Former Friend Gives Eagles Permission To Interview OC Candidate

PHILADELPHIA - Relationships matter in the NFL and Nick Sirianni's strong connection with his former offensive coordinator and now-Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen, opened the door for the Eagles to talk with Colts offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter about Philadelphia's vacant OC position.

Cooter is the third-known interview in the Eagles' quest to find a successor to Kevin Patullo, who was removed from the position earlier this week after a disappointing offensive campaign for Philadelphia.

Former Atlanta OC Zac Robinson and ex-New York Giants OC and interim head coach Mike Kafka have also been interviewed, while ex-Giants head coach Brian Daboll is expected to interview.

Permission was needed to interview Cooter because he's under contract with the Colts and his potential shit from OC to OC in different cities is considered a lateral move from the league's perspective.

SI.com's Albert Breer reported that the Eagles were granted permission to talk with Cooter and did so on Saturday, noting that "Steichen is open to letting Cooter pursue an opportunity to call plays."

According to Breer, Steichen, who calls plays for the Colts, will assess requests to speak with Cooter as they come. Obviously, the strong relationship with Sirianni and the play-calling opening in Philadelphia would be a fit for what Steichen wants for Cooter.

The Eagles interviewed Colts OC Jim Bob Cooter for their offensive coordinator job yesterday, per source. Shane Steichen is open to letting Cooter pursue an opportunity to call plays—he'll assess these as they come.

Cooter was an Eagles assistant (with Steichen) in 2021.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 18, 2026

Cooter was an offensive consultant on Sirianni's first staff with the Eagles in 2021 when Steichen was the OC in Philadelphia, and also worked with the Philadelphia head coach in Kansas City when they were both young coaches starting out in 2012.

Familiar Face

Then-Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter during the second quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

In the 2025 season, Steichen and Cooter put together one of the best and most well-rounded offenses in the NFL until starting quarterback Daniel Jones was injured. Despite missing Jones for the final month of the season, the Colts still finished in the top 10 in both points per game and total yards, although they faded from the playoff picture.

The optics could also be a problem in Philadelphia because Cooter will be spun as a Sirianni guy, much like Patullo and the desire by many is to find an outside voice with different concepts to evolve the nondescript Philadelphia offense.

In addition to his stints with Sirianni in Kansas City and Philadelphia, Cooter's resume includes a prior stint as an offensive assistant in Indy (2009-2011), a one-year stop in Denver as an offensive assistant (2013), and his breakthrough: five years in Detroit, first as the quarterbacks coach (2014-2015) and then as the OC (2016-2018).

From there Cooter spent two years as the New York Jets running back coach (2019-2020), his one-year stint in Philly and another year as Jacksonville's passing game coordinator (2022) before arriving back to the Colts with Steichen in 2023 as the offensive coordinator.

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