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New York Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Eagles OC Kevin Patullo has firm grasp of the bigger picture. Just ask Chan Gailey
On a taxing morning in the fall of 2008, Kevin Patullo walked into a staff room in which the whiteboards were all blank. The Kansas City Chiefs' offensive coaches, already reeling from a series of losses that would eventually stretch to 14, heard their offensive coordinator, Chan Gailey, pronounce the problem they never anticipated they'd need to solve. They'd lost their starting quarterback, Brodie Croyle, first to a bruised shoulder before a season-ending knee injury. They'd lost their backup, Damon Huard, first to a concussion before a season-ending thumb injury. They were down to their third-stringer, Tyler Thigpen, a former seventh-round pick who'd been a dual-threat quarterback at FCS-level Coastal Carolina. Advertisement Thigpen had only played one prior game for the Chiefs, in 2007 — and it'd only been for two drives. Patullo, then a 27-year-old offensive quality control coach, knew most of the playbook they'd prepared for the 2008 season was out. Gailey needed fresh ideas. 'All right,' Patullo recalled Gailey saying. 'We got to figure out a new offense for this week.' It's the sort of memory Patullo, a first-time NFL offensive coordinator, uses for reference in his first season as the Philadelphia Eagles' play caller. It's certainly not the most glamorous memory. No Hollywood producer is scrambling for a script about the mental fortitude of a Chiefs regime that was overhauled after losing the most games in team history. Few scribes at the time even noted Patullo's firing, or the young coach the Chiefs hired to fill Patullo's vacancy in offensive quality control … Nick Sirianni. But Patullo knows football is a game in which victors capitalize on lessons learned from losses. He knows that some of the game's biggest innovations came from coaches who chose creativity over apathy, even though they knew they were already damned. That describes Gailey, whom Patullo called his 'greatest influence' in football schematics. Indeed, the 2008 Chiefs were dreadful. However, the solutions Gailey and his staff drew on those blank whiteboards dramatically improved their efficiency on offense and popularized a concept the NFL hadn't yet explored: the pistol. 'Nobody knew what the pistol was in the NFL,' Patullo said. 'We were successful for the most part. We didn't win a lot of games, but we moved the ball with a bunch of guys that we didn't know really if we could do that with. So (Gailey) being able to show, 'Look, we do what we have to do to win, it doesn't matter, it doesn't have to look a certain way,' was huge.' Advertisement Thigpen, in his only season as a primary starter, lined up in a variety of shotgun alignments (including as a receiver in wildcat formations) during a 10-game stretch in which the Chiefs bumped their scoring offense from last in the NFL (12.5 points per game) to 19th (21.6) and their offensive EPA per play from 29th (-0.14) to 16th (0.07), according to TruMedia. Gailey later used similar concepts as head coach of the Buffalo Bills and offensive coordinator for the New York Jets. Patullo spent six seasons honing his craft as a problem-solver and game-planner with Gailey: three as an offensive quality control coach in Kansas City and Buffalo, one as the Bills' offensive assistant and assistant wide receivers coach and two as the Jets' quarterback coach. Patullo's variety of roles signaled his eventual rise. Some coaches are experts at certain positions. Some see the bigger picture. Gailey told The Athletic that Patullo 'was able to see the bigger picture better than some other people that I've been around. 'When you can see the big picture, you're able to solve the problems,' said Gailey, 73, who coached for seven NFL teams during his 46-year career. 'Because the biggest picture is how do we take what we have and defeat what they have? That's the big picture. And then once you see that and realize that, then you can start to cut it down to the smaller pieces of how do we get that done?' To compare the 2008 Chiefs to the 2025 Eagles incites amusement — perhaps an expletive in a Philly bar. Patullo has access to perhaps the most talented offense in the NFL. All but former starting right guard Mekhi Becton return from a Super Bowl LIX-winning lineup in which Saquon Barkley set the full-season rushing record behind a Pro Bowl-studded offensive line. That invited defensive attention the dual-threat Jalen Hurts exploited through the air with perennial 1,000-yard receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, plus tight end Dallas Goedert. And the Brotherly Shove remains legal. Advertisement Kellen Moore is now