Matt Patricia ended up with a rare in-season promotion, courtesy of the Philadelphia Eagles, ahead of their Monday Night Football game against the Seattle Seahawks.
There’s a reason, though. The longtime defensive mind is being called up to fix a suddenly struggling unit — one that’s surrendered 33 or more points in the last three weeks.
What Is Matt Patricia’s Role? Does He Get Full Defensive Coordinator Reins?
Patricia, who is now 49 years old, is switching off with defensive coordinator Sean Desai.
However, this doesn’t mean that the first-year DC Sean Desai has been ousted or demoted. The team is moving Desai to the coach’s booth and handing the play-calling off to Patricia, as announced by the Eagles on Monday.
This officially means that Patricia won’t be a senior defensive assistant for this game. The former Detroit Lions head coach and longtime New England Patriots defensive assistant under Bill Belichick will return to his play-calling roots.
The experiment comes in the wake of a rough two-game stretch for the reigning NFC champion Eagles. The San Francisco 49ers marched into Lincoln Financial Stadium and stomped on Philly 42-19. Then, one week ago, the rival Dallas Cowboys pummeled the Eagles 33-13 to drop Philly to 10-3 overall.
Where Must Patricia Fix the Philadelphia Eagles’ Defense?
With Patricia being inserted into the play-caller role, he’s being tasked with fixing a recently struggling unit.
But where have the Eagles had the most flaws on their defense? Here are some key areas Patricia will likely attempt to change in his elevated role:
- Third Downs: The Eagles rank last in opponents’ third down percentages.
- Red Zone: Philadelphia is 30th overall in red zone defense. Against the 49ers, The 49ers scored four of its touchdowns inside the 20, while Dallas scored all three of its touchdowns inside the red zone.
- Scoring: Even in the win over the Buffalo Bills, the Eagles have allowed 30 or more points in the last three games — their longest streak since the 2015 season.
The Eagles are making this move in an attempt to snap their current two-game slide. Philly is also trying to keep up with the 49ers, who now are in the driver’s seat for the NFC’s top seed after routing the Arizona Cardinals 45-29.
Is Sean Desai Officially Done as Defensive Coordinator?
While the Eagles have traded off playcalling duties, Desai still holds the title of defensive coordinator.
It sounds perplexing when fans view the sudden change, but perhaps, Desai is relaying play calls from the booth over to Patricia beginning with the Seahawks game.
Not much is known about the decision the Eagles made. Even HC Nick Sirianni, whose area of expertise is defense, denied that he was considering making some coaching tweaks ahead of the game.
“I feel good with the people that we have in this building,” he said to reporters. “We’re 10-3. We’re in control of our own destiny, and we’re going to keep rolling and finding answers with the people that we have.”
He further explained that he had “total confidence” in Desai as the defensive coordinator. But now, Philly is rolling with a late-season tweak in this postseason push.
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