The Eagles website on Thursday briefly mentioned former Patriots and Lions coach Matt Patricia as a Senior Defensive Assistant with the team.
When the team officially announced their coaching updates a short time later, Patricia’s name had been removed and the list did not include him.
In a press conference shortly after that, head coach Nick Sirianni told the media that Patricia may indeed be heading to Philly, but that a deal is not yet done.
The team is, per Sirianni, trending toward an agreed-upon deal.
While their is a lot of hate for Patricia and he certainly proved to be a failure as the head coach for the Lions, he had an incredibly successful run with the Patriots, where he called the defense from 2009-2017 – including two Super Bowls and two additional AFC Championships.
Sirianni also reported that he spoke with Darius Slay, who had a rather public feud with Patricia when he was his head coach in Detroit, and the thought is that the two will be able to have a solid working relationship.
Patricia would bring some valuable experience to a defensive coaching staff that doesn’t have too much experience in their current roles following several departures, promotions, and pulling from the college ranks, but his attitude with players is what might really concern the Eagles.
If the team can find a way to get his input and ideas to mix into their Desai’s defense without having to have him deal directly with players, there’s a chance the hire could actually work out in their favor, but that if will be at the forefront of many fans’ minds.
Update: Shortly after this article was posted, the Eagles made the hiring of Patricia official per Adam Schefter.
