April 20, 2023
A coach who Eagles fans have long poked fun at is joining new defensive coordinator Sean Desai's staff. Matt Patricia, the former Patriots defensive coordinator and Lions head coach, will be a senior defensive assistant with the team, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.
There were some confusing elements at play before Schefter's latest report. ESPN's Tim McManus first tweeted that Patricia was listed as an assistant on the Eagles' website:
According to the team's site, Matt Patricia has been named the team's senior defensive assistant
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) April 20, 2023
That was then taken down swiftly:
The blurb on Patricia has since been deleted.
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) April 20, 2023
During Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni's Thursday afternoon press conference, Sirianni strangely did not outright confirm the hire, only saying that things were "trending" that way:
While it’s not official yet, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni says things are “trending in the direction” of the team hiring Matt Patricia to his staff.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 20, 2023
Weird. That sounds like an injury update. It's clear they're hiring the guy. Why not just say it?
Patricia, of course, was New England's defensive coordinator during Super Bowl LII when Nick Foles and Doug Pederson dropped 41 points on his head. When he walks through the halls of the NovaCare Complex, I'd love to see his reaction when he looks at all the images of Foles and that Super Bowl appearance on its walls.
Another noteworthy Patricia element: Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay had major beef with Patricia when they were both in Detroit.
Sirianni said he has already talked to both about the pending hire.
"Like you do with anything, you go through and you talk to guys and make sure everybody's comfortable with it," Sirianni said. "I've had conversations with Slay. Obviously, I've had conversations with coach Patricia, and I know that it'll be a good working relationship for us when that happens."
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