Once again, the Eagles are expected to be on the hunt for an offensive coordinator. This time, they'll need to get it right.

Many are expecting the Eagles are to move away from Kevin Patullo after one dismal year calling plays for the Birds, who were bounced out of the playoffs early in a 23-19 loss to the 49ers in an NFC Wild Card game after winning the Super Bowl in 2024. 

Fortunately for the Eagles, this is a good year to need an offensive coordinator, as several good candidates are available, and many have already started interviewing for both coordinator and head coaching jobs.

We've taken the time to give you the most logical fits for the Birds ahead of their potential search for a playcaller. We focused only on coaches with prior play-calling experience, because let's be real, after striking out on Brian Johnson and Patullo, the Eagles are not going to hire a play caller who has never called plays at the NFL level. So you won't find names like Rams pass game coordinator Nathan Scheelhaase or Bears OC Declan Doyle here.

Here's the list, broken into three categories:

Ideal fits

Brian Daboll, former Giants HC: Checks all the boxes. Was a play-caller OC for the Bills and is largely credited for turning QB Josh Allen into a superhero before becoming Giants head coach, which started with a playoff season before becoming a predictable disaster. He and Nick Sirianni coached together in KC in 2012, when Daboll was OC and Sirianni was WRs coach. Daboll was also Alabama's OC in 2017 when Jalen Hurts was there, but that could work against him, as that was also the year that Nick Saban pulled the plug on Hurts for Tua Tagovailoa in the natty. Daboll will have plenty of suitors, though, and has already had at least one HC interview.

Todd Monken, former Ravens OC: He became available when the Ravens cleaned house, but his credentials are perfect. He's coached college offenses and NFL offenses and won a national championship at Georgia – Howie Roseman's favorite plucking ground – before becoming Ravens OC for the last three seasons. In Baltimore, he adjusted his 11 personnel preference to suit Lamar Jackson's strengths in a 12-personnel, run-reliant scheme predicated on a power run game and dual-threat QB. Sound familiar? Jackson won his second MVP in Monken's first season and finished second in Monken's second season as the Ravens finished with consecutive top-five scoring offenses before an injury plagued 2025 led to Baltimore missing the playoffs and making sweeping changes. To recap:  Monken presided over a 12-personnel-heavy, run-based scheme and helped an uber-athletic QB win MVP. He could be perfect here.

Matt Nagy, Chiefs OC: If he doesn't land another head coaching job, Nagy could be looking to spread his wings elsewhere as Chiefs HC Andy Reid is already making staff changes following a disastrous season. As a head coach of the Bears, Nagy went to the playoffs in his first year – losing to the Eagles in the Double Doink game – and won NFL Coach of the Year. Nagy, a Pennsylvania native and University of Delaware alum, called plays during stretches of his Bears tenure. He has five total seasons as OC in two separate stints under Reid in KC. His offense obviously is a duplicate of Reid's West Coast scheme, but Reid's WCO version is more modernized, using multiple tight ends, pre-snap motion, and with pistol and under center elements that the Eagles gradually worked into their offense this season.

Thomas Brown, Patriots Pass Game Coordinator: He satisfies plenty of criteria. Right now, he's the pass game coordinator for the Patriots, whose pass game exploded this season. Although he came from the Sean McVay tree as RBs coach for the Rams before coaching TEs, he moved to becoming OC for the Panthers under Sirianni's buddy Frank Reich in 2023. Together, they blended Brown's version of the WCO from McVay with Reich's version. Brown didn't call plays at first but Reich handed him duties after an 0-6 start. In an NFLPA poll of players, he was named one of the NFL's top OCs. He was in Chicago for one dismal season under Matt Eberflus and went from PGC to OC to interim HC, so he was clearly well-regarded. The tie to Reich, his preference for up-tempo and various personnel groupings, and ability to mold his offense make him a good fit for the Eagles.

Interesting, but ....

