Report: Eagles fire defensive coordinator Sean Desai after 1 season
Philadelphia started the year 10-1 but lost six of its last seven games to close out the season
The Philadelphia Eagles will at least have a new defensive coordinator next season.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni fired Sean Desai as his defensive coordinator Sunday afternoon, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Though nothing has been decided officially about Sirianni’s future with the Eagles — which has been in doubt after the team’s rapid collapse and early playoff loss this season — the move is a sign that he will be back with the team next season.
Sources: #Eagles coach Nick Sirianni has let go defensive coordinator Sean Desai, who lost play-calling duties late in the season.
Desai is likely to be in the mix for other DC opportunities.— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 21, 2024
Desai was with the Eagles for one season. He joined Sirianni’s staff after a one-year run as the associate defensive head coach with the Seattle Seahawks in 2022. He also spent nine seasons on staff with the Chicago Bears, where he worked his way up to defensive coordinator.
It’s unclear where Desai will land next, though he’s likely to be “in the mix” for other open defensive coordinator jobs across the league this offseason, according to Rapoport.
The Eagles were once 10-1 during the season, and looked like the favorite to return to the Super Bowl out of the NFC. Yet the team lost six of its last seven games, including a 32-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round of the playoffs. Desai was stripped of his play-calling duties after the Eagles’ 33-13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 10. Eagles consultant Matt Patricia took over the rest of the way, though the team went 1-4 after the change.
Patricia is not under contract with the Eagles anymore either, according to the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, and he "plans to explore other opportunities." Patricia spent six seasons as the New England Patriots' defensive coordinator before his three-year run as the Detroit Lions' head coach from 2018-2020.
While the Eagles’ collapse was a well-rounded effort, their defensive struggles played a big part of it. The Eagles finished the regular season 26th in yards allowed per game (356.1) and 30th in points allowed per game (25.2). It’s unclear who will replace Desai next season.
Assuming the Eagles keep Sirianni, he will enter his fourth season leading the team next fall. He has compiled a 34-17 record and led the team to the Super Bowl last season in what is his first head-coaching job in the league.
