Eagles' Nick Sirianni Explains Why He Isn't Demoting Kevin Patullo

Eagles' Nick Sirianni explains why he isn't demoting Kevin Patullo originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Eagles’ offense continues to underperform, but head coach Nick Sirianni is not ready to make a major change.

At least not yet.

Sirianni on Monday afternoon was asked if he has contemplated making a switch at offensive play caller away from Kevin Patullo and he said he has not.

“No, I haven’t,” Sirianni said. “We are always looking for answers. As coaches, we are always looking for answers and we’re never into assigning blame. It’s just looking for answers. I think what sometimes can happen is, ‘It’s just this!’ Well, it’s not just that. It’s every piece of the puzzle. Coaching, playing, execution, scheme, everything. We’ve got to be better in all of those aspects. 

“So yesterday, I thought Kevin did a good job of calling it. Obviously, he’s going to want plays back just like every player and myself. We all want plays back. And when you’re going through it like that, that’s what you’re always looking at. It’s never in football just one thing, even though you’re always trying to find answers. No, I haven’t considered that.”

The Eagles on Sunday scored touchdowns on their first three possessions and then didn’t score again in a 24-21 loss to the Cowboys in North Texas. After having two really encouraging offensive performances before the bye week against the Vikings and Giants, the Eagles’ offense has sputtered through its three games coming off the bye.

They scored just 10 points against the Packers, just 16 points against the Lions and just 21 points against the Cowboys. What made the Cowboys game worse was how the Eagles’ offense evaporated after getting out to a 21-0 lead over their division rival.

While it’s certainly true that there are several things wrong with the offense, it’s fair to wonder if Sirianni would consider a major shakeup. He changed offensive play callers during his first season as head coach back in 2021, taking that duty off his shoulders and handing it over to Shane Steichen. And then in Week 13 of the 2023 season, he demoted defensive coordinator Sean Desai and replaced him with veteran coach Matt Patricia.

The move in 2021 worked. The move in 2023 did not.

The Eagles promoted Patullo from passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator this offseason after winning Super Bowl LIX, when Kellen Moore was hired away as the Saints’ head coach. Patullo, who came to Philadelphia with Sirianni from Indianapolis in 2021, is the Eagles’ fourth offensive coordinator under Sirianni in his five years as head coach. Steichen and Moore were hired away as head coaches after Super Bowl appearances but Brian Johnson was fired after the 2023 season. Johnson was also an internal promotion.

After the loss to Dallas, the Eagles will host the Bears on a short week on Friday afternoon. The Eagles are 8-3 and holding the No. 2 seed in the NFC with six games remaining on their schedule.

Despite the loss to the Cowboys, the Eagles are still one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl. The only team with shorter odds, according to FanDuel, is the Los Angeles Rams, who overtook that No. 1 seed in the NFC this weekend.

“I feel like we’ve got the right people as players, as coaches that have had success,” Sirianni said. “And we’re all searching for answers to make it more consistent. There’s some good things, there’s obviously some not-so-good things. We’ve got to find the things that we really can hang our hat on and elements that come off of that.”