With new DC Sean Desai was hoping to make an impression both on the field and on television, and the Eagles defense got off to a rather solid start in the early games of the 2023 season. He repeatedly said that in order for people to rush the passer, they had to earn the run by first disrupting the run game. He also placed emphasis on players swarming the ball and getting off blocks.
Up until they weren’t, there were a lot of highlights. Not only did the defense falter in the second quarter of the season, but after two games, they were unable to stop nearly any third-down conversions.
At that moment, head coach Nick Sirianni decided to hand the defense off to assistant Matt Patricia and move Desai upstairs in the box rather than allowing him to right the ship.
Not only did nothing improve, but the defense descended into chaos with poor play calling, poor communication, and some fairly awful situations. The Eagles’ defense deteriorated significantly in the run game and continued to struggle on third downs. Haason Reddick was also dropping back in coverage more than a player with his pass-rushing talent ought to, according to Patricia.
However, Patricia and Sirianni both stated at their news conferences that they weren’t expecting players to alter their performance too much.
Patricia discussed the need to know when and how much to adjust after spending the entire offseason and season with the team. Patricia had also assisted Desai in implementing his defense. The coaches minimized time and time again how difficult it would be for the players to adjust to a mid-season DC change.
Reddick eventually answered questions at his locker the following week, having earlier declined to deal with the media following the Cardinals game. He discussed how challenging it was to get used to a new playcaller.
There were many modifications, from the titles and descriptions of the plays to Patricia’s language and his methods of getting things done.
Reddick acknowledged that while it wasn’t as difficult for an experienced player like him—someone who had played for a new DC almost every year in the league—young players faced a steep learning curve.
It’s challenging. It’s a challenging task. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, it’s our job, so there are no grievances.
However, it’s undoubtedly difficult, correct? At the beginning of the year, you spend a lot of time getting to know one DC—a new one at that—and learning all of his vocabulary and ways of calling things. Towards the end of the season, we switch DCs.
Darius Slay saw the situation similarly. During locker clean-out day, the CB stated to reporters that dating two separate DCs was similar to dating two different women with two distinct tastes in things. Slay said that former Eagles DB coach Dennard Wilson would have been superior to both Desai and Patricia in 2023, but he would not even try to predict what would happen with the DC position this offseason.
It’s astonishing how little the players and coaches realized how much the defense was impacted by switching DCs. Either the coaches downplayed the players’ worries and publicly put them under the bus, or the players kept quiet about their troubles, which were evident on the field.
The coaches assured the fans it wasn’t a huge deal, despite the fact that it was instantly obvious that replacing the defensive coordinator wouldn’t suddenly improve the defense. Instead of owning up to the growing pains that would accompany that decision.
Hopefully, this offseason, the Eagles can return to listening to their players and making the best defensive decisions based on the skill sets of the players in the building. They have run out of time to try to make things right this season. (Or, at the very least, give the upcoming DC a full season to attempt to realize his vision.)
