Jim Washburn was fired by the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday after serving as the team’s defensive line coach for less than two seasons.
According to a report from CSN Philly’s Reuben Frank, Washburn was a disrespectful, disruptive personality who didn’t hide his disdain for former Eagles defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, who was fired earlier this season. Washburn reportedly even mocked Castillo’s name.
From Frank’s report:
Washburn operated apart from Castillo, running his own little defensive line fiefdom and often either ignoring Castillo or derisively calling him “Juanita” in front of his players, the veteran defensive player said. He was condescending and confrontational and embarrassed Castillo frequently in meetings and at practice and also went over the line criticizing his players at times.
Frank also reports that Washburn went ballistic after Jason Babin was surprisingly released by the team last week. Babin was coming of an 18-sack season that made him a Pro Bowler, but he had 5.5 sacks in 11 games this season with Philly. Washburn was Babin’s defensive line coach in Tennessee and helped him earn his first double-digit sack season ever back in 2010. Both men were characterized as focused more on sacks than the team winning.
The Eagles have lost eight games in a row and, at 3-9, are now tied with the Carolina Panthers for the worst record in the NFC. The defense is ranked 26th in the NFL with 26.7 points allowed per game, which is second-worst in the NFC.
It’s about time the Eagles started weeding out some of the bad blood around the organization. It won’t be much longer before the rest of the coaching staff is gone.
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