The Philadelphia Eagles are precipitously close to hiring former Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia as a senior defensive assistant. Any day now.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni spent the first part of his pre-draft presser addressing the fact Philadelphia was merely “trending” towards hiring Patricia, and that nothing was finalized.
“I know there was a report out that that was said and we’re trending in that direction,” said Sirianni. “Nothing is final yet. We’re trending in that direction. So, we’ll see how that progresses, but it’s trending in that direction, yes.”
The finalization of agreements between assistants and teams takes time, and a false start in the announcement is understandable. The true awkwardness of Patricia finding a spot on the Eagles’ staff is cornerback Darius Slay publicly remarked in 2020 — after being traded from the Lions to the Eagles — about how he lost all respect for Patricia.
Sirianni insists he had a bevy of conversations at various levels to ensure the smoothness of the addition.
“Like you do with anything, you go through and you talk to guys and make sure everybody is comfortable with it,” Sirianni said. “I had conversations with Slay; obviously had conversations with Coach Patricia. I know that it will be a good working relationship for us when that happens.”
Patricia coached Detroit from 2018-20 and compiled a 13-29-1 record. After a 41-25 loss to the Houston Texans on Thanksgiving, he was fired with five games to go.
Nevertheless Sirianni believes what Patricia has accomplished is self-evident.
“Obviously his resume speaks for itself,” Sirianni said. “It gives you a great mind in there that’s done it at the highest level, and so it gives you great ability to bounce ideas off of with the defensive staff.”
Where Patricia excelled at the highest levels was from 2012-17 as the New England Patriots’ defensive coordinator. The Pats won two Super Bowls during his span, including a 28-3 comeback against the Atlanta Falcons. Patricia’s defense did not allow the Falcons to score another point.
Sirianni is looking forward to having Patricia’s insight as a coach.
“It gives me another former head coach that I can bounce ideas off of, as well, with things, which I think will be very helpful,” Sirianni said.
