The Philadelphia Eagles fired defensive coordinator Sean Desai, and the organization will begin its search for a new leader for the defense.
Philadelphia Eagles DC Sean Desai Fired
As reported by NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the Eagles fired Desai.
Desai lasted just one season as the team’s defensive coordinator and 13 games as the defensive play-caller before being replaced by Matt Patricia with a month left in the regular season.
Nick Sirianni was the one who fired Desai, per the Philadelphia Inquirer. While nothing has been decided officially about Sirianni’s future with the team — which has been in doubt after the team’s late-season collapse and early playoff loss in 2023 — the move is a sign that he will be back with the team next season.
Desai was with the Eagles for one season. He joined Sirianni’s staff after a one-year run as the associate defensive head coach of the Seattle Seahawks in 2022, replacing Jonathan Gannon who left to become the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals shortly after Super Bowl LVII. He also spent nine seasons on the staff of the Chicago Bears, where he worked his way up to defensive coordinator.
It’s unclear where Desai will land next, though he’s likely to be “in the mix” for other open defensive coordinator jobs across the league this offseason, according to Rapoport.
In Desai’s last six games as the defensive play-caller, the Eagles were 32nd in the NFL in third-down defense (54.8%) and red-zone defense (78.3%) — allowing a league-high 428.2 yards per game and 297.8 passing yards per game.
Philadelphia was 31st in the league in points per game allowed (30.0) and allowed 30+ points in three consecutive games for the first time since 1967 — the last three games Desai called the plays.
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The news of Desai’s firing isn’t shocking as he was stripped of his play-calling duties during the 2023 season.
The Eagles moved Desai up to the booth in favor of Patricia after the Eagles’ 33-13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 10, but the results were not much better. Philadelphia was 28th in yards per game allowed (375.8), 26th in rush yards per game allowed (131.0), 24th in pass yards per game allowed (244.8), 26th in yards per play allowed (5.8), and 28th in points per game allowed (27.8) in the five games under Patricia.
Whether other defensive coaches outside of Desai and Patricia will be retained has not been reported or announced by the team.
Philadelphia started the year 10-1 but lost six of its last seven games to close out the season.
Assuming the Eagles keep Sirianni, he will enter his fourth season leading the team next fall. He has a 34-17 record and led the team to the Super Bowl last season in what was his first head-coaching job in the league.
There hasn’t been any official word on the future of Patricia, but there are likely to be more staff changes coming for the Eagles as they prepare for the 2024 season and look to bounce back after completely falling apart at the end of the 2023 season.
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