Reid is unlikely to repeat his mistake of a year ago, when he insisted Sean McDermott would return as coordinator at the very time he was finessing McDermott's transfer to the Carolina Panthers (where head coach Ron Rivera is the one who actually runs the defense).
As it turned out, keeping McDermott would have been a better idea than inventing Castillo, and Reid could have avoided the blowback from being caught in another big, fat lie. Not that it bothered him very much, if at all.
Whenever Reid does finally convene the party, and whatever message he brings, it is smart to remember that his version of the truth is always based on the convenience of the moment. "Sometimes, I have to buy some time," he said last year when he was called on the McDermott charade. No kidding.
One of the more interesting, and less contradictory, aspects of last week's public séance conducted by Jeffrey Lurie was the owner's sighing wish that Reid was just a little better at the news conference thing. He said he has talked with Reid about the problem and holds out hope that the coach can work in a little warmth between the fibs.
"I think there is an opportunity and maybe you all can be helpful," Lurie told the assembled media, "and I know I am with Andy, [who] would love it if he could create that balance of being very protective of his players . . . and at the same time maybe find ways to communicate in small groups or interviews or something like that."