head coach of the New Orleans Saints because of his one-year management of the same talent pool. If the Eagles continue their offensive success under Patullo, he'll soon be a head coach himself. But he, like Moore, will be judged against the expectation for the Eagles to rewrite record books and win Super Bowls. He also knows talent alone offers no guarantees of meeting that standard. Patullo was the team's passing coordinator when Sirianni promoted former quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson in 2023 to replace Indianapolis Colts-bound Shane Steichen. An offensive system that reached Super Bowl LVII stalled during a disastrous collapse, largely due to the absence of adaptations within Sirianni-led staff meetings. It can be argued that Moore benefited from two advantages Patullo lacks: 1) the cracks in the previous system were clearly defined for a schematic foreman hired specifically to attempt repairs, 2) opponents had no film on how the Eagles planned to use Barkley. Coaches who watched the Eagles crush defenses in 2024 while averaging the franchise's most rushing attempts per game (36.5) since 1978 will have spent a full offseason concocting ways to stop them. Patullo must stay a step ahead with adaptations that don't abandon strengths or create needless complexities that could compromise the controls within one of the most coveted cockpits in the NFL. 'You got to have some imagination,' Gailey said. If there's a succinct phrase that captures how Patullo intends to stay ahead, it's 'building on what our players do best.' He's not espousing the stick-to-the-hits approach that doomed the Eagles in 2023. Instead, Patullo, who on Wednesday spoke to reporters for the first time in his new capacity, articulated an expansion. The Eagles understand their fundamental strengths. Patullo said there will be 'core plays that you know you trust.' But an offensive staff with four new hires — including passing game coordinator Parks Frazier and quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler — is bringing ideas to staff meetings that add 'other layers' and 'new wrinkles' to the system. They're also weighing the ideas against a 'checklist of things' they expect opposing defenses will attempt. 'We have to be ready to adjust,' Patullo said. He comes from an idea-generating routine in which Gailey would start post-draft staff meetings by asking his coaches if they'd seen anything on film — NFL, college, high school or otherwise — that they ought to try to develop themselves. 'That's where the ideas would come from,' Gailey said. Once in-season, Gailey said they never focused on attacking a defense until they'd figured out what they had offensively themselves. What players do we have available? What are their strengths? Their weaknesses? Then they'd figure out how they were going to run the ball against their opponent. ('That was always first,' Gailey said.) Then came the play-action game. Then, drop-back passes. Then, situational football. After 21 years of coaching, Patullo will implement his own routine. Among the things he wanted to remind himself as he began a play-calling role for the first time: 'Just be me.' His debut as an offensive coordinator will be met with two major questions. Do his six years with Gailey give him enough systemic deviation from the seven years he's spent with Sirianni to be creative? And, more importantly, will the first-time OC, at age 43, foster an effective idea-generating process as the leader of a group of veteran assistant coaches and players? 'If you've got to worry about something or think about something, don't lose sleep over that one,' Gailey said. 'Whether he's gonna be able to handle the room, run the show, do all that. That's a non-issue in my book.' 'Now I know how Jalen feels,' Jordan Mailata said. 'This is crazy.' A sixth play caller in six seasons? Mailata, the Eagles' starting left tackle, knows his quarterback has had it worse. Hurts has had 11 play callers dating to his college days at Alabama and Oklahoma. The ever-growing list is a worn-out fact that likely remains relevant so long as Hurts and Sirianni are together. Advertisement Continuity is elusive in the NovaCare Complex. And as the last two years proved, sometimes overrated. The Sirianni-era Eagles have experienced enough transitions to strike a balance between systemic overhauls and simply running it back. Sirianni, who officially promoted Patullo 10 days after Super Bowl LIX, aimed to address any shortcomings in the idea-generation department by hiring Frazier and Loeffler. The Eagles believe those hires complement Patullo's strengths in the management and implementation department, where he'll turn to the player relationships he has formed since joining the Eagles in 2021. None are more important than Patullo's partnership with Hurts. The disorder within the 2023 collapse created a disconnect between Hurts and Sirianni that was repaired in the orderliness that followed Moore's hiring. Hurts and Sirianni reached their communicative stride in 2024 with a series of phone calls during the Week 5 bye, and Hurts spent every Tuesday night on the phone with Moore as they put together the week's initial game plan. Patullo emphasized that he and Hurts are entering their fifth season together. He said they've already formed a routine in OTAs in which Hurts is 'willing to try anything and then we can have dialogue after and kind of go from there.' 