While he wasn't angry or disappointed or frustrated enough to fire head coach Andy Reid, the jury still is out on the Eagles' embattled defensive coordinator, Juan Castillo.
"That's up to Andy," Lurie said. "We've had long discussions about player personnel, staff and everything. But that's Andy's area and he will make the best judgment of that. He'll be addressing you [media] guys soon on that, and I have full confidence he'll make the right decisions there."
Castillo, whose curious promotion last February from offensive-line coach to defensive coordinator raised eyebrows all over the league, appeared to be a dead coach walking in early December after the Eagles gave up 69 points in back-to-back losses to New England and Seattle and fell to 4-8.
Too little too late, they rallied to win their last four games, as Castillo's defense gave up a total of 46 points, albeit to a motley collection of offenses quarterbacked by Matt Moore, Mark Sanchez, Stephen McGee and Rex Grossman.
Many, including myself, thought the defense's late-season improvement might be enough to save Castillo's job. But after listening to Lurie yesterday, I'm not so sure.
While he acknowledged he was happy to see his team rally in December and string together four season-ending wins, he said the caliber of the competition can't be ignored.
"In reality, we weren't playing Green Bay, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and some of the best teams in the league," Lurie said. "We proved we could dominate the last four games of the year against teams that weren't that competitive.
"There's a lot to be said for players coming together, and the [way the] coaching staff held this group together was impressive. But to hold on to that as a reason to be completely optimistic is, I think, fool's gold."
