December 02, 2025
During his press conference following the Philadelphia Eagles' ugly loss to the Chicago Bears on Black Friday, Nick Sirianni said that offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo would continue to call plays going forward. On Monday, Sirianni was asked once again if that was still the case, and he reiterated his position.
First, Sirianni was asked to just generally volunteer if the team had made any changes in the last few days.
"I always want to answer your guys' question as much as I can," Sirianni said. "Obviously, we're evaluating everything. You don't have as much time as you have in a normal bye week, but it's a mini-bye and so everything was being evaluated. We will think about some different things that we want to do all over the place: scheme, everything. I don't think it benefits us for me to share in particular what that is. Just know this: We want to get this thing fixed more than anybody. We live it, breathe it, and [are] involved in it every waking second of our lives. That's what we're working on right now."
Sirianni acknowledged that the offense needs to be fixed, but did not really answer the question. He was later asked, "So just to clarify, Kevin still is the play caller?"
Sirianni then shook his head yes and replied, "Yeah."
In 2023, coming off two brutal losses to the 49ers and Cowboys during which the defense got absolutely torn apart, the Eagles had an extra day to prepare for their next opponent, the Seahawks, who they were scheduled to play in Seattle the following Monday. If you'll recall, both coordinators, OC Brian Johnson and DC Sean Desai, faced heavy criticism that season. On Tuesday of that week, Sirianni was asked about potential changes to the coaching staff.
The question: "I'm wondering if you're considering any coaching responsibility changes starting this week, including potentially trying to take over play calling to give the offense a spark?"
Sirianni responded simply, "No."
The second half of the question focused on the offensive side of the ball, which arguably gave Sirianni some cover to answer that part truthfully, and ignore the more general query about any coaching responsibility changes. But obviously, his answer was deceptive nevertheless. As we would find out on the day of the game via a report from Jay Glazer, Desai had indeed been demoted, and Matt Patricia would become the de facto defensive coordinator.
However, on Wednesday of that week, the Eagles had Desai undignifiedly do his regularly scheduled media availability. Desai answered questions as he normally would, feigning as if he was still in charge of the defense, when a change had obviously already been made.
So to answer the question in the above subhead, no, it doesn't really matter what Sirianni tells us in press conferences, at least when it comes to changes to the coaching staff.
Sirianni was asked, "We've asked you a lot about Kevin and the play calling position, and your answer has consistently been, ‘The blame is never on one person.’ You did change play callers on offense in ‘21 and on defense in ‘23. I'm just wondering, why is this situation different?"
Sirianni answered, "I do believe that both of them are different scenarios. I know it was a change of play caller, but slightly different, particularly on the offensive side. Again, it isn't just one person, it's the ultimate team game. Like I said, we're working through everything. I have a lot of faith in all the players. I have a lot of faith in all the coaches. We’ve just got to execute it better and scheme it better, and that all can be true, we’ve got to call it better. It's every area that we need to improve on. That's why we always say we look internally through all these things. Like I said to you guys, if all that's not gelling, to me, that's on me first. It's my job to do whatever I need to do to help get it fixed and that's what we're working on right now."
Patullo is far from the only problem, and hardly the team's biggest problem. He is picking from a menu of plays in an offense that is not his. It's Sirianni's offense, and ultimately failures associated with the structure, scheme, and general philosophy offensively should fall on Sirianni, not necessarily Patullo.
That said, it's hard to identify anything positive that Patullo has not brought to the table this season. He has not been a good picker of the plays on the albeit bland menu, and he is the easiest high-level switch the team can make. The notion that "It isn't just one person" is fine and good, but if one of those people can be replaced with relative ease, then he should be.
First, to answer the above question above about why this season is different from 2023, the Eagles never really had confidence in Desai, organizationally.
They really would have preferred to hire Vic Fangio to be their defensive coordinator in 2023 after Jonathan Gannon left to become the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. However, following the Eagles' NFC Championship Game win over the San Francisco 49ers, Gannon told the Eagles he was saying in Philly before proceeding to have improper contact with the Cardinals while the Eagles were preparing to play in the Super Bowl. After the team's Super Bowl loss, Gannon quickly left for the Cardinals job, but Fangio had already agreed to be the defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins.
The Eagles settled on Desai, but also hired the experienced Patricia to lurk in the background as a "senior defensive assistant."
Seemingly, no such experienced lurker exists on the current offensive staff ready to step in for Patullo. Also, Sirianni has a long professional relationship with Patullo, while Desai was hired from the outside.
So, yeah, Patullo is probably still the play caller, but just because Sirianni said he is doesn't make it so.
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