Eagles Clean Out Lockers Amid Backdrop Of Kevin Patullo's Job Status

The players defended their first-year offensive coordinator, though that support isn't expected to save his job.

Saquon Barkley cleaned out his locker after the Eagles' season ended in the first round of the playoffs. | Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles held their annual end-of-season cleanout day on Monday amid a lingering disbelief that it really is over, their season that is. For some, their Eagles career is too.

Just 11 months ago, the Eagles packed their boxes knowing they had a parade to catch. They were Super Bowl champions. This year, they bowed out in the first round, losing to the San Francisco 49ers. At home, no less.

“Shoot, we’ve had the highest of highs and back to the lowest of lows,” said right tackle Fred Johnson, who started the lasts eight games of the season because Lane Johnson couldn’t after hurting his foot in mid-November.

“The only thing you can do is pick yourself up, brush off the dust and come back in April. You don’t know what’s gonna change, who’s leaving, who’s staying. You don’t know nothing that’s gonna happen. I don’t know if I’m still gonna be here or who will be here from this team. Teams have one-year shelf life’s and it sucks to go out like this.”

The villain of Monday’s proceedings was Kevin Patullo, the offensive coordinator not a single fan wants to return. Heck, he may already be fired. The players weren’t treating the first-year OC like any sort of bad guy, though.

Players Take Blame Off Kevin Patullo

Eagles passing game coordinator Kevin Patullo talks during media availability at Super Bowl LIX. | Ed Kracz/Eagles on Si

“Somebody has to catch the blame, especially when we had the season we had the year before,” said running back Saquon Barkley. “Do I think that’s fair? No, I don’t think that’s fair at all. I’ll be the first one to say, did I play to the level I played to last year? I don’t think so.

“So, I let him down, I let my teammates down. It’s a group thing. I know you guys are gonna point out one person and say this, say that, but it’s a group effort. I have nothing but positive things to say about KP as a man, as a coach. We just fell short. We, as a collective. I want to make sure that’s heard, we as a collective, didn’t do enough. That’s just the truth.”

Receiver DeVonta Smith stood by Patullo, too.

“I feel like he did a great job,” he said. “A lot of that stuff was on us as players. We have to all pick each other up. We have to pick him up and he has to pick us up. I feel he called it great the whole year. Offensively we just didn’t execute well.”

The old axiom applies – you can’t fire 25 offensive players, but you can fire one coach, and surely Patullo is a dead man walking. Fair or not.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts didn’t want to get much into the Patullo debate.

“It’s too soon to think about that,” he said. “Like I said, I put my trust in Howie (Roseman), Nick (Sirianni) and Mr. (Jeffrey) Lurie.”

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