PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles didn't even take the field on Sunday, but it was an eventful day nonetheless.
Sunday morning, reports began leaking that the Eagles have made a change to their coaching staff, stripping defensive coordinator Sean Desai of his playcalling duties.
While Desai will retain his job title, the team said, the defense is now being run by former New England Patriots defensive coordinator and Detroit Lions head coach Matti Patricia, who was hired in Philly as a defensive assistant prior to the season.
Meanwhile, the team also announced Sunday morning that the status of starting quarterback Jalen Hurts for Monday night's visit to the Seattle Seahawks had been downgraded to questionable due to an illness.
Hurts traveled to Seattle in his own jet to remain separated from his teammates and the Birds are hopeful he'll still be able suit up for tonight's game, assuming his symptoms do not intensify.
Oh yeah: and thanks to the results of Sunday afternoon's late games -- specifically losses by both the Dallas Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals -- the Eagles found out that they have clinched a berth in the NFC playoffs.
That's quite a lot of news for a team that doesn't even take the field until tonight. Here's what Philly fans need to know about Patricia, who will be tasked with turning around a defense that has allowed 109 points in the last three games and at one point gave up nine touchdowns and a field goal in 10 straight possessions in losses to San Francisco and Dallas.
Patricia, 49, helped the Patriots win three Super Bowls during his tenure in New England, where he helped run a defense crafted by Bill Belichick. He joined Belichick's staff as an offensive assistant in 2004, but switched to the other side of the ball in 2006, when he took over as the linebackers coach. He kept that position until 2011, when he was moved to the secondary as a safeties coach, and then was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2012.
The Patriots won Super Bowls in 2004, 2012 and 2016 with Patricia on the staff. He was New England's defensive coordinator in 2018, when the Eagles defeated the Pats in the Super Bowl with backup quarterback Nick Foles.
Patricia left the Patriots prior to the 2018 season to take over as head coach of the Detroit Lions, where he went 13-49-1 in three largely disastrous seasons.
After the Lions fired him in 2020, Patricia returned to Belichick's staff in New England, where he served two seasons as a senior advisor and offensive line coach. He was the Patriots' offensive playcaller in 2022, but was relieved of his duties when the offense managed just 18.1 points per game.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni added Patricia to his staff in April after hiring Desai to run the defense. Patricia's official title was senior defensive assistant, though his actual duties were unclear.
After Desai's defense fell apart in over the last six weeks, the team decided to turn to Patricia -- even though the Eagles are 10-3 and already in the playoffs as the regular season enters its final month.
Fans will get their first taste of Patricia's playcalling abilities tonight at Seattle, which has lost four in a row and might be without starting QB Geno Smith. The Seahawks' trio of receivers -- DK Metcalf, TJ Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba -- will provide a test for the Eagles' shredded secondary, which will be minus cornerback Darius Slay.