'Everyone's in a good place,' Hurts said of his relationship with Patullo. 'Everyone's focused, and everyone cares about their duties and what they're supposed to do. And we've always had some type of communication in the past in (game) prep. So nothing really changes in terms of that. It's just kind of people with different titles.' As for the Patullo-led system, Hurts said, 'there's some nuances that are different.' Last year, Hurts said Moore's system was '95 percent' new. With no need for such a drastic overhaul this time, Hurts still stressed that the Eagles are still 'very early' in the development stage of how this year's offense will evolve. They know from their adaptation after last year's Week 5 bye how plans formed in the summer can require change. Hurts underlined how the Chiefs aimed to stop Barkley in Super Bowl LIX, which gave way to a performance by the quarterback that won him the game's MVP trophy. 'Ultimately, we just have to find ways to play complementary football and continue to build off of what we've done,' Hurts said. 'But also knowing that it's only a template. It's only a reference in a sense, you know. And you gotta continue to grow from that and learn from the good references and the not-so-good references in a sense of what our success was. Just building that out, it'll evolve, it'll be what it'll be. Whatever it is, let's just find ways to win.' The dialogue between the Eagles' offensive coaching staff and players has ranged from combative to conducive. Mailata said Patullo's tenure in Philly 'makes it easy' for them to approach their new play caller with ideas. Mailata said he's already had conversations with Patullo about the system's terminology — 'something that we can clear up to make it easier for all positions.' The sixth-year left tackle has also approached his new play caller with schematic ideas. 'Because of our relationship, he can tell us, 'Yeah, that was bad. That's a bad idea. Here's why,'' Mailata said. 'But it's not just like, 'That's bad,' shut down. It's a why. And then I learned something that day. It's like, 'OK, great. Maybe I should just stick to playing online.'' Advertisement The rapid rotation of Eagles play callers reminds Patullo of the stakes ahead. Succeed, and he can become a head coach like Steichen and Moore. Fail, and he can be fired like Johnson. As Gailey said, Patullo always had a distinct grasp of the bigger picture. But as Patullo's debut as an NFL play caller approaches, he's reminding himself that he's prepared for this moment. 'To be honest, you're just kind of doing your job,' Patullo said. 'If you look at something like that big picture, I guess it could be overwhelming. But this is what I do. This is what I wanted to do. I've been wanting to do it, and I have an opportunity to do it, and like I said, I've got a great staff around me, great players, great organization — everything. So it'll be fun.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Pro Motocross title, Hangtown 'a two horse race'
The Eagles Just Got Some HUGE Answers At OTAs... Day 2 of the Eagles OTAs was held today, open to the media. We received some huge answers regarding positional battles, early favorites to emerge, and even an indication regarding a potential trade in the coming months. In other news, we got to hear from new Offensive Coordinator Kevin Patullo for the first time as he discussed his mentality heading into this season. He also dove into some similarities and differences from Kellen Moore and Nick Sirianni. Lastly, we hear from the newly re-signed Dallas Goedert who is back for another run with the Birds! Today, RB discusses all of this and more! 12:45 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
New York Times
6 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Goedert talks contract, a Cooper DeJean experiment: Observations from Eagles OTAs
