Apparently, it’s coordinator change season.
Prior to their “Monday Night Football” matchup against the Seahawks in Seattle, the Philadelphia Eagles switched defensive play-callers in the middle of the night, giving Sean Desai’s former duties to Matt Patricia.
For several reasons, the decision is surprising. One, coaching changes are uncommon this late in the season for teams that are almost certain to make the playoffs. The Eagles have struggled on defense recently, but they are still 10-3 and have a good chance of winning the NFC East and securing a home playoff game. Second, the Eagles are entrusting their defense to a coach who hasn’t had much success in the last half-decade, making the move risky.
Securing a home playoff game. Second, the Eagles are entrusting their defense to a coach who hasn’t had much success in the last half-decade, casting doubt on Patricia’s selection.
Patricia will coach from the sideline, while Desai will be in the booth, according to ESPN’s Tim McManus.
Desai was hired in February to replace Jonathan Gannon, who was hired as the Arizona Cardinals’ head coach. According to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, one of the reasons for Desai’s demotion was:
The Eagles should know what they’re getting in Patricia because he was largely responsible for their Super Bowl victory following the 2017 season. Patricia was torched by Nick Foles and the Eagles’ offense, as well as nearly every other offense the Patriots faced that season, before taking his talents to Detroit as the Lions’ head coach for the 2018 season. Patricia was never able to assemble a strong defense in Detroit, and he alienated several players, including current Eagles cornerback Darius Slay.
Based on his track record of how teams have performed under his command, there isn’t much reason to believe he can lead the Eagles’ defense.
Let’s go back to 2017 to get a sense of how bad the Patriots’ defense was that year. The Patriots ranked 26th in expected points allowed (0.029) per play on defense and 30th in success rate (44.3%), according to RBSDM.com. That season, they were also 31st in yards per play allowed (5.7). Those results were repeated in Detroit, where the Lions finished 31st in expected points added per play (0.107) during Patricia’s tenure as head coach.
As soon as Patricia left the Patriots for Detroit, they resumed their position as one of the league’s toughest defenses under Bill Belichick. The Patriots were sixth in both expected points allowed per play (-0.039) and expected points allowed per play (-0.039).
