Apparently Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni’s message on the field after the Birds’ Super Bowl Victory 10 days ago, “Let’s run this sh#t back, Kellen,” fell on deaf ears because three days later Sirianni’s former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore was introduced as the new head coach of the New Orleans Saints, in a temporary career suicide move, but that’s a story for another time. Since then Moore has attempted to poach upwards of three members of Sirianni’s coaching staff and may have his eyes set on another. All this does is highlight the fact that football isn’t show-friends it’s show-business and I’m sure the principals understand that.
So in four out of the five years as the Birds head coach, Sirianni will have his fourth different offensive coordinator and the same goes for his quarterback Jalen Hurts.
An Inside Job?
What’s concerning about the upcoming hire is that by all accounts Sirianni wants to promote his right hand man Kevin Patullo from passing coordinator and associate head coach to fill the role of his next offensive play caller. I think this is a colossal mistake. Patullo has been with coach Nick since they were both with the Colts but he’s never been an offensive coordinator at any level and has never called plays before.
Patullo has been passed over for the job twice before. Lest we forget that just two years ago the Eagles promoted then-quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson to offensive coordinator. He lasted one season before he was fired. He was replaced by Moore this past season, who was an outside hire, as Patullo was passed over again.
Patullo, along with Moore, were both heavily involved in the Eagles’ game plan and play-calling strategies this past year and I’m sure the former gained a great deal of knowledge and experience working that closely with a Super Bowl winning O.C. But there is a major difference between working on the offensive install week in and week out in your office and being on the sideline each week shuffling and weaving the plays in to the quarterback in a tight time window with some semblance of strategical sequence with a lot of “noise” going on around you.
From all accounts Sirianni has his heart set on his guy but don’t think that General Manager Howie Roseman and Owner Jeff Lurie aren’t acutely aware of the disaster that ensued when both the offensive and defensive coordinators were promoted from within prior to the 2023 season and what a difference the results were this past season when they were replaced by two outside hires in Moore and Vic Fangio. As much as I’m sure the brass wants to reward the head coach for a championship season for the ages, this is where Roseman has put the Lombardi on the shelf, close the book on 2024, and do what’s best for the team.
O-candy
This is a marquee job for a seasoned play caller. It’s actually a marquee job for any play caller. Imagine walking into the Eagles locker room and looking around at nothing but offensive eye candy versus, say, walking into the Saints locker room and having to ask somebody which one is the quarterback. It would be akin to walking into the Playboy Mansion versus a late night stop at the old 7th Heaven in Conshohocken (or at least, like, that’s what I heard from other people). The Birds should be able to pluck the pick of the litter from what’s left out there and there are still some talented ones to choose from
By my count here are any where from 10-15 well-credentialed, viable candidates for the O.C. job but I whittled it down to my short list of just these three:
1. Frank Reich
Frank Reich was a member of Doug Pederson’s staff as the offensive coordinator when the franchise won its first Super Bowl in 2018.
After that season, Reich became the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, where he hired Sirianni as his offensive coordinator.
Reich and Sirianni are extremely close. Before they worked together with the Colts, they were on the same Chargers coaching staff for multiple seasons.
Reich went on to be the head coach of the Carolina Panthers for the 2023 season, but he was fired after a 1-10 start.
2. Josh McCown
Josh McCown spent one season with the Eagles as Carson Wentz’s backup in the 2019 season and played in a playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks with a torn hamstring.
He is currently the Minnesota Vikings quarterbacks coach and did an amazing job with Sam Darnold this past season enroute to a 14-3 regular season. He spent the 2023 season in the same role with the Panthers under Reich.
McCown interviewed for the New York Jets head coaching job, which went to Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.
3. Doug Pederson
Pederson would be my first choice but it’s a long shot that it’ll happen. Apparently the former Super Bowl winning coach is in high demand this offseason.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, teams have started to look at Pederson for offensive coordinator jobs but nobody knows if he’s interested in being a coordinator. Well, here’s an idea – maybe someone should ask him.
Pederson was the head coach of the Jaguars for the past three seasons, compiling a 22-29 record. He led them to the playoffs during the 2022 season but missed the playoffs in each of the last two seasons. He was fired after a 4-13 record this last season.
He led the Birds to their first Super Bowl title during the 2017 season but was fired three seasons later after the Eagles finished 4-11-1. He complied a 42-37-1 record in five years in Philly and took the Birds to the playoffs three times.
Pederson has shown an ability to be a great play-caller during his career as a coach and was one of the first head coaches in the league to incorporate analytics into his aggressive philosophy as a play-caller, which is in complete alignment with Sirianni’s style. He butted heads with management a bit at times and might not be able to get past the “demotion” of coming back as a subordinate rather than the head man. Pederson and Sirianni are tied at one for World Championships won but Pederson still leads in statues outside the Linc 1-0.
Campaign Kick-off
But in the building at Nova Care and around the league the consensus seems to believe that Patullo is the favorite for the job and he has been with the Eagles’ franchise since 2021. “I’m looking forward to whatever happens” said Patullo two weeks ago during Super Bowl week. “I’ve had opportunities over the last couple of years for potential coordinator jobs. And it just hasn’t kind of gone the way maybe I wanted it to or the way it was supposed to. But we’re here now, and wherever it goes, it’ll go.”
Patullo described himself as this. “I’m basically half head coach and half offensive coordinator in that world. I get to do both, which is very fortunate. You can see a lot of stuff as a coach that people don’t get to see if they are not the head coach. I’m basically involved in everything.”
I guess that was his understated way of kicking off his campaign for the job.
Interestingly enough, Hurts, who will be playing for his eighth different coordinator in the last nine years, had this to say about a potential Patullo promotion. “Kevin Patullo’s never been — he’d have a different role,” QB1 said, via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “So it’s hard to compare that role to this role because his job is going to demand something completely different of him. And I have a lot of confidence in him and what he’s shown. However, I know, I’ve learned over the years, that’s out of my jurisdiction. Kind of just taking things as they come and trying to go out there and be the best I can be and just learn and evolve.”
Pointing out that Patullo has never been a play caller before tells me that the Super Bowl MVP might not be that thrilled about having to work with a rookie O.C. per se. Stay tuned.
