The Philadelphia Eagles must have thought offensive coordinator candidates would be tripping over themselves to coach Jalen Hurts on the reigning NFC East champions after parting ways with everyone's favorite punching bag in Kevin Patullo. Instead, Philly may be the last one at the dance without a partner as they continue to strike out in their search for a replacement.
Between top candidates like Mike McDaniel taking jobs elsewhere and lesser-known names like Chicago Bears non-play-calling offensive coordinator Declan Doyle also turning them down, the Eagles have had to scramble to find someone who can provide a bit more consistency on the sideline.
While Eagles fans and general NFL observers will have to travel a fairly long way to find someone who believes that they were wrong in firing Patullo, WIP's Ike Reese may be having some buyer's remorse (firing remorse, perhaps?) after looking at the market for replacements.
Reese is now wondering whether the Eagles may have been better off keeping Patullo in the 2026 season, saying he is disappointed with the very thin market for candidates and the hesitancy from some of the top names to take the Philadelphia plunge.
Ike Reese wonders if Eagles should not have fired Kevin Patullo
On one hand, the Eagles' offensive coordinator job can be an instant pathway to head coach consideration. Both Shane Steichen and Kellen Moore excelled as play-callers under Sirianni and parlayed that success into top jobs with the Colts and Saints, respectively.
On the other hand, failure in this job will mean you could get kicked out of town after just one season. Between Patullo and much-maligned Brian Johnson, who is currently an assistant with the Washington Commanders, both of those coaches went from up-and-comers to out of a job after failing to light it up.
Part of the problem with coaching the Eagles is that Hurts needs a very specific gameplan to perform at maximum potential. Patullo tried to deviate from that to run "his offense" in 2025, and it was such a mess that he may never get the chance to call plays ever again in the NFL.
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The Eagles have done the nearly impossible. They have made an offense with Pro Bowlers at nearly every level and a franchise that has made the Super Bowl three times in the last decade (winning it twice), an unattractive opening for even assistant coaches to consider.