Matt Patricia’s second stint with the New England Patriots was nowhere near as fruitful as his first.
But the former Pats staffer and ex-Detroit Lions head coach has a fresh start after joining the Philadelphia Eagles as a senior defensive assistant on Thursday.
“Obviously his resume speaks for itself,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters. “It gives you a great mind in there that’s done it at the highest level. It gives you great ability to bounce ideas off of with the defensive staff, and also gives me another former head coach that I can bounce ideas off of as well with things which I think would be very helpful.”
Patricia spent the last two seasons with New England as a senior football adviser and then as offensive line coach/de facto offensive coordinator. The Patriots averaged 314.6 yards and 21.4 points per game in 2022 with Patricia calling plays. It was the first time Patricia had been involved with the offensive side of the ball since 2005 when he served as an assistant offensive line coach with the Patriots.
Although he has experience as a linebackers and safeties coach, Patricia made his bones as New England’s defensive coordinator from 2012 to 2017. During that stretch, the Pats finished in the top 10 every year in scoring defense, allowing fewer than 20 points per game in four of six seasons.
Philadelphia, which had the No. 2-ranked defense in the NFL in 2022, tied for eighth in scoring defense last season.
Patricia’s rocky relationship with Patriots quarterback Mac Jones and his deficiencies as an offensive play-caller were put on full display throughout the offseason, causing a rift between the coach and the organization. Now, he’ll get a blank slate with the Eagles.