Kevin Stefanski, former Browns HC: Anyone who wins NFL Coach Of the Year TWICE in Cleveland should be automatically enshrined in Canton. Stefanski will likely land another HC job but if he doesn't, he'd be at the top of the Birds' list. The Philly native and son of former Sixers GM Ed Stefanski, Kevin doesn't really come from an offensive tree – his only other NFL gig was coaching in Minnesota under HCs Brad Chldress, Leslie Frazier (interim) and Mike Zimmer – but his offense has some resemblance to the old Mike Shanahan/Gary Kubiak schemes that were predicated on under center formations and heavy fronts with multiple tight ends, using the wide-zone run to set up play-action pass. It's not exactly a great match for the Eagles, but Stefanski worked with several different QBs in Cleveland and can probably adjust. He's just a really good ball coach.

Mike Kafka, former Giants OC/interim HC: This one is mildly interesting because Kafka is a former Day 3 Eagles quarterback drafted in 2010 who spent two seasons in Philly and played in four games before losing out to Nick Foles in Year 3, then never appearing in another NFL game. As a coach, he was a fast-riser up the Andy Reid chain from 2017-2021 in Kansas City before becoming Daboll's hand-picked OC in New York despite no prior connection to Daboll. Kafka called plays for the Giants, until the tempestous Daboll took it away from him, then gave it back, then took it away again, then got fired leaving Kafka as the interim HC. The Giants averaged 23.4 points per game in his seven games as HC, a slight improvement from their 22.4 for the season. Working with Patrick Mahomes in KC and then Daniel Jones and Jaxson Dart in New York gives Kafka experience with athletic QBs.

David Shaw, Lions pass game coordinator: Shaw is best known for coaching Andrew Luck at Stanford and getting the Cardinal football program to become nationally relevant during his 12 seasons there. He called plays there and sent several offensive linemen, tight ends and quarterbacks into the NFL, including all-time Eagles TE great Zach Ertz and current Eagles backup QB Tanner McKee. His offense at Stanford centered on the power run game while the pass scheme was funneled through the tight end. For that, his offense and the Eagles' scheme already have some similar DNA. After a brief hiatus out of football, Shaw resurfaced this past season as the Lions' pass game coordinator. He didn't call plays but the Lions ranked third in the NFL in explosive plays, something Sirianni emphasizes ad nausea

Don't hold your breath 

Kliff Kingsbury, formers Commanders OC: This would feel like a last-resort move for the Eagles and for Kingsbury, who's getting HC interviews despite being fired in Washington. Many staples of his offense are actually a great fit – RPOs, quick game, easily defined reads for the QB and designed QB runs – but the Eagles already interviewed him once for OC and opted to go with Kellen Moore instead. Word is Kingsbury wanted his own people on offensive staff, and that's not gonna fly in Philly.  

Mike McDaniel, former Dolphins HC: You really have to squint to see the Eagles bringing in someone from the Sean McVay tree given their unique run game design. Jeff Stoutland designs the run offense in Philly, and the Eagles aren't likely taking that responsibility away from their top position coach. McDaniel's pass offense in Miami was based on timing and anticipation, which was mainly because it fit Tua Tagovailoa's stregths and weaknesses but also because that's a staple of the McVay tree. Brilliant offensive mind, but not the best fit.  

Mike Denbrock, Notre Dame OC: The Eagles love to kick tires on college candidates, sometimes just for intel. It's not likely they'll go with a college coordinator who has no NFL experience, but Notre Dame's Denbrock runs an offensive scheme that matches what the Eagles do. The Irish are an inside-zone-heavy run team that uses RPOs and capitalizes on athletic QBs. Their running back this past season, Jeremiyah Love, finished third for the Heisman and will be a first-round pick. Denbrock coached under Brian Kelly at LSU and Cincinnati and in a first stint at Notre Dame. The Eagles once interviewed Kelly for their head coaching job way back when.

Charlie Weis Jr., LSU OC: Son of former NFL head coach and three-time Super Bowl OC Charlie Weis, Charlie Jr. has been coaching under Lane Kiffin at Florida Atlantic, South Florida, and Ole Miss and is headed with Kiffin to LSU, where he'll continue to call plays. The 32-year-old Weis Jr. has no NFL experience, but again, the Eagles kick tires on college coaches who they think have bright futures and there's no question that Ole Miss' offenses under Kiffin and Weis were among the most innovative in the game.

Chip Kelly, Northwestern OC: Just kidding.

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