To the victors go the spoils. For the third time in eight years the Eagles need a new offensive coordinator after reaching the Super Bowl. Hopefully the Eagles have learned their lesson from the previous two tries of promoting from within, and with hiring neophytes to call plays for a Super Bowl contender.
The Eagles should hire an experienced play caller. Unfortunately pickings are slim this time of year as everyone else has filled out their staff. Here are some options beyond potential in-house promotion Kevin Patullo, who is reportedly a “strong candidate” to be bumped up from his current title of Eagles passing game coordinator/associate head coach.
Lincoln Riley, USC head coach
Riley has two major Eagles connections. First, he coached Jalen Hurts at Oklahoma.
Second, he was a serious candidate to replace Doug Pederson in 2021, but reportedly turned them down. At the time Riley had a ton of leverage as a rising star, and a year later he left Oklahoma for USC. Things haven’t worked out. He went 8-5 last year and 7-6 this year. His primary source of job security is that it would reportedly cost USC $90M to fire him. But to hire him away? Surely USC would be willing to negotiate his buyout if the Eagles called.
Riley leaving for an OC job wouldn’t be extreme. Last year saw five FBS head coaches leave for coordinator jobs, highlighted by Chip Kelly quitting UCLA to be Ohio State OC and Jeff Hafley quitting Boston College to be Packers DC, both were getting ahead of a hot seat season. Getting out of USC may have strong appeal to Riley, who can potentially then have his choice of jobs in a year.
Riley is probably a long shot, but somewhere in the NovaCare complex he’s been talked about.
Frank Reich, presumably somewhere on a beach
He checks a lot of boxes. Years of calling plays in the NFL. Super Bowl winner with the Eagles. Nick Sirianni worked under him and their relationship is extremely strong. As a bonus, at 63 and a disastrous end to his head coaching career, there’s no chance he’ll leave in a year for a head coaching job.
But he’s also got a $36M payday from the Panthers. Does Frank Reich even want to coach anymore?
If the Eagles go with a young OC, Reich is a name to watch as an offensive consultant/pass game coordinator type role.
Bobby Slowik, an unemployment line in Houston
A year ago Bobby Slowik was getting second interviews as a head coach candidate. Now he’s out of a job. Life moves at the speed of light in the NFL. Riding the coattails of CJ Stroud, Slowik was a “hot coordinator” entering this season, turns out the heat was from re-entering the atmosphere. Slowik was fired in large part because of his inability to protect Stroud, they also fired their OL coach. On the one hand, the Eagles may be the perfect landing spot for him, pairing his weakness with the team’s strength.
On the other hand, Jalen Hurts is coming off the worst sack rate of his career, do you want to marry those weaknesses? Additionally, Slowik has little experience with an RPO based offense, in Houston he called just 98 RPOs total, which is roughly 6 games worth of RPOs for the Eagles, and the 49ers during his time there were at best middle of the pack in RPO volume.
Andy Kotelnicki, Penn State offensive coordinator
A rising star in the college circles, Kotelnicki is likely a familiar name to the Eagles and not just because he coaches at Penn State. Until last year Kotelnicki spent 11 seasons as Lance Leipold’s right hand man, winning back to back D-III titles a decade ago. Sirianni’s brother Mike has been a D-III head coach for over 20 years. Kotelnicki then helped turned Buffalo and Kansas around under Leipold, and this year outside of Leipold’s shadow he turned Penn State’s offense into one of the most efficient in the country despite not having any actual WRs. He’ll be a college head coach sooner rather than later, and he’s never coached in the NFL at any level, but he’s someone teams should bring in for an interview.
Darrell Bevell, Dolphins QB coach/pass game coordinator
If you’re looking for a coach who has had some success as a play caller in the NFL and isn’t currently a play caller in the NFL, it’s a pretty short list, and Darrell Bevell is on it.
Nathan Scheelhaase, Rams pass game specialist
Before hiring Brian Johnson as OC in 2023, the Eagles interviewed Scheelhaase, who at the time had just been promoted to be Iowa State’s OC after spending the previous season as RB and WR coach. So he’s on the teams’ radar for sure.
He was reportedly in the mix for Jaguars OC under Liam Coen but last week pulled out. Maybe something more appealing opened up?
Scheelhaase would be a huge risk. He has one year of his life calling plays at any level, . He also has no experience with an RPO offense, he’s coached with exclusively pocket passers.
Marcus Brady, Chargers passing game coordinator
There are benefits to promoting from within. Continuity, familiarity, probably a quicker interview too. There are benefits to bringing in outside voices as well. New ideas, different experiences. Brady would split the difference, having been an Eagles assistant in 2022 and 2023, and previously working with Nick Sirianni in Indianapolis. Brady would also be a huge risk, but at least he wouldn’t be a blind date.
