Eagles Rumors: Matt Patricia Hired as Senior Defensive Assistant After Patriots Stint

The Philadelphia Eagles have reportedly hired former Detroit Lions head coach and longtime New England Patriots assistant Matt Patricia to be a senior defensive assistant, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

While Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni didn't outright confirm the hiring earlier on Thursday, he told reporters it was "trending in that direction."

"Obviously, his resume speaks for itself," he added. "He gives you a great mind in there that's done it at the highest level; gives me another former head coach I can bounce ideas off."

Patricia, 48, had a tough stint as the Lions' head coach between the 2018-20 seasons, going 13-29-1 in that time.

He had a far longer stay in New England, serving as the team's offensive assistant (2004), assistant offensive line coach (2005), linebackers coach (2006-10), safeties coach (2011), defensive coordinator (2012-17), senior football advisor (2021) and offensive line coach and senior advisor (2022).

Patricia essentially helped run the team's offense in 2022 alongside former New York Giants head coach Joe Judge, and the results were poor. New England finished 17th in points (21.4 PPG) and 26th in yards (314.6 YPG).

With far more experience on the other side of the ball, a defensive advisory role in Philadelphia makes much more sense, even if the hiring has earned mixed reviews:

One subplot to monitor is the relationship between Patricia and veteran cornerback Darius Slay. The two did not see eye-to-eye while together in Detroit, although Patricia will have a much smaller and less impactful role in Philadelphia.

The Eagles are also making a transition at defensive coordinator this offseason after the Arizona Cardinals hired Jonathan Gannon as their new head coach. They brought aboard Sean Desai, who was the Chicago Bears' defensive coordinator in 2021.

Desai also spent time in Chicago as a quality control coach (2013-18) and safeties coach (2019-20) and was the associate head coach and defensive assistant for the Seattle Seahawks in 2022.

Patricia ostensibly will be a solid resource for Desai as he navigates his new gig. Although Patricia didn't fare well at the helm of New England's offense, he can offer some guidance to new Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson as well, who has never held that role in the NFL and spent the past two seasons as Philly's quarterbacks coach.

It makes sense why Sirianni would seek out another experienced voice to add into his coaching circle.