Report: Eagles let go of DC Sean Desai

The Philadelphia Eagles are disappointed after they stumbled down the stretch of the second half of the season. As expected, they’ll be making some coaching changes this offseason. On Sunday evening, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has relieved defensive coordinator Sean Desai of his duties. He lost play-calling duties late in the regular season, and Matt Patricia took that role over.

Desai is likely to be in the mix for other defensive coordinator opportunities, per Rapoport.

In the past week, both Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni have been reaching out to available defensive coordinators, including former Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and former Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen. That news was relayed by Dianna Russini of The Athletic.

CBS Philadelphia also reported that Eagles senior defensive assistant Matt Patricia will “explore other opportunities”. He will not return to the Philadelphia coaching staff for the 2024 campaign.

Patricia took over the defensive play-calling for the Eagles last month.

Sean Desai was hired by the Eagles in February to replace Jonathan Gannon, who became the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Nick Sirianni demoted Desai in favor of Patricia following blowout losses to the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys in early December.

The switch to Patricia only made things worse for the Eagles. Their defense gave up 30 points per game in their last four games, including 32 points in their Wild Card loss against Tampa Bay. The Philadelphia defense allowed the third-most points per game during the regular season (25.2). The unit also ranked 30th in both red zone and third-down defense. The Eagles allowed 35 passing touchdowns, ranking them second most in the league in that category.

Patricia spent several years with Bill Belichick in New England (2012-2017), working as their defensive coordinator during the Patriots dynasty. He won three Super Bowls during his time there. Even though his background is heavily rooted in defense, Belichick decided to make Patricia the Patriots’ offensive coordinator in 2022, following the departure of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. The move led to disastrous results, as you might imagine. Belichick then decided to bring in Bill O’Brien as their offensive coordinator in 2023.

Before joining the Patriots in 2004, Patriots cut his teeth as an offensive graduate assistant for the Syracuse Orange, in the college coaching ranks (2001-2003). He also worked as an assistant for Amherst (1999-2000) and RPI (1996). He’s spent a good majority of his coaching career (15 non-consecutive seasons) with the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick.