possible that teams like the Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans, Minnesota Vikings, and others all got a little antsy when this report came out. If they all believe they're bidding against another team, it might make them more willing to give up their first-round pick, and maybe even a late-round pick in addition.


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Recently, former Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook expressed a desire to return to Philly, hinting along the way he'd be fine with a backup role to up-and-coming star LeSean McCoy.

"I talk to Coach (Andy) Reid every week or so," Westbrook told NBC 10 and Comcast SportsNet. "We always talk. And I would love to be back in Philly, so we'll see how things go ... I think I can help out. I think they have a very good group of young guys on the team, as far as every position. But I still think that I can help this team win."

I was never as big a Westbrook fan as most around the city seemed to be. There was no doubting that he was a great all-around player as he could do a lot of things very well, but I thought he was more of a play-maker than he was a real running back.

Outside of 2006 and 2007, Westbrook never really displayed great field vision and more often than not was running with his head down into the pile for a yard or two. He might follow that up with a swing pass for 15 yards, but that's not the makings of a great running back, it's the makings of a guy who should have always been the second option in a 1-2 punch.


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The Philadelphia Eagles announced Wednesday the tendering of restricted free agent Stewart Bradley and three others. The move to keep Bradley especially was expected, but what wasn't expected was the level at which he was tendered.

Last offseason, the Eagles slapped cornerback Ellis Hobbs with a first-round tender, but decided to only go to the second round with Bradley. Giving him a lower tender could be a message to the rest of the league that they'd like to keep Bradley, but might be open to moving him for the right price.

That price could come in the form of the second-round pick to sign him away, but that's likely too steep a price tag. The more likely option would be to include Bradley in a package for something else -- perhaps with backup quarterback Kevin Kolb to move up in the first round or even gain an additional first-round pick.

That is, of course, assuming there's a CBA in place by the time of draft -- an assumption that might be more wishful thinking than anything else.


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All the talk of Andy Reid and whether or not he's on the hot seat should stop.

Now.

I don't know if it's wishful thinking on the part of some delusional fans and media types, a way of creating a topic of conversation in a slow period, or maybe even plain stupidity, but there is no way Reid's job is in jeopardy in the near future.

And really, why should it? Yes, I know he has yet to bring the city a Super Bowl, but who exactly thinks making a change at head coach is going to bring that about any sooner?

I happen to be a fan of Jon Gruden, but is he a better coach than Reid? Is he going to do something so drastically different that will put this team over the top?

The realistic answer is probably not. Despite his love affair with the passing game, Reid has proven to be one of the best coaches in the league in terms of developing talent. Because of this talent, most of the teams under Reid have been overachievers.


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After about a month of almost nothing but watching coaches leave, hires along the coaching staff have come fast and furious over the past week or so.

Jim Washburn was the lone hire during the gutting of the defensive coaching staff, and things remained pretty quiet until the hiring of Juan Castillo and Howard Mudd, then the promotions of Mike Caldwell and Mike Zordich, and now on Tuesday the Eagles made about a half-dozen moves including the hiring of cornerbacks coach Johnnie Lynn.

In addition to hiring Lynn, the Eagles added the title of "senior offensive assistant" to wide receiver coach David Culley's title, named James Urban the assistant offensive coordinator, Doug Pederson the quarterbacks coach, Duce Staley the special teams quality-control coach, and Bobby April, Jr. the defensive quality-control coach.

Lynn looks like a good hire. He was the New York Giants defensive coordinator in 2002 and 2003, and has been a defensive coach for close to a decade after playing with the New York Jets for seven seasons. He will be a very good resource for both Castillo and Zordich as they transition into their new roles on the defensive coaching staff.


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Head coach Andy Reid recently decided to fill the void at linebackers coach by promoting last year's assistant linebackers coach Mike Caldwell. Reid also promoted defensive quality-control coach Mike Zordich to secondary/safeties coach.

By my count, that leaves at least two positions open the team must fill. So instead of filling them with some no-name guy who will be learning the game on the fly, why not bring in former Eagles great Seth Joyner, who has shown interest in joining the staff?

"If granted the opportunity, I would love to come back to Philly to coach and pass on my linebacking knowledge to this good group of young Eagles LBs," Joyner told me back in late January.

Joyner also went on 610-WIP to tell Angelo Cataldi and his crew why he believes he could pull off being an NFL coach despite no prior experience.


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After an extensive search, head coach Andy Reid (who is remaining the head coach, by the way) has named Mike Caldwell his linebackers coach and Mike Zordich his secondary/safeties coach.

