On and on goes the Philadelphia Eagles' revolving door at offensive coordinator.
Philly has informed OC Kevin Patullo it's making a change following Sunday's wild-card loss to the 49ers, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported Tuesday.
Rapoport and Garafolo reported that there's a chance Patullo could remain on Sirianni's coaching staff.
"I have decided to make a change at offensive coordinator," head coach Nick Sirianni said in the statement. "I met with Kevin today to discuss the difficult decision, as he is a great coach who has my utmost respect. He has been integral to this team's success over the last five years, not only to the on-field product but behind the scenes as a valued leader for our players and organization. I have no doubt he will continue to have a successful coaching career.
"Ultimately, when we fall short of our goals that responsibility lies on my shoulders."
Barring a deep postseason run in which the Eagles broke out of their offensive stupor, the likelihood of such a decision seemed to grow with each passing week.
Following their Super Bowl LIX victory, a triumph marked by a 40-point explosion, the Eagles lost offensive coordinator Kellen Moore to the New Orleans Saints' head coaching job and promoted Patullo to replace him.
The move proved to be a costly misstep. Patullo struggled to find his footing as the team's play-caller, resulting in Philly finishing 19th in scoring and 24th in yards -- both easily the worst results on Nick Sirianni's five-year tenure as head coach. From 2022-24, the Eagles never finished worse than seventh in scoring or eighth in yards.
Philadelphia's struggles on that side of the ball became a point of contention all season, highlighted by a defense that was capable of delivering a repeat instead slowly being wasted.
Wide receiver A.J. Brown complained about his role at various points in the season, both through a cryptic post on social media and on a Twitch stream, thereafter refusing to apologize for it. Running back Saquon Barkley spent much of his follow-up season to winning Offensive Player of the Year held in check. He finished nine games below 4.0 yards per carry after doing so just twice the previous campaign. Following their Week 9 bye, the Eagles surpassed 20 points only three times in 10 outings, including the 23-19 wild-card loss to the San Francisco 49ers that ended their season.
During that loss, Philly started out strong with two touchdown drives in its first three tries, the second being an impressive 94-yard march, but then a familiar malaise set in and boos from the home crowd followed. Of the Eagle's last seven possessions, the four that ended in punts amounted to a single net yard of offense. Two resulted in field goals, and Philadelphia's final drive after the 49ers pulled ahead again ended with a turnover on downs just outside the red zone.
The final two quarters and change of futility that doomed the Eagles, coupled with a hard-playing defense that kept a win possible for as long as it could, was an unfortunate microcosm of their season.
Jalen Hurts punted on a question about Patullo's future at locker cleanout the next day and Barkley noted that someone must end up taking the blame, even if it isn't fair.
That blame indeed landed squarely on Patullo's shoulders, which leaves the Eagles looking for their fifth offensive coordinator in five years.
There is, however, reason for optimism.
Despite a trying season, Philadelphia still easily boasts one of the most talented offensive rosters in the NFL. Plus, the last time the Eagles went from a Super Bowl appearance to replacing their OC in the wake of a wild-card disappointment, they rebounded and returned to the game's biggest stage the following season.
It was there they captured the franchise's second Lombardi Trophy.
The question now is if they can do it again.