PHILADELPHIA — Rain drizzled before a whistle blew. The doors to the Eagles' indoor practice facility opened, and there, towering above swaths of stretching players, were twin images of the Lombardi Trophy, set behind two bold words: World Champions. The Eagles have begun practicing under that plurality. Nick Sirianni, fresh off signing a multi-year extension, strolled past a slew of incomers wearing their new digs for the first time. Several of them aim to replace the five players who started in Super Bowl LIX and now play elsewhere. The majority of holes are on defense; newly promoted offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo must only find a new right guard. The first-time play-caller, speaking to reporters for the first time under his new title on Wednesday, said the continuity in his inherited lineup is 'huge.' Patullo is now tasked with keeping an offense that leveraged Saquon Barkley's 2,000-yard season from growing stale. Advertisement 'I think really when you say different, I think it's going to be what our players do best, like it's been,' Patullo said. 'And then, from there, we just expand upon it. 'Hey, we're really good at this' … 'Let's bring this to the table and try this and see where we can take it.' And I think when when you look at just our staff as a whole, we've added some new coaches so they bring some other layers to it, too, and then the knowledge of what they have and their backgrounds. So I think as we go forward, as we build this thing together as a staff, you'll see some some new wrinkles and there, but more so it's just kind of building on what our players do best.' Cooper DeJean is working out with the cornerbacks. He also worked with the safeties earlier. — Brooks Kubena (@BKubena) May 28, 2025 The Eagles began the first of six OTA workouts on Tuesday. On Wednesday, reporters got their first look at the defending champs. Seven players did not attend the voluntary workout. Two managed injuries in 2024: Landon Dickerson (knee) and Ben VanSumeren (ACL). Three are veterans: Lane Johnson, DeVonta Smith and Reed Blankenship. Another, Avery Williams, is a return specialist who signed a one-year deal. Most notably, Bryce Huff did not attend. He's entering the second year of a three-year, $51.1 million contract after an underwhelming 2024 in which he missed five games after undergoing midseason wrist surgery. Huff returned in Week 17 and was eventually a healthy scratch in Super Bowl LIX. Brandon Graham, who displaced Huff in the Super Bowl lineup, still walked about the NovaCare Complex. The organization is keeping its past locker-room pillars around as they enter their retirement era. Jason Kelce attended Wednesday's workout and spent the entirety of the practice with the offensive line and position coach Jeff Stoutland. Graham and Kelce, members of both Super Bowl teams, serve as image bearers of a franchise looking to prolong a golden era. Here are some observations and takeaways from the second practices of OTAs… Dallas Goedert, speaking publicly about his re-worked contract for the first time on Wednesday, said he never requested a trade or a release during his negotiations with the Eagles. He gave his agent, Chase Callahan, 'certain numbers' that served as thresholds during a series of conversations with general manager Howie Roseman. The Eagles spent the offseason searching for ways to cut costs and explored trading Goedert. But the Eagles did not find a trade partner, nor did they draft a tight end. On May 7, the Eagles hashed out a new deal on which Goedert agreed to a $4.25 million pay cut in exchange for having the remaining $10 million salary fully guaranteed, according to Over the Cap. Advertisement 'I've been very blessed to sign a good contract here,' Goedert said. 'I feel like at some point I wouldn't wanna play for less. You know what I mean? I feel like I know my value. I feel like the Eagles know my value. And just finding something that I was OK with, a number that I felt excited (about), that my time was worth it, or whatever I can do on the field is (worth), there's a threshold that I felt like I deserved. And like I said, we were able to get there.' The immediate benefit for the Eagles is clear: Goedert has been a dynamic pass-catcher when healthy. He's been the team's third-leading receiver in each of the last three seasons, and led the Eagles with 215 receiving yards in their four playoff games last year. It's reasonable to debate the value of an age-30 tight end who's been placed on injured reserve in four of his last five seasons. But it was clear the Eagles would have lost significant firepower without Goedert, having not drafted a tight end and signing journeymen Kylen Granson and Harrison Bryant to one-year deals. Goedert said he was still in touch with Jalen Hurts throughout negotiations, and the Eagles quarterback shared his thoughts on what was best for both parties. 'Dallas is awesome,' Patullo said. 