Caldwell spent 2010 as the assistant linebackers coach under Bill Shuey, and Zordich was a defensive quality-control coach. Both Caldwell and Zordich are former Eagles -- Caldwell from 1998-2001 and Zordich from 1994-1998 -- and played 11 and 12 years in the league, respectively.

While neither guy has a ton of coaching experience, both guys have extensive playing experience and will have the trust of the players they're coaching because of it. Their experience will also be invaluable for Juan Castillo, who will be entering his first season as a defensive coordinator.

Neither player was ever really Pro Bowl-caliber, but both guys were key contributors during their careers and made a lot of plays because of their football acumen. Right off, that has the makings of a good coach because, as the old saying goes, "Those who can't do, teach."


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Twitter and the NFL forums are erupting right now with rumors that Andy Reid is stepping down as the Philadelphia Eagles head coach and will be replaced by former Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden.

According to Cody Benjamin of bleed-green.com, Ashley Zavala of the NBC affiliate KOMU-TV, and former Eagles fullback Kyle Eckel, Gruden is in Philadelphia right now and his representatives have told a few people that he is indeed in town to accept the job as the Eagles newest head coach.

Benjamin and Zavala also note that Reid is stepping down due to off-field issues and that this deal got done during the Super Bowl. Neither would speculate as to what the off-field issues are, but one would guess it would have something to do with his troublesome sons should this story pan out.

There are also rumors now circulating that Reid is not stepping down as much as he is "stepping up" into a front office role a la Mike Holmgren.


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Current Green Bay Packers safeties coach Darren Perry is not going to be the Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator in 2011. That title now belongs to Juan Castillo.

Perry could, however, still become a member of the Eagles coaching staff if they're lucky enough and play their cards right.

They would first have to hope that the teams still without a defensive coordinator don't scoop him up right after the Super Bowl is over. If they are lucky enough for that to happen, Andy Reid would have to put on his salesman hat and really give a good pitch to Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy.

Reid would have to sell McCarthy on the notion that becoming the Eagles secondary coach -- rather than staying as the Packers safeties coach -- is enough of a promotion for McCarthy to allow Perry to leave Green Bay.


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Now that Juan Castillo is officially on board as the Eagles defensive coordinator and Jim Washburn has been hired as the defensive line coach, it's time to turn the attention toward the linebackers and secondary coach.

Usually these hires aren't too terribly important, but with a first-time defensive coordinator they become decisions with potentially the entire season riding on them.

The guys hired must have a lot of experience and have shown an ability in the past to be successful coaches. There is no more room for inexperience.

While I don't believe the transition will be as hard for Castillo as others think, I'm also not naive to think he'll be a defensive mastermind by the team the season starts. It's simply not realistic. So in order to help the process go much smoother, he will need guys around him who he can trust to give him input.

Washburn already being on board definitely helps that, but it's only a start. The key issues that need to be addressed on this team are the linebacking corps and the secondary, so the coaches hired will need experience anyway if they're going to get the most out of the guys currently on the roster.


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I'm not going to pretend like I wasn't floored when the Eagles announced that offensive line coach Juan Castillo was going to be taking over the defense. In fact, my first reaction was "What in the hell is Andy doing?!"

But upon further review, this move could actually work.

First off, there isn't a harder-working coach on the Eagles' staff than Castillo. The guy lives and breathes football and after getting to watch him up-close at Training Camp and practice a couple times you really get the feel for how intense he truly is.

His work ethic makes me believe learning how to run a defense won't be an issue for him -- especially since he played on that side of the ball in the USFL and coached on that side for a while -- and his intense personality has me optimistic that he'll run a more attacking style of defense that Philly is used to seeing.

And apparently, Castillo has always wanted to coach the defense, saying in his introductory press conference that he "always told defensive guys (he) was stuck on the wrong side."


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According to TerezOwens.com, the Eagles and Jeff Fisher will have a sit-down meeting sometime in the near future to discuss the opening at defensive coordinator.

"My sources are telling me Fisher will meet with the Philadelphia Eagles about their defensive coordinator position opening," writes 'Terez.' "If he doesn’t accept, he will most likely take a year off living at his Montana ranch and then try become a Head Coach next year."

Philly was buzzing with Fisher rumors shortly after the long-time head coach left the Tennessee Titans thanks in part to ESPN's John Clayton and his usual shot-in-the-dark reporting, but that rumor was shot down fairly quickly by several people much more credible than Clayton.

Now, it appears, it can start again.


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According to Howard Eskin of 610WIP, the Eagles have interviewed another candidate for the defensive coordinator job -- Minnesota Vikings secondary coach Joe Woods.

According to Eskin, the interview took place on Monday.

