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Matt Patricia won’t return to Eagles coaching staff

Patricia, who called defensive plays beginning in Week 15, was not under contract beyond the 2023 season.

Matt Patricia during practice before the Eagles' season finale against the Giants.
Matt Patricia during practice before the Eagles' season finale against the Giants.Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer

Eagles senior defensive assistant Matt Patricia, who was not under contract beyond this season, plans to explore other opportunities, an NFL source confirmed to The Inquirer on Sunday night.

Additionally, the Eagles fired defensive coordinator Sean Desai, who was replaced by Patricia on the sidelines from Week 15 on.

The Eagles started 10-3 with Desai responsible for calling defensive plays. At the end of that span, after back-to-back losses to the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys, the Eagles ranked No. 27 in the league in points against (24.7 per game) and 21st in yards against (353.9 per game).

» READ MORE: Who’ll be the Eagles’ next defensive coordinator? Here are 6 candidates to watch.

Going into their Week 15 game against the Seahawks, Nick Sirianni opted to reassign defensive play-calling duties to Patricia. Desai remained defensive coordinator in name only for the remainder of the season.

Patricia, 49, was hired in April after spending most of his NFL coaching career with the New England Patriots in numerous roles, including defensive coordinator (2012-17) and most recently as a senior football adviser and offensive line coach (2022). He was also the head coach of the Detroit Lions from 2018-20.

» READ MORE: Murphy: The Eagles want Nick Sirianni to have a plan. But do they have one?

The defense showed little to no improvement and took a step back in most notable categories as the team went 1-4 in that span. The Eagles defense finished the regular season ranked No. 30 in points against (25.1 per game) and 26th in yards against (356.1 per game). The Eagles also finished second to last in third-down conversion percentage (46.4%), 25th in fourth-down percentage (55.9%), and 30th in red-zone percentage (66.1%).

Desai’s firing and Patricia’s departure are the first known changes to the Eagles’ coaching staff after the team finished the regular season 11-6 and suffered a 32-9 wild-card playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Staff writer Jeff McLane contributed to this article.