The Philadelphia Eagles are overhauling their coaching staff this offseason. Head coach Nick Sirianni will be back, but his top assistants are going to be different for the third consecutive seasons.
Last offseason, the Eagles had to replace offensive coordinator Shane Steichen and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. Both were hired as head coaches, with Steichen taking over the Indianapolis Colts and Gannon joining the Arizona Cardinals.
This time around, it wasn’t because of success that the Eagles are making a change. Brian Johnson, who was the offensive coordinator, and Sean Desai, who was defensive, saw drop offs with both of their units. Desai was doing such a poor job that Sirianni gave defensive play calling duties to Matt Patricia after blowout losses to the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys.
NFL NEWS & RUMORS: Wink Martindale, Ron Rivera, Sean Desai, Matt Patricia, Philadelphia Eagles Updates
The unit got worse under Patricia’s watch, culminating in a 32-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during Super Wild Card Weekend. Going from one of the best defenses in the NFL to one of the worst, Philadelphia is looking at some established options to take over as defensive coordinator.
One interesting name who has popped up is Wink Martindale. It was only a few weeks ago that he was employed by the Eagels’ NFC East rivals, the New York Giants, as their defensive coordinators.
Differences with head coach Brian Daboll led to an ugly parting of the ways as Martindale resigned when two of his guys were fired. Now, he could seek out some revenge against the Giants and sign on with the Eagles.
Martindale plays an aggressive style of defense with a lot of exotic blitz looks. He helped defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence become one of the best players in the NFL under his eye. Safety Xavier McKinney and linebacker Bobby Okereke also flourished.
NFL NEWS & RUMORS: Wink Martindale, Ron Rivera, Sean Desai, Matt Patricia, Philadelphia Eagles Updates
If the Eagles were to hire him, they would hope that he could have the same positive impact on some of their young players on defense. Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith and Nakobe Dean are a few that come to mind who could benefit from the style Martindale likes to play defensively.
Another familiar face who is being considered is Ron Rivera. Rivera spent a few years earlier in his career in Philadelphia on Andy Reid’s coaching staff. Most recently, he was head coach of the Washington Commanders.
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