Did Eagles make right call in shuffling defensive staff?

After all, Dallas and San Francisco have two of the top-three scoring offenses in the NFL. Gauging Desai’s performance against those teams seems a bit unfair. With two games against the Giants and one against the Cardinals still on the schedule, Patricia is sure to have better opportunities than Desai was afforded.

Patricia came to Philadelphia after a disastrous season calling offensive plays for quarterback Mac Jones and the Patriots in 2022. He’d previously spent fourteen years as an assistant with New England (six as defensive coordinator) before being named head coach of the Detroit Lions in 2018. In three years under Patricia, the Lions went 13-29-1. Under his leadership, the Lions defense got worse every year, going from 17th to 26th to 32nd overall in points allowed. 

Make no mistake, the Eagles defense has struggled all year. Only four teams give up more points per game but the roster hardly resembles the one that allowed the second-fewest yards per game in 2022. For starters, last year’s leading tackler, T.J. Edwards, is now in Chicago. The team tried to replace him with Nakobe Dean, but thanks to injury the second-year linebacker has appeared in just five games.

Slot corner Avonte Maddox hasn't played since Week 2 due to a torn pectoral muscle but could be back next week. The team would love to have players like safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave back too, but they're now with the Lions and 49ers respectively.

In other words, Desai deserves better than to be demoted 15 weeks into a season by a first-place team with a 10-3 record. More importantly, Patricia has shown little to earn the trust of the Philadelphia fanbase. Win, lose or draw, it will be interesting to see how things unfold as the regular season winds down.