All eyes are on Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo
Official debut comes in prime-time opener Thursday
From The Reporter/MediaNews Group: https://tinyurl.com/4s6wytbe
PHILADELPHIA — Twenty-two years ago, Kevin Patullo began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of South Florida, his alma mater, whose football program was in its infancy. Now at age 44, he’s the rookie offensive coordinator for the Super Bowl champion Eagles.
Patullo will make his regular-season debut calling plays Thursday night against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field. He handled three preseason games, but now opposing defenses will be game-planning for the Birds.
Now it counts.
“I’m excited,” an upbeat Patullo said Monday at NovaCare Complex. “I mean, it’s fun. It’s a huge opportunity, obviously, but it goes back to even in year one with Nick (Sirianni), just working through all the situations and things that we’ve done together. I’ve been a part of so much of it, it doesn’t feel too much different. But it is exciting, and I think the guys feel good energy and they’re excited, too.”
Patullo, who had never called plays at any level before this year, has been with Sirianni since 2018, when they both joined Frank Reich’s staff in Indianapolis. Patullo was the Eagles’ pass game coordinator the last four years and associate head coach the last two, instrumental in the success of quarterback Jalen Hurts and the team as a whole.
“Kevin has been there,” Sirianni said earlier this year. “I can’t tell you how many suggestions he gave, how much him and Kellen (former OC Kellen Moore) were talking throughout the game, how much him and Brian (former OC Brian Johnson) were talking throughout the game, how much him and Shane (former OC Shane Steichen) were talking throughout the game, of what to call in these certain scenarios.
“With all the game management stuff that we’ve done, Kevin has been side by side with me there. He’s actually called a lot of things in two-minute. ‘Hey, this is the moment for this. This is the moment for that.’ There are instances where he’s already had opportunities calling plays. Not the consistent grind of it over and over again, but it’s so collaborative. It’s such a collaborative process. I have no doubt that he’s ready for the challenge of what the job’s going to be.”
The organization hopes that experience makes the transition from Moore relatively seamless. Moore left in February after one season here to become head coach of the New Orleans Saints.
In 2024, the Eagles’ offense ranked eighth overall at 367.2 yards per game, eighth in scoring at 27.2 points per game, eighth in touchdowns with 54, second in rushing at 179.3 ypg and 29th in passing at 187.9 ypg. (The passing numbers were misleading because the Eagles often didn’t need to throw.)
“The first few weeks in Philadelphia, I was really mostly a listener,” Moore has said, “letting Kevin Patullo explain where the passing game is, showing those cut-ups and starting with the intent of keeping what is in place that we feel really good about.”
Patullo has kept many of the plays and vernacular Moore used, but he has added some wrinkles.
“I think there’ll be some new things,” Patullo said Monday. “Whether there will be a ton of them or not, it just depends on the situation, how the game flow goes and how they come up throughout the game. So I think there’ll be a few things here or there, and then we’ll see throughout the season how much it continues in that direction.”
South Florida launched its football program in 1997 with coach Jim Leavitt. Patullo, originally from Somerset County, N.J., played quarterback and wide receiver for USF before becoming a GA in 2002.
“We were starting from the ground up,” Patullo has said of his early days. “When I got into coaching, I knew that was my path, and it would take on its own course. … I just felt like whatever happens, happens. It will work itself out.”
He has gotten this far. Depending on how the offense performs, he’ll receive either the criticism or the credit, but he says he’s not worried.
“I think that’s just part of it, right? I mean, we all do this because we want to do well and succeed,” Patullo said. “I think as a coach, you know going in that’s part of what you’re stepping into. But ultimately, we are a team. I’m a reflection of Nick and vice versa, and I’m a reflection of the offense and vice versa.
“I think when you walk into the situation, that’s not something you really focus on. You know it’s part of it, but you enjoy it. You show up every day. You want to do the best you can to succeed and have the best outcomes.”
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley was selected the best player in the league in the 2025 NFL Top 100, voted on by the players. Barkley ran for 2,005 yards last season, becoming only the ninth member of the 2,000-yard rushers club.
Rounding out this year’s top 10 were Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, Bills quarterback Josh Allen, Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Ravens running back Derrick Henry, Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett, Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson and Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II.
NOTES: Eagles LG Landon Dickerson didn't practice Monday, but it was because of back pain, not his surgically repaired knee. He had participated in drills on Sunday. Brett Toth, who filled in for Dickerson during two weeks of camp, replaced him in Monday’s drills. … QB Tanner McKee (thumb) remained out. ... S Andrew Mukuba (hamstring) and OLB Josh Uche (groin) practiced on a limited basis. DT Jalen Carter (shoulder) was a full participant. … For the Cowboys, DT Perrion Winfrey (back) did not practice. CB Trevon Diggs (knee), T Tyler Guyton (knee) and TE Brevyn Spann-Ford (ankle) were full participants.
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Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X at @the_defranc.