There's not a whole lot known about Woods, but he's received praise from former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, the first guy to give Woods a job on his staff in the pros. The Vikings new head coach, Leslie Frazier, has also been quick to dish out the praise for Woods.

The results, however, have not backed up their kind words. It's been long-known that the secondary was the weak link of the Vikings, and without Antoine Winfield -- who was a great player long before Woods entered the picture -- the Minnesota secondary would have been a bottom-half-of-the-league unit at best.


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According to FOXSports.com's Adam Caplan, the Philadelphia Eagles have requested permission to interview Chicago Bears secondary coach Jon Hoke.

Not too much later, Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com reported that the Eagles have already interviewed Hoke for the team's open defensive coordinator spot, and the team has since confirmed.

So Caplan wasn't wrong, the information was just a tad behind.

Or maybe it was wrong. Brad Briggs of the Chicago Tribune is reporting Hoke's contract had run out, so the Eagles did not need permission to interview him. The fact that Andy Reid could have interviewed him at any point last week and chose not to could be a barometer of his true interest in Hoke.

Hoke is not a guy that excites me in the least. He's credited with turning the Bears' secondary around since he's been there the past two seasons (after spending seven years with the Houston Texans), but the Bears' successes seem more a result of Rod Marinelli and his scheme than the work of the assistants coaching up the individual players.


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The Philadelphia Eagles can be accused of messing up in a lot of areas, but one thing no one will ever accuse them of is being bad businessmen.

They usually know how to get top dollar for their assets while paying basement prices to keep or acquire players they covet.

But in the case of Kevin Kolb, I think the Eagles are guilty of over-valuing and over-pricing what they have.

Reports indicate that the Eagles will be asking for two first-round picks and perhaps a couple mid-to-late-round picks as well. But when we look at Kolb's body of work, it becomes very clear very quickly that he's not worth anything near that price.

In four years with the team, Kolb has completed just under 61 percent of his passes, but has thrown 14 interceptions to only 11 touchdowns. And in the 19 games he's played since coming out of Houston as as second-round pick in 2007, he's only played two games at a starting-caliber level (against Kansas City in 2009, and the Atlanta Falcons this past season).

Outside of that, he had a decent game against the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins this past season, but take note of the teams mentioned. Neither were exactly dominating defenses and he made several mistakes in those games as well.


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According to CSNPhilly.com's Reuben Frank via a "high-ranking NFL official," Green Bay Packers safeties coach Darren Perry is drawing interest from the Philadelphia Eagles, but he's not their top choice.

Frank says the Eagles are still expected to ask for permission from Green Bay to interview Perry, but that someone else is their real target.

A couple of the names mentioned along with job have been Packers inside linebackers coach Winston Moss, Pittsburgh Steelers linebackers coach Kevin Butler, Packers cornerback coach Joe Whitt, Jr., Packers defensive line coach Mike Trgovac, and Frank throws Steelers secondary coach Ray Horton into the mix.

Horton, a cornerback, was a second-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals back in 1983, and played with them for six seasons, racking up 14 interceptions, two touchdowns, and two sacks. He then played four years for the Dallas Cowboys as a free safety where he had five interceptions, two touchdowns, and one sack.

After his playing career, Horton got into coaching and has been an assistant for 15 years.


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Reports are coming out that the Eagles are waiting to talk to Green Bay Packers safeties coach Darren Perry for their open defensive coordinator position.

Perry played in the NFL for seven seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers before becoming their secondary coach for four seasons. He has spent the last two seasons as the Packers safeties coach.

If you're an astute observer, something should be hitting you right now. Perry, while he might be a good coach, has played and coached in 3-4 for his entire career. Head coach Andy Reid has said the Eagles will continue to run the 4-3, so why would a guy with only a 3-4 background even be a candidate?

Sean McDermott was bad, but what do they really expect from a guy who has never run the 4-3? Instead of Perry, why not talk to a guy like Mike Trgovac who has run a 4-3 defense successfully in the past?

Perry's not as young as McDermott was, but he's only 42. And since he has no experience with a 4-3, the little bit of age he has on McDermott really doesn't mean a thing.


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Almost immediately after news broke that Jeff Fisher would not be the Tennessee Titans head coach in 2011, speculation began that he could return to his roots in Philadelphia as the Eagles' defensive coordinator, where he held the same title under head coach Buddy Ryan from 1988-1990.

But almost as soon as those rumors could pick up steam, they were cut down by several media mouthpieces who came out and said there was no chance Fisher would go from being a head coach for 16 years to a coordinator.

And even if he would, there was no way the Eagles would "rent" a coordinator for a season before Fisher got another head coaching gig in 2012.

However, according to ESPN's John Clayton, that's exactly what is about to happen.


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