The Philadelphia Eagles have spent much of the past five seasons searching for the right balance on offense. Some years it came easy. Other years, like this past season, it did not.
After getting booted from the wild-card round in the playoffs, the Eagles fired offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, who was the team’s fourth OC in the last five years.
That means yet another reset for quarterback Jalen Hurts, who has now worked with four different offensive coordinators since becoming the Eagles’ full-time starter in 2021. The next hire will be his fifth in as many years.
Zach Berman of The Athletic thanks it’s possible a familiar face could return to Philly due to his connections with current head coach Nick Sirianni: former OC Frank Reich.
Could the Philadelphia Eagles Re-Hire Former OC Frank Reich in 2026?
GettyFrank Reich ahead of the Eagles-Patriots matchup at Super Bowl 52. Could Philadelphia re-hire him as OC in 2026?
“Reich needs no introduction to Eagles fans,” Berman wrote on January 13. “He was the offensive coordinator for the Eagles’ first Super Bowl in 2017 before becoming the head coach in Indianapolis. His coordinator with the Colts? Sirianni, who considers Reich like an older brother. Reich hasn’t coached in the NFL since the Panthers fired him in 2023, but he has considerable play-calling experience and is respected at multiple levels of the Eagles’ building.”
It’s true that Reich is a familiar face to Eagles Nation, as he once helped guide the team through one of the most successful stretches in franchise history. He served as offensive coordinator in 2016 and 2017, overseeing an offense that wound up raising a Lombardi Trophy despite significant QB changes. His success earned him a head coaching gig after that, as he served as head coach for the Colts for five years. He also served as the Carolina Panthers HC for the bulk of the 2023 season.
Hurts has no experience on a professional level with Reich, but Sirianni’s ties to him are strong. It would be a relatively unsexy hire, but according to recent reports, the Eagles want a knowledgeable and proven person as their next OC.
“A league source said earlier today the #Eagles are looking for an ‘established …name’ guy at offensive coordinator, and that they’ll try to vet through the top qualifiers as much as possible,” NFL insider Josina Anderson reported on X on January 14.
A Reunion With Reich Seems Unlikely
The Eagles’ offense averaged just over 22 points per game last season, which ranked 19th in the league.
The running game, among the NFL’s best in 2024 after netting just under 180 yards per game, fell to 116.9 yards per contest. Explosive plays were also less frequent, and the defense had to carry the load much of the season.
Adding Reich would not be a bold or trendy move, nor would it signal reinvention. Reich knows the city, he knows the coach and he knows what winning football looks like. He served as interim head coach at Stanford in 2025, so it’s not like he’s been away from the game forever.
But with the likes of Mike McDaniel, Kevin Stefanski, Brian Daboll and Kliff Kingsbury all currently available, Reich may not be the best possible candidate to orchestrate Philadelphia’s offense. And you can bet GM Howie Roseman and Sirianni are going to try to find the best man for the job, regardless of personal connections.
‘Respected’ Familiar Face Emerges as Possibility for Eagles Next OC