January 22, 2024
It was already obvious that Philadelphia Eagles de facto defensive coordinator Matt Patricia would not be returning to the team in 2024, but we have the first reporting to confirm that, via Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
#Eagles senior defensive assistant Matt Patricia is not under contract and plans to explore other opportunities, sources tell me and @RapSheet.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 22, 2024
Patricia took on play-calling last month under difficult circumstances, running someone else’s scheme with a depleted unit. He’ll be a…
• "Patricia is not under contract and plans to explore other opportunities" = The Eagles don't want him back.
• "Patricia took on play-calling last month under difficult circumstances, running someone else’s scheme with a depleted unit." Eh, he also made nonsensical changes to the scheme and failed to put his players in the best position to accentuate their skill sets, notably having Haason Reddick regularly drop into coverage.
• "He’ll be a top DC candidate." He most certainly will not.
After a three-game stretch against the Bills, 49ers, and Cowboys during which the Eagles allowed 109 points (36.3 per game) and 1,355 yards (451.7 per game), Patricia replaced Sean Desai as the team's defensive coordinator, and the defense became substantially worse. Players often didn't know how to line up or what their assignments were, while opposing offenses bulldozed them in the run game and easily found ways to get receivers running wide open through the secondary.
Under Desai the team was 10-3. Under Patricia, they were 1-4.
Patricia was the Patriots' defensive coordinator from 2012-2017, before landing a head coaching job with the Lions in 2018. He was fired in 2020, went back to the Patriots in a role on offense, and called plays on offense in 2022. He was relieved of those duties after a disastrous season, and landed with the Eagles as a "senior defensive assistant" in March of 2023.
During the Eagles' NFC championship season in 2022, the Eagles faced virtually no adversity whatsoever. Their response to two bad losses in 2023 was to make a drastic panic move at defensive coordinator that screamed "bad vibes" for a team that had beaten good teams like the Rams, Dolphins, Cowboys, Chiefs, and Bills. In a season that went horribly wrong in so many ways, the decision to promote Patricia is probably the one that will most define it.
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