Parting with Patullo | Sports Daily Newsletter

The news was expected to come at some point after the Eagles were knocked out of the playoffs by San Francisco on Sunday.

Two days later, the team announced that Kevin Patullo had been removed as offensive coordinator after one season. But it’s possible that Patullo could remain on the staff in another role.

Patullo has been with the team since coach Nick Sirianni was hired in 2021. He went from passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator a year ago after Kellen Moore left to become the coach of the New Orleans Saints.

Now, the Eagles’ next offensive coordinator will be the seventh play-caller Jalen Hurts has had in the NFL in what will be his seventh season in the league. So who might the Birds target as the next offensive coordinator?

Well, there’s no shortage of strong candidates to help fix a star-studded offense, and maybe they’ll look to hire an outside voice, considering that Sirianni’s last two internal promotions — Patullo and Brian Johnson — were finished after one season.

If that’s the case, Eagles beat writer Olivia Reiner starts us off with eight candidates to consider.

— Isabella DiAmore, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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❓Who should the Eagles hire as their next offensive coordinator? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

Jihaad Campbell was touted as a versatile defensive weapon who offered the Eagles the ability to line him up in multiple spots. But he saw more opportunity inside during Nakobe Dean’s injury rehabilitation, which led the rookie to start next to Zack Baun for the first seven games of the season.

The Camden County native, a first-round pick out of Alabama, played in all 17 games while starting 10 of them. He excelled in pass coverage and was solid against the run. With his first season in the books, Campbell will likely be utilized and trusted more next season because Dean is a pending free agent whose return to the Eagles seems unlikely.

🤔 Wondering: What folks are saying about the Eagles parting ways with Patullo as the play-caller.

📖 Reading: The viral 11-year-old Eagles fan Sam Salvo wanted Patullo flipping burgers. He says “it worked.”

🏒 Learning: Pro hockey is returning to Trenton after a 13-year hiatus and the new minor league team officially got a name.

Jesús Luzardo hasn’t spoken with the Phillies yet about a contract extension.

But it’s a conversation he would like to have.

“It’s not something that I’m closed off to,” said Luzardo, appearing as a guest this week on Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast. “I just got married and hopefully eventually have a family, and just being stable in a certain place, knowing that you’re comfortable within an organization … it’s something I would be really interested in.”

Tyrese Maxey told Lowry at the start of Monday’s matchup against Toronto that his Sixers teammates would “do whatever we’ve got to do to get you in tonight.”

Maxey kept his word and allowed Lowry to check in late, as the 39-year-old soaked in potentially one last ovation from an adoring crowd that watched the North Philly native become a six-time All-Star and 2019 NBA champion. It was a joyous curtain call and “probably one of the greatest basketball moments of my personal career.”

After two straight sobering losses to perennial powerhouse Tampa Bay, the Flyers need to refocus if they want to stay in playoff contention in the hotly contested Eastern Conference. Here are three lessons that they learned and need to carry with them as they move through a gauntlet before February’s Olympic break.

Rick Tocchet believes the Flyers need to simplify. The first-year coach believes his team, which is considered the fourth-youngest team in the NHL, is trying to make the perfect play too often instead of making the right reads. So he says, “We’re going to have to really dummy it down a little bit.”

Kevin Patullo isn’t the first person to experience the downside of this city’s manic emotional instability when it comes to professional sports. But my point here isn’t to shame anybody. Actually, my point is to lobby the Eagles to spend whatever it takes to hire Mike McDaniel as their offensive coordinator. The Eagles need to bring in a fresh set of eyes and a proven track record of inventive run-scheming. They need to reinvent this offense, and McDaniel is the perfect mind to do it, writes columnist David Murphy.

Who has the most wins in the playoffs as coach of the Eagles?

C) Andy Reid with 10 wins — Mike R. was first with the correct answer.

We asked: What do you think about the prospects of the Eagles trading A.J. Brown? Among your responses:

Possibility is high they try to trade him even if all they can get is a bag of footballs in return. If they can’t trade him they should just cut him. A malcontent is nothing but a cancer on the team and his on the field efforts are highly questionable right now. Can anyone say “Ricky Watters?” — Bob A.

I wish our fans would stand by the team win or lose. That’s what most parents of young athletes do. Pretend it’s your kid out there playing for the Eagles. What would you say when they lose? We are not going to win the Super Bowl every year. But every year we, as fans, get to show our love and support for them. — Cindy F.

It’s time for A. J. to take his show elsewhere. Once upon a time we had another star who also thought he was bigger than the game itself. When he short armed a pass in 1995 his response was “for who for what.” Ricky found out that afternoon what Philadelphia fans were all about. Never happened again and he had 3 super years with the Birds. There’s only 4 reasons we lost that game to the 49ers’ and none of them fall on coaching. The 3 catchable balls A. J. dropped and the extra point Elliott blew. He makes that kick and we’re 3 down. We kick a 20 yard field goal with 5 seconds to play. Games tied and who knows what could happen in OT. Now if AJ catches any one of the three drops and we’re in the Red Zone and no one’s better in the Red Zone than us. The kicker has to go and the dead cap $ will unfortunately keep AJ around for another season. He’ll be a free agent after next season so maybe he’ll be playing lights out for a free-agent contract and leaves his EGO at the door. — Ronald R.

The Eagles have multiple problems. 1. Sirianni. He is going to be fired this time next year. To be honest, Nick is not smart. 2. AJ Brown. If he was correct criticizing the play calling, then keep him. 3. Patullo should never have been handed the OC position for a SB team. Nick, again, showing his lack of maturity in hiring an unqualified friend. 4. I read once a coach say, “Every season we change our entire offensive scheme.” Nick hasn’t changed anything in years. This is an abomination of dereliction of responsibility as the head coach. The question is either Nick is lazy, or he is incompetent. 5. Hurts. He is a below average QB if he will not run the ball. Hurts cannot read the field quickly. He simply doesn’t process the coverage. He refuses to throw to where the receiver will be. He waits until the receiver is already there and then passes. — Jack D.

Going to be a long off season, but don’t worry about anything, just put your trust in Howie. Not sure who is ready to deal for Brown, but I think it is time for the Eagles to part with him. An outstanding receiver who needs to play in a Vince Lombardi culture where he knows what the boundaries are. Mike Tomlin and the Steelers can handle him, but would they want him? — Everett S.

It is always easy to trade someone, the key question is who will replace him and will it be an upgrade. — Gary P.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Jeff Neiburg, Olivia Reiner, Gina Mizell, Jonathan Tannenwald, Jackie Spiegel, Gustav Elvin, Lochlahn March, Ariel Simpson, Gabriela Carroll, Devin Jackson, David Murphy, and Greg Finberg.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful Wednesday. Kerith will be back in your inbox with tomorrow’s newsletter. — Bella