Report: Spagnuolo expected back to Eagles by end of the week

Steve Spagnuolo is expected to return to the Eagles by the end of the week, Jason LaCanfora of NFL Network reported.

LaCanfora, citing NFL sources, wrote that Spagnuolo would likely replace embattled defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, perhaps not in name, but as the leader of the Eagles defense.

LaCanfora, though, told Ruben Frank of CSNPhilly earlier today that he was reporting that Spagnuolo would visit Philadelphia by the end of the week, not that the former Rams head coach was going to be hired by the Eagles in that time span.

If Spagnuolo is heading to the area, he may show up at Eagles headquarters and find an empty NovaCare Complex. Most of the Eagles decision-makers are on vacation this week. Eagles coach Andy Reid is away until Sunday, a source close to the situation said, so it is unlikely that any coaching changes will be announced before Sunday.

Reid, of course, was able to mastermind overhauling his coaching staff while he was away on a Caribbean vacation last January.

Spagnuolo is currently also on a vacation with his wife (at the same location as Reid?) but is expected to return tomorrow. He was fired by the Rams last week after three years as head coach. Spagnulo spent eight years with the Eagles as a defensive assistant, but left in 2007 to become the New York Giants' defensive coordinator.

If Spagnuolo does not replace Castillo as coordinator he could be named an assistant head coach along with offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. If Castillo is out in his current position, he could fill the vacany at secondary coach after Johnnie Lynn was fired last week.

Former Eagles safety Quintin Mikell, who played under Spagnuolo last season in St. Louis, said last week that he thought his former coach would end up back in Philadelphia. Mikell said that Spagnuolo, as head coach, may have missed calling plays.