While the Philadelphia Eagles are busy preparing for the playoffs, as they have at this time in the last five years, the Dallas Cowboys are doing their best impression of a chicken running around without a head and trying to find a defensive coordinator.
After one year in the position, Matt Eberflus was relieved of his duties as the defensive coordinator with a unit that finished in the bottom five in total defense. Dallas is now searching for Eberflus' replacement, but Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer suggested a name that Eagles fans might remember not so fondly.
"Mike, I think they kick tires on Brian Flores and maybe Matt Patricia. Brian Schottenheimer’s dealt with the Patriot family of defenses plenty over the years. The availability of Raheem Morris and Jeff Ulbrich is intriguing as well, considering their ties to Dan Quinn."
Former Eagles assistant Matt Patricia might come back to the NFC East?
Eagles fans try to forget about Patricia, but he was the man who tried to save the defense in 2023 after the disaster of Sean Desai as defensive coordinator. It did not work. After allowing 75 total points in a two-game stretch, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni named senior defensive assistant Patricia as the play caller for the final four games.
Of course, that didn't work out, as the Eagles still lost three of their last four games and were blown out in the playoffs by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 32-9. That would be Patricia's only season with the team, as he had just a one-year deal.
Since then, Patricia has done well for himself, as he just completed his first season as the Ohio State Buckeyes defensive coordinator and had the only defensive unit in the country that allowed less than 10 points a game in the regular season. His name hasn't come up as often for defensive assistant jobs in the NFL yet, but it's an interesting one, as he won three Super Bowls as an assistant under Bill Belichick with the New England Patriots.
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Not many Eagles fans would complain about seeing Patricia roaming the Cowboys' sidelines, as it would just give them more fuel and another reason to hate Dallas. After what happened in 2023, it might give the Eagles fan base the confidence that they don't have to sweat through Cowboys games anymore.