Analyzing All Sides of the Dolphins Hiring Kevin Patullo

The Miami Dolphins made another addition to their coaching staff Wednesday, and it’s a name that fans might recognize as one of the 2025 season’s biggest “villains.”

The Dolphins are hiring former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo as their passing game coordinator, according to NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo. Patullo spent just one season in that role, as the Eagles demoted him this offseason in favor of Green Bay Packers QB Sean Mannion.

Of course, that brings us back to the Dolphins’ new head coach, Jeff Hafley, who chose to promote Boddy Slowik to offensive coordinator in Miami rather than bring in someone like Mannion.

Before becoming the Eagles’ offensive coordinator in 2025, Patullo was the Eagles’ passing game coordinator from 2021 through 2024. He also has NFL experience coaching receivers with the Indianapolis Colts and quarterbacks with the New York Jets.

Eagles’ Offense Under Patullo

Philadelphia’s offense was a huge disappointment this season under Patullo.

One year after winning the Super Bowl in dominant fashion, the Eagles’ offense finished 24th in total yards per game, 23rd in passing yards, 18th in rushing yards, and 19th in points per game.

The Eagles weren’t much better by most advanced metrics either. They finished 24th in offensive success rate, 15th in EPA per dropback, and were 26th in the number of their drives that ended in points.

Patullo’s offense struggled that badly despite having a solid quarterback, elite receivers, an elite running back, and one of the NFL’s best offensive lines. The passing game was unimaginative, and the play-calling was painfully predictable.

However, there are always two sides to every story. While Patullo definitely deserves a chunk of the blame for the Eagles’ struggles, he doesn’t deserve all of it.

Hurts is a solid quarterback, but he’s also got limitations. His middle-of-the-field vision isn’t good, and he’s not as mobile as he used to be. Plus, the offensive line regressed in 2025.

Players like Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens regressed or/and suffered injuries. Lane Johnson hasn’t regressed at all, but he also battled injuries this past season.

It wouldn’t be accurate to call Patullo a scapegoat, but he gets a bit more blame than he probably deserves.

Should Dolphins Fans Be Concerned?

Usually, I find it very hard to get too upset about an assistant hire like this. For starters, it’s hard to know how much input someone like Patullo will have.

Is he creating concepts? Only teaching the players Slowik’s concepts? Does he have some other combination of responsibilities? We won’t know the answer to that until someone sheds light on it, and even then, it’ll likely be generalizations.

With that in mind, it’s probably worth the time to overreact to Patullo’s hiring because he did a bad job calling plays in 2025. He won’t call plays in Miami.

However, if you asked me to name the two least inspiring passing offenses from last season (conceptually, not players), I would’ve answered Philadelphia and Miami at any point past roughly Week 4.

Regardless of how much either of them was at fault, the Dolphins’ 2026 passing offense will be helmed by two people who contributed to those offenses.

If Patullo and Slowik want to rewrite the narrative on their performance, they’ll have to reach into their bag of tricks from before the 2025 season.

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