It’s been a challenging season for the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles – but that’s putting it lightly when it comes to offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.
The embattled play caller’s house was egged early Saturday morning, hours after Philly’s 24-15 loss − the score closer than the actual game − at Lincoln Financial Field to the Chicago Bears on Black Friday.
Patullo addressed the incident Thursday.
‘Unfortunately, it happened. I’ve been here for five years now, and it’s been awesome. I mean, this is such a unique place to coach and play. It’s very special. We’ve been to two NFC championship games. We’ve won at Lincoln Financial Field, a Super Bowl. The parade is just − it’s an amazing atmosphere to be a coach and a player,’ he said.
‘And as coaches and players, we all know that part of our job is to handle criticism. It’s perfectly acceptable to sit up here and talk about what’s going on, how to fix it, what we’re going to do going forward, and we know that. But when it involves your family, obviously it crosses the line. That happened, and at this point, we’ve just got to move on. We’re trying to win. That’s all we want to do is focus, whether it’s my family, whether it’s the team, all we’re trying to do together is focus on this week.’
In his first year as coordinator after replacing Kellen Moore, who took the head job with the New Orleans Saints after Super Bowl 59, Patullo and his unit have struggled. The Eagles rank 24th overall offensively and 19th in points scored. The scheme has looked vanilla, wideout A.J. Brown has routinely complained, whether openly or on social media, and running back Saquon Barkley’s production is essentially down 50% after he rushed for more than 2,000 yards in 2024.
Though the offensive line has struggled with injuries, Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson currently down with a Lisfranc issue, much of the vocal fan base’s wrath has been focused on Patullo.
‘When you talk about what happened, I mean ultimately, you want to be able to separate your job from your family. We talked about it before − I said it before − that line was crossed. It was an unfortunate incident, and that’s part of it that it happened. Us as a family, we know we’ve got to stick together,’ he said.
‘To be honest, there’s a lot of great people in the community. I have great neighbors. So many people have reached out to my wife and I and our family, and so it’s not anything or one specific person. It happened, and we’ve got to move on from it at this point.’
Patullo also affirmed he and his family feel safe where they live.
‘We’ve had a great experience here in Philadelphia, and it’s a very special, unique place to work,’ he replied. ‘I look forward to all the more games we have and finishing strong in the season.’
The Eagles, who still hold first place in the NFC East, next face the Chargers in Los Angeles on Monday in a battle of 8-4 teams, each with plenty of issues despite their records. Bolts quarterback Justin Herbert will attempt to play despite having surgery on his broken left (non-throwing) hand this week.
As for Patullo, 44, who’s been on Philly’s staff since 2021, when head coach Nick Sirianni was hired, he’ll call plays from the booth Monday − a change he didn’t seem entirely sure was a great idea. He’s coached nearly every season in the NFL in some capacity with various clubs since 2007 and was on the Indianapolis Colts staff with Sirianni for the three seasons prior to their arrival in Philadelphia.
‘I’ve been on the field for a long, long time,’ said Patullo. ‘I don’t think I’ve been in the box since maybe 2011 as a coach. So, it’s been a while. I think just the relationship I have with the guys and the communication (on the field) has been good, and we’ve just got to continue to improve in other areas, and we’ll be alright.’