Why Nick Sirianni is confident Kevin Patullo is ready to be OC originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
INDIANAPOLIS — Nick Sirianni has no doubts.
As the Eagles’ brass met with reporters at the NFL Combine on Tuesday afternoon, the Eagles’ Super Bowl-winning head coach is confident about his decision to promote Kevin Patullo to offensive coordinator.
“I have so much confidence that he’ll do a great job with the way he manages it, the way he calls it,” Sirianni said, “and I’ll be there to support him throughout the way just like I was for Kellen (Moore).”
The Eagles lost Moore after just one season as their offensive coordinator following Super Bowl LIX when Moore was officially hired as the Saints’ new head coach. Sirianni said the Eagles went through an extensive interview process — he declined to say who else they interviewed — before deciding to promote Patullo.
Patullo, 43, has been the Eagles’ passing game coordinator for the past four seasons under Sirianni and the two are close. Sirianni on Tuesday confirmed that Patullo will be the offensive play-caller in 2025.
“I think what you guys don’t see is the collaboration,” Sirianni said. “One guy wears the crown of the offensive coordinator and it’s like that guy gets all the blame, that guy gets all the credit. That’s not the way football works. It’s just not in any sense. Kevin has been there. I can’t tell you how many suggestions he gives, how much him and Kellen are talking throughout the game, how much him and Brian (Johnson) were talking throughout the game, how much him and Shane (Steichen) were talking throughout the game, of what to call in these certain scenarios.
“Kevin, with all the game management stuff that we’ve done, Kevin has been side by side with me there. He’s actually called a lot of things in two-minute. ‘Hey, this is the moment for this. This is the moment for that.’ There are instances where he’s already had opportunities calling plays. Not the consistent grind of it over and over again, but it’s so collaborative, it’s such a collaborative process. I have no doubt that he’s ready for the challenge of what the jobs going to [involve].”
Patullo will be the fourth different offensive coordinator in five years under Sirianni, following Steichen, Johnson and Moore. He will be the sixth different play-caller for quarterback Jalen Hurts in his NFL career.
Sirianni said he enjoyed the interview process and likened it to a coaching clinic. It’s an opportunity to talk about coaching and football and to mine ideas. But he said the Eagles had the right option in-house with Patullo.
And as much as Sirianni and Patullo have been linked, Sirianni made sure to point out that Patullo has had other experiences without him. Two names Sirianni mentioned on Tuesday were Chan Gailey and Kevin Sumlin. Patullo worked under them at his two jobs before joining Sirianni and Frank Reich in Indy in 2018.
Another word Sirianni used to explain the hire was continuity. He thinks promoting from within can give the Eagles that continuity as they return off a Super Bowl-winning season.
“He’s so ready for this position,” Sirianni said. “I know he’s got great position coaches around him that are still in place, which is huge. When you guys were out at practice, you always saw Kevin and Kellen come out at the same time. You saw them talking in the first portions of [practice]. As much as I’m attached at the hip with Kevin, Kellen was attached at the hip with Kevin.
“I think when you see a lot of great organizations that lose guys year in and year out, consistency for your players is critical. It’s very critical that you continue to evolve but consistency for your quarterback, consistency for your receivers, consistency with the terminology that you use for your offensive linemen, that is so critical. If you have a guy ready in the building that you know will do a good job doing it, that’s always a good option.”
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