Just one year after dominating the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX and ending their bid to become the first three-peat champions in NFL history, the Philadelphia Eagles didn’t even make it out of the wild-card round of the playoffs this time around.
After an 11-6 finish and fourth division title in the last seven seasons, the Eagles clinched No. 3 seed and were in good position hosting the injury-riddled No. 6 seed San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
SF even had the deck stacked against it even more when Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle went down with an Achilles injury in the first half, which made the Eagles 24-19 loss an even harder pill to swallow.
Major Coaching Shake-Up is Expected
GettyPhiladelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo
During Monday morning’s episode of ESPN’s “Get Up,” NFL insider Adam Schefter revealed there will be several offseason changes coming for the Eagles over the next few weeks, and he pointed squarely at one coach in particular — offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo — who will presumably be out of a job.
“When you speak to people around the league, they expect there to be mass changes there to jump-start the offense,” Schefter stated, via Bleacher Report. “So, you’re looking at a new offensive coordinator next year, that’s the expectation there across the league.”
In his first season as offensive coordinator, Patullo’s unit ranked 24th in total offense (311.2 yards per game), 23rd in passing offense (194.3 yards per game), 18th in rushing offense (11.69 yards per game), and 19th in scoring (22.3 points per game).
Head coach Nick Sirianni didn’t commit one way or another on Patullo’s future with the team after Sunday’s loss, only stating that everyone on staff will be looked at in the coming weeks.
“There will be time to evaluate everybody’s performance,” Sirianni told reporters. “Right now, I feel for all our guys in the locker room, all the players, all the coaches, the front office, everybody that works so hard.”
Eagles Players Throw Support Behind Patullo
GettyPhiladelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo and QB Jalen Hurts
It’s clear how Eagles fans feel about Patullo. There were calls for the team to fire the first-year OC on social media immediately after Sunday’s loss.
And while the team’s conservative offensive philosophy is largely to blame for how Philadelphia’s season ended (the Eagles averaged a meager 4.3 yards per play and totaled just 167 yards passing vs. the 49ers), several Eagles players made it clear they don’t believe Patullo should be scapegoated.
“A lot of the stuff is on us as players,” receiver DeVonta Smith said. “It works hand in hand. We have to all pick each other up. We have to pick him up. He has to pick us up. I feel like he called a great offense the whole year. We just didn’t execute well.”
“That’s very unfair,” tackle Jordan Mailata said. “When you look at the play from a player’s standpoint, execution plays a massive role and there were just so many plays, so many games, where we just weren’t executing up front. I do think it’s a little unfair to point the finger at KP for the way the season ended.”
Quarterback Jalen Hurts added: “I think it’s tough to single out one individual. Especially at the moment like this. We’ve all got to improve and that’s how I look at everything.”
“Everybody shares blame but everybody’s going to point to somebody,” guard Landon Dickerson said. “It’s hard for people on the outside that don’t understand what goes on and the details of everything. I think he handled the criticism well, didn’t let it get to him and that’s all you can do.”
Eagles to Make Major Coaching Change After Early Playoff Exit: Report