Eagles Relieve Jim Washburn of His Duties; Hire Tommy Brasher

After another embarrassing performance by the defense, the Eagles have fired Jim Washburn and brought back former defensive line coach Tommy Brasher to coach the final four games.

Many people have pointed at the moment that Washburn was hired as the potential reason for the teams recent demise.  Famous for his wide-nine scheme, Washburn came in with high credentials after coming over from the Tennessee Titans. During his 12-year tenure with the Titans, the team ranked seventh in sacks with 474 and fifth in run defense thanks to Washburn's defensive line.

(Listen to Eagles Post-game analyst G. Cobb talk about Washburn's firing)

(Listen to Eagles beat writer Jeff McLane talk about the Washburn and Foles)

However, in a odd situation the Eagles hired Washburn before they hired a defensive coordinator two seasons ago before eventually giving the job to Juan Castillo.  Many people felt that more qualified coordinators might have passed on the job, not wanting to use his wide-nine scheme.

Pro Football Weekly Senior Editor was on the Sports Bash on Thursday and talked about the Washburn hire and how it lead to the teams demise.  Eagles beat writer Jeff McLane was on the show recently and stated that he felt Washburn “completely destroyed the coaching staff,” and today he reported that he had become a cancer. 

It was reported that Washburn was not happy with the release of Jason Babin and maybe cutting Babin is a way of separating the team from Washburn without actually firing him - until they finally did today.

Eagles head coach Andy Reid gave the following statement  about the move:

“Jim is a fine football coach and we appreciate the efforts he gave to this team over the past two years,” said head coach Andy Reid. “However, I determined that it was in the team’s best interest that we move in a different direction in terms of trying to maximize the production of that position group. We look forward to having Tommy Brasher back on board to work with the defensive line.”

The question is, does this decision mean that Reid has a chance to stay on board?  Is Reid taking the bullet for everyone else, and trying to do all he can to save his job, showing his loyalty to everyone in the organization.

I stated on the air Friday, this looks a lot like the mob going down, a bunch of old football coaches going down, one-by-one, week-by-week someone else is getting their notice and one has to wonder is it all being done to save big red?