'You could feel his presence out there yesterday, just doing our 7-on-7 stuff. I'm so glad to have him back. He brings a very unique, different style of play to the offense, and he's another weapon to have.' Still, Goedert's re-worked contract is a temporary solution to a tight end situation that looks no less murky in the long run. The Eagles saved a nominal amount of money after months of negotiations. According to Over the Cap, Goedert's new contract lowered his 2025 cap charge by $1.05 million — 0.3 percent of the team's total salary cap. Meanwhile, Goedert is still set to be a major financial hit after his contract expires. Goedert is scheduled to be the team's third-highest cap hit in 2026 due to the guarantees the Eagles just increased. Will the Eagles decrease the cap hit by eventually extending Goedert? Or will they take the hit? Managing the tail end of a long-term extension isn't a new issue for the Eagles. In 2024, they re-worked Josh Sweat's contract as the now-former Eagles edge rusher entered the final year of a three-year, $40 million extension. Sweat's formidable age-27 season placed him well beyond the Eagles' price range in free agency (he signed a four-year, $76.4 million deal with the Cardinals), and Philadelphia is stuck with a $16.4 dead money hit that's essentially their fourth-highest cap hit in 2025. But the Eagles offset that eventual financial blow by spending a third-round pick on Jalyx Hunt in 2024; Hunt, who played 25 percent of defensive snaps as a rookie, will give the Eagles meaningful snaps in Sweat's stead at a $1.28 million cap hit. Advertisement The Eagles, though, don't have any tight end who's logged NFL snaps under contract beyond this season. Will Goedert be back? 'Obviously, you know, I'd love to play my entire career in Philadelphia,' Goedert said. 'But, you know, I'm not too worried about that. I'm excited to see what happens this year, excited to put up a really good year, have a successful year with an incredible team and let my agent handle his job and talks after the season.' Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio told Cooper DeJean, his starting nickel, that he'd spend OTAs experimenting with DeJean playing outside cornerback in base packages. Indeed, DeJean flipped between both positions during Wednesday's workout. He spent a period each of individual drills with both the safeties and cornerbacks. He aligned at the slot during 7-on-7 drills in which the defense fielded its nickel packages, and he bumped to right cornerback in base looks. It's a significant development for DeJean with major implications for the secondary. The Eagles drafted DeJean as a cornerback, at No. 40 overall, in 2024. After he returned from a summer hamstring injury, nickel was the defense's most pressing need. Even when DeJean started practicing at nickel, Fangio said he'd eventually want to see DeJean at cornerback. DeJean's future reached relevance when the Eagles created a vacancy opposite Quinyon Mitchell by releasing Darius Slay. That Fangio has DeJean pulling double duty is notable. Fangio tried the same experiment with Mitchell during training camp last season. Fangio said it 'would be ideal' for Mitchell to focus on one position because nickel is 'a drastically different position' from outside cornerback and they had to 'be careful not to overload his plate.' Even before DeJean made his Week 5 debut at nickel, Fangio had chosen to play Mitchell exclusively at outside cornerback. A deciding factor (if not the deciding factor) in this year's experiment will be DeJean's experience at nickel and familiarity at cornerback. Mitchell spent the bulk of his collegiate career on the outside, as did DeJean. But DeJean blossomed into a defensive rookie of the year finalist at nickel and snagged a pick-six that turned Super Bowl LIX into a beatdown. It's evident he can handle the duties of an NFL nickel; can he simultaneously handle outside corner, where DeJean had three pick-sixes in 2022 while playing for the Iowa Hawkeyes? Or will the experiment prove needlessly complicated? DeJean himself said 'it's definitely a tall task.' 'They're both a little different,' DeJean said of nickel and cornerback. 'I did a little bit in college, played both. But they're different. And on the inside, you gotta prepare more to fit the run and be able to cover and do all those things. In the corner, it's more worrying about covering the top guy, top receiver with a lot of space.' Advertisement When asked where he viewed himself playing long-term, DeJean said 'I'll play wherever.' But there's a business factor he can hardly ignore. If his trajectory at nickel continues, he'd warrant an extension of greater value than the three-year, $40 million contract the Chicago Bears recently awarded Kyler Gordon, the NFL's highest-paid nickel. That's substantially less than the three-year, $90 million extension the Houston Texans awarded Derek Stingley, the NFL's highest-paid cornerback. What does DeJean think of his future in view of that value gap? 