Eagles can only hope to be Temple TUFF

Steve Spagnuolo would be a Chuck Heater-type hiring for the Eagles and that’s a  good thing.

On Sundays, I hang up my Temple garb, don the Eagles gear and head out to a local establishment to watch my second-favorite football team play.
I’m always promoting the Owls by word-of-mouth, though.
I never cease to be amazed by the outdated perceptions many Eagles’ fans have of Temple football.
Watching the Eagles hammer the Jets, 45-19, an old guy sitting at the bar slid down his NFL title game ticket, circa 1960.
I mentioned how stupid it was for Andy Reid to hire Juan Castillo, a lifetime offensive line coach, as defensive coordinator.
“It’s pretty bad,” I said out loud, “when the Temple defensive coordinator is so much better than the Eagles’ defensive coordinator, it’s not even funny.”
Most of the bar seemed to know who Chuck Heater was and the kind of job he was doing at Temple and nodded in agreement.
Not all, but most.

Occasionally, he will throw in a “Temple TUFF, baby” at his press conferences. That’s as exciting as a Reid press conference gets to me, but I appreciate it.


Certainly not the old guy.
“Temple?” he said. “Do they still draw 3,000 for their games?”
I had to bite my tongue to be nice to this guy.
“I guess you don’t read the newspapers anymore,” I said. “Try 30,000. They almost averaged 30,000 this year. You can look it up. You should go. Their games are a lot more exciting than the Eagles’ games.”
“I didn’t know that,” the man said, apologetically.
Perceptions are pretty hard to break down, but I’m doing it one person at a time.
That’s why I took Jeffrey Lurie’s press conference today as a good sign.
Andy Reid will be back. He can break down outdated perceptions of Temple football a lot faster than I can because he has a much larger platform.
Reid is a good head coach who is a friend of Temple football.
I think he made a mistake in hiring his buddy, Castillo, but Reid is a pretty loyal guy.
That’s a good sign for Temple as well.
Occasionally, he will throw in a “Temple TUFF, baby” at his press conferences.
That’s as exciting as a Reid press conference gets to me, but I appreciate it.
I hope Reid follows up by hiring a good defensive coordinator who will make the Eagles Temple TUFF on defense once again.
Steve Spagnuolo, who was just fired in St. Louis, would be a good fit for the Birds.
If Spagnuolo can do the same type of job as Heater, both teams should have double-digit wins next season and I’ll be able once again to wear the green as proudly as I always do the Cherry and White.

6 thoughts on “Eagles can only hope to be Temple TUFF

  1. Mike, I'm surprised at you, if you think Jeff Lurie deciding to bring Andy Reid back is a smart thing, I'm gonna have to rethink what I thought I knew about your football IQ. I'm not an Eagles fan (thank God) but it's obvious to me as a football fan that Andy Reid's tenure has run here in Philly. Well, should have run here in Philly anyways. The only ones who don't seem to know that are that 'other' football team that share the Linc with my Owls. Anytime the man you charge to lead your organization is arrogant enough to think he can put an offensive line coach in charge of the defense and expect to compete for a championship then you have to reconsider that man as your leader. Thirteen years without a Super Bowl is way too long for one man to lead a professional football team. When your owner leads a press conference by stating how disappointed he is in the season and how it's the worst season he has experienced but then you still say that the leader of the football team will continue in that capacity something is wrong. I like your blog Mike but agreeing with Jeff Lurie's decision to hold onto Andy Reid is just mind boggling. Yeah his son is a Temple Owl, and he mentions Temple on occasion, not enough good reasons to keep him as head coach of the Eagles. And again this is coming from a non Eagles fan.

  2. I understand all of that, but you have to put yourself in Jeff Lurie's shoes.If I'm Jeff Lurie, I've got to be thinking, "Who out there is a sure-fire, lead-pipe cinch to do better?"Bill Cowher?Yeah, but he's not coming back into coaching.Jeff Fisher?Maybe.Then analyze the team's problems.Turnovers on offense and a slow learning curve on defense.To him, Castillo might have graduated to acceptable after that long learning curve.Getting Michael Vick to slide and live to another day eliminates 90 percent of the turnovers.I think Andy is on notice, though.Nothing less than double-digit wins and a deep playoff run and he's gone next year.

  3. Not to make this an Eagles debate, but that whole argument of who is out there to replace Andy Reid is a weak argument. There are always new coaches that come along and make a mark in the NFL, my favorite example is Sean Payton. Then there's guys like Mike Tomlin and Mike McCarthy and this season Jim Harbaugh, hell Andy Reid was one of those guys 14 years ago. But this is a Temple blog, let's leave the Eagles debate for an Eagles blog, that way I won't have to see it. I can't wait for Temple 2012, it's going to be a heck of a season, can you say a BCS bowl possibility? I can.

  4. We both agree on that.I'm excited for Temple football because the missing link has always been quarterback and now we have not only upgraded our starting position with the MVP of the New Mexico Bowl, but the backup as I think Juice Granger will eventually replace Mike Gerardi at No. 2 (and I really like Gerardi and have always felt that we can win with him).Look for 10 wins and a possible baker's dozen if Bernard Pierce comes back. If Bernard Pierce comes back and Temple wins 12, he wins the Heisman. Temple winning 12=Heisman Trophy. (Heck, if freaking Ball State can win 12 only five years ago, so can Temple.)

  5. To drift slightly off topic, big win for Temple basketball last night. Now if the football team can follow up with a win over Penn State this year, I'll be a happy guy.

  6. Great pick up by Temple. This kid is a gamer. http://youtu.be/EWfDs_QPDJw Tyler Matakevich Sr year in HShttp://youtu.be/qwXbqMcy3U4 This past year at milford Academy

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