Patullo The Problem Solver: New Eagles OC Hits All The Right Notes

Kevin Patullo hit all the right notes on Wednesday at his first press conference as the Eagles’ new offensive coordinator.

The veteran coach spoke with the confidence and self-assuredness of someone who has been there every step of the way during the impressive Nick Sirianni era, which has produced four postseason appearances, two Super Bowl berths, and a Lombardi Trophy over the past four seasons.

During that time, Patullo, 43, has been Philadelphia’s passing game coordinator before adding the title of associate head coach. Regardless of job title, what he’s really been is Sirianni's consigliere and sounding board.  

Now Patullo is running the “Eagles offense,” the in-house label of what’s gone on as the play-calling baton was passed from Sirianni to Shane Steichen to Brian Johnson to Kellen Moore and now Patullo, who now takes center stage by running the offensive meetings during the week and then relaying the play calls to Jalen Hurts on game day.

“The biggest thing is I’m the one voice in the offensive room, I still had a big voice prior to, but it’s still not a ton different,” Patullo surmised before Wednesday’s OTA practice.

Patullo has spent the past eight seasons with Sirianni, spanning Indianapolis and Philadelphia and the pride each takes in offensive football starts with the players on hand.

“My approach is to put the players in the best position to be successful,” Patullo explained. “That’s what it comes down to. You want to make sure they’re confident in everything that they can do, and you want to be confident as a coach that you put them in that position so that they can go out there and do their best.”

Patullo inherits arguably the most talented offense in football, with 10 of 11 starters returning. Eight of those 10 have either All-Pro or Pro Bowl honors on their resumes.

“I think it's huge,” Patullo said of the continuity.

The idea behind that sentiment is Patullo’s core belief that good offensive football is about problem-solving in real time.

“Everybody knows each other and when it comes down to it, when they're out there playing, they're problem solving ultimately,” Patullo told Eagles On SI. “You don't always know what you're going to get as an offense.”

That conjures up the old Mike Tyson line: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.”

“Those guys can walk out there in the field and be confident in what they're supposed to do, but no matter what happens, they feel like they can problem solve and do their best together, and that's really what it comes down to,” Patullo said. “We've had a lot of coaches stay the same and then we've had a lot of players stay the same. 

“That's huge as far as guys knowing what we want to do when we want to do it, and then if something does pop up, we can all adjust together, which is what we have to do as a staff and players.”