'I haven't really thought that far down the line, really,' DeJean said. Call it team-oriented, call it naive, DeJean could still very well be creating his own market as a 'starter' at two positions. The Eagles could rationalize paying above-market for a nickel defender if he also plays cornerback in base packages. They could also convince themselves that they value the nickel more than other NFL teams. The Eagles deployed nickel 80.5 percent in 2024, up from 73.5 in 2023 and more than any season since 2014, according to TruMedia. Only four teams broke the 80 percent threshold last season (Commanders, Texans, Eagles, Bills). But in a long-term view, a multi-use DeJean could create a problem for the Eagles, as they'd need to secure someone who can proficiently play outside cornerback when DeJean is at nickel. If Mitchell and DeJean both secure long-term extensions, can the Eagles afford another outside cornerback on a long-term deal? Or will they resolve to cycle through budget-friendly options at one of the game's most valuable positions? • During 7-on-7 drills, newly signed veteran Adoree' Jackson was the first-team outside cornerback opposite Mitchell when DeJean played nickel. Jackson, a first-round pick of the Titans in 2017, was the primary starter for the New York Giants for three seasons before fulfilling a depth role in 2024. During team drills, Kelee Ringo, Philly's fourth-round pick in 2023, replaced Jackson opposite Mitchell in nickel packages. • Blankenship's absence offered little insight into the initial positioning of the safety battle, but it afforded the coaching staff more looks at the competitors. Andrew Mukuba and Sydney Brown were the first-team safeties during 7-on-7 drills. Brown and Andre Sam were the first-team safeties during team drills, and Mukuba and Tristin McCollum rotated in during the drills. Lewis Cine, a 2022 first-round pick of the Vikings who spent last season on the Eagles' practice squad, was a first-team safety during a later 7-on-7 drill, but Brown subbed in for Cine after a few plays. • The first-team offensive line during team drills: LT Jordan Mailata, LG Matt Pryor, C Brett Toth, RG Tyler Steen, RT Darian Kinnard. Neither RT Lane Johnson or LG Landon Dickerson attended Wednesday's OTAs session. Kenyon Green, acquired in the C.J. Gardner-Johnson trade, also saw time at left guard. It's clear that Stoutland is cross-training several offensive linemen at guard. Laekin Vakalahi, who's entering his second year in the NFL's international development program, spent last year mostly at offensive tackle. Vakalahi worked at left guard during team drills. Advertisement • Three players with injuries attended Wednesday's OTAs session but did not participate. Starting linebacker Nakobe Dean, who suffered a patellar tendon tear in the NFC wild-card round, was notably not wearing any sort of brace or wrap on his knee. Starting center Cam Jurgens, who underwent offseason back surgery, stood beside the offensive linemen throughout practice. First-round rookie Jihaad Campbell, who underwent labrum surgery, stood next to the linebackers, as he did during rookie minicamp. (Photo of Cooper DeJean: Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Eagles Just Got Some HUGE Answers At OTAs...
The Eagles Just Got Some HUGE Answers At OTAs... Day 2 of the Eagles OTAs was held today, open to the media. We received some huge answers regarding positional battles, early favorites to emerge, and even an indication regarding a potential trade in the coming months. In other news, we got to hear from new Offensive Coordinator Kevin Patullo for the first time as he discussed his mentality heading into this season. He also dove into some similarities and differences from Kellen Moore and Nick Sirianni. Lastly, we hear from the newly re-signed Dallas Goedert who is back for another run with the Birds! Today, RB discusses all of this and more! 12:45 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Naz Reid rises to block the shot
The Eagles Just Got Some HUGE Answers At OTAs... Day 2 of the Eagles OTAs was held today, open to the media. We received some huge answers regarding positional battles, early favorites to emerge, and even an indication regarding a potential trade in the coming months. In other news, we got to hear from new Offensive Coordinator Kevin Patullo for the first time as he discussed his mentality heading into this season. He also dove into some similarities and differences from Kellen Moore and Nick Sirianni. Lastly, we hear from the newly re-signed Dallas Goedert who is back for another run with the Birds! Today, RB discusses all of this and more! 12:45 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
