Report: Eagles hire former Patriots assistant Matt Patricia to their coaching staff

The 48-year-old has found a new club.

The Philadelphia Eagles jumped the gun on Thursday when they posted and later deleted a blurb that Matt Patricia had joined their organization as a senior defensive assistant. However, it appears it has turned into reality sooner rather than later.

As first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the team did indeed hire the former New England Patriots assistant.

“I know that there was a report out that that was said, and we’re trending in that direction,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said during a press conference on Thursday afternoon. “Nothing’s final yet. We’re trending in that direction. We’ll see how that progresses, but it’s trending in that direction.”

A few minutes later, the move was reported as having been finalized.

Patricia joining the Eagles in a defense-focused role is a return to his roots. Between 2006 and 2017, he spent 12 years working on that side of the ball for the Patriots — including six as the team’s defensive coordinator. He helped New England win two Super Bowls in that role before leaving to become head coach of the Detroit Lions in 2018.

His stint in Detroit lasted only two-and-a-half seasons, after which he found his way back to New England. Still getting paid by the Lions, Patricia initially served as an assistant to head coach Bill Belichick before moving back to coaching in 2022.

Officially serving as offensive line coach, he was also spearheading the team’s collaborative effort of replacing long-time offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. The experiment did not yield the desired result, with the Patricia-led Patriots offense — he served as play-caller without the title — playing some uninspired football for much of the year.

As a result, the Patriots brought in veteran Bill O’Brien to take over. This in combination with the Lions no longer paying his salary left Patricia in limbo.

Now, he has found a new home.

“Obviously, his résumé speaks for itself,” Sirianni said about the 48-year-old. “He gives you a great mind in there that has done it at the highest level. He gives you great ability to bounce ideas off of with the defensive staff, and also gives me another former head coach that I can bounce ideas off of as well with things which I think will be very helpful.”