The Philadelphia Eagles announced on Sunday that former Patriots assistant coach Matt Patricia will be taking over as defensive coordinator. Patricia will be replacing Sean Desai who was hired to replace Jonathan Gannon who left after last season to take over as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.
The Eagles have struggled of late defensively. In their last three games, they have surrendered 34 points to the Bills, 42 points to the 49ers and 33 points to the Cowboys. Philadelphia ranks 22nd in total defense but ranks 28th against the pass.
Head Coach Nick Sirianni hopes that by elevating Patricia, the Eagles will play better defensively and get back to being one of the top defenses in the NFL. Patricia has plenty of experience coordinating Super Bowl defenses from his time in New England so the pressure of taking over this late in the season should not be an issue.
Patricia was the defensive coordinator for the Patriots from 2012 to 2017 before leaving to become the head coach of the Detroit Lions. During his time in New England, the Patriots ranked in the top 10 in scoring defense and were very good against the run. They struggled against the pass finishing no higher than 12th in pass defense. The Eagles secondary has had some injury issues and will be without top cornerback Darius Slay tonight against Seattle so their struggles against the pass could continue even under Patricia.
Patricia became public enemy number one in New England last season after being named the primary play caller of the offense. The move proved to be disastrous as the offense looked disorganized and unprepared. Add to that the regression of quarterback Mac Jones after a promising rookie season and Patricia lasted only one season. Fair or not, all of the blame was placed on Patricia but based on how bad the offense has been this season, it is fair to say that it was not all his fault.
Regardless of what you think of Patricia as an offensive coach, he is a pretty good defensive coach and he should help get this Eagles defense back on track. Hiring him as a senior defensive assistant this past off-season was a smart move by Sirianni. He protected himself in the event that Desai did not work out.
Now Sirianni will be counting on the much maligned Patricia to help turn the fortunes around of a defense that has underachieved all season long. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Patricia can now resurrect his career and change the narrative on his tenure in Detroit and last season if he gets the Eagles defense back to playing at a high level.
Patricia is well liked by players and is well respected in the football community as a whole. I know this is hard to believe, but he can coach. If he turns the Eagles defense around, he will not get his redemption but he will validate his reputation.