Despite their disappointing end to the 2023 season, all signs are pointing toward the Philadelphia Eagles retaining head coach Nick Sirianni. However, there will be some changes made to the staff around him.
For the second straight offseason, the Eagles are going to be in the market for a new defensive coordinator. Sean Desai was brought in during the 2023 offseason to replace Jonathan Gannon, who was hired to become head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. The Eagles certainly missed him, as their production on defense plummeted.
Sean Desai is expected to be moved on from, along with Matt Patricia, who took over play-calling duties on that side of the ball late in the season. Patricia took over following blowout losses to the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys. However, things got worse with him calling the plays, as they gave up 30 points per game and 32 in their Super Wild Card Weekend loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Under Gannon, the Eagles ranked eighth in points allowed and second in yardage, nearly breaking the single-season team sack record with 70. This season, they ranked 30th in points allowed and 26th in yardage surrendered, recording only 43 sacks.
NFL NEWS & RUMORS: Ron Rivera, Sean Desai, Matt Patricia, Philadelphia Eagles Updates
While there will certainly be several candidates interviewing for the job, one intriguing candidate, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, is Ron Rivera. Rivera was head coach of the Washington Commanders for four seasons before they opted to move on after the 2023 campaign.
Under Rivera, the Commanders had two elite seasons of production on defense and two abysmal ones. Before being a head coach for the last 13 seasons, he was defensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers.
Rivera does have a connection to the Eagles franchise, too. He spent five seasons as the linebackers coach on Andy Reid’s staff before leaving for defensive coordinator jobs. The Chargers were an elite defensive unit in his final season with the team, as it can certainly be argued he would be a massive upgrade over Desai and Patricia.
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