Eagles Coach Matt Patricia Hire: Nick Sirianni's Deeper Meaning
PHILADELPHIA - It's never a dull moment when it comes to the Philadelphia Eagles.
It looked like the Eagles had finally completed their coaching staff for 2023 at this late date, confirming a number of moves reported previously, promoting DK McDonald to defensive backs coach, and most notably tweaking the title of passing-game coordinator and Nick Sirianni consiglieri Kevin Patullo by adding an associate head coach title to his business card.
When a few reporters headed to the Eagles website to gather some information on the new hires, a familiar name was among the group but not yet announced by the Eagles, former Detroit head coach and long-time Bill Belichick aide Matt Patricia, who was described as a senior defensive assistant.
If you blinked, however, Patricia was gone from the site, sparking a text to the Eagles asking why Patricia wasn't announced with the others.
The query was met with surprise wondering how a few reporters got the information before the Eagles wanted to announce it.
All of this happened moments before GM Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni were set to meet reporters for their pre-draft press conference and while the expected Jalen (Hurts and Carter) questions arrived, they had to take a back seat to 'have you hired Patricia?'
Sirianni admitted things were "trending" in that direction and midway through a press conference where Roseman claimed he talks to no one outside the organization about his team, media confirmed the deal.
To be fair, Roseman wasn't texting media people from the dais so the confirmation presumably came from the other end. Philadelphia technically still hasn't formally announced the deal but it's obviously in place.
Why all of this is more interesting than someone publishing the wrong web page is because Patricia had a very poor relationship with Eagles star cornerback and team captain Darius Slay when the two were together with the Lions and the five-time Pro Bowl selection has never been shy to talk about it.
Essentially Slay felt disrespected by Patricia at times, a coach who can be gruffer than the average bear.
Sirianni noted that he did talk things over with Slay as the rumors of Patricia relocating to Philadelphia dated back weeks, first as a potential linebackers coach to replace Nick Rallis, who is now defensive coordinator in Arizona.
"Of course," Sirianni answered when asked if he ran this hire by one of his key team leaders. "Like you do with anything, you go through and talk to guys and make sure everyone is comfortable with it.
"I had conversations with Slay, I obviously had conversations with coach Patricia, and I know it will be a good working relationship for us when that happens."
It's an interesting decision and perhaps even a bold one by Sirianni but the third-year Eagles coach took significant hits on the defensive side of his staff, losing coordinator Jonathan Gannon, Rallis, and defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson after an NFC championship season in which the defense was ranked No. 2 in the NFL.
Patricia has spent nearly a decade as either a coordinator or head coach and should be a nice sounding board for Sean Desai, who will be coordinating the defense for Sirianni next season.
The decision should be viewed positively for a number of seasons.
It proves Sirianni is comfortable in his own skin and that he will take the more difficult path if he feels it will help the Eagles reach the ultimate goal. The head coach is also obviously confident in his own ability to manage personalities when that's needed.
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-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
