Presenting, The Next O.C.

PHILADELPHIA — While it wasn’t his first time speaking to reporters, Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo was officially introduced Wednesday in his new role.

Patullo, who joined the Eagles in 2021 as part of Nick Sirianni’s staff, previously held the title of pass game coordinator. He also served as the Eagles’ associate head coach the past two seasons.

Perhaps not a household name to some, Patullo is — and has been — Sirianni’s right-hand man and confidant. He also figures to benefit from being around such a wide-ranging group of offensive minds during his years in Philadelphia.

It always felt the team was intentional in their development of Patullo, not rushing him into an elevated role prematurely while seemingly maintaining a vision for his future. An elevation to a coordinator role was merely a natural progression.

I came away impressed with Patullo’s opening presser. Like Sirianni, he exudes authenticity. He also comes off as well-adjusted. With that, here are five of my most notable takeaways from Patullo’s first press conference as Eagles offensive coordinator.

Play-calling approach

While Patullo didn’t offer anything particularly noteworthy or revolutionary on the subject, the first-year play-caller did share a refreshing, albeit seemingly default for most coordinators, philosophy that figures to prove critical to the team’s success.

“My approach is to put the players in the best position they can to be successful, and then that’s what it comes down to,” he said.

“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.”

I used the term “refreshing” because Patullo, an ascending coach, could have subscribed to the “my way or the highway” theory and deviated from a winning formula to make his mark. He instead delivered an answer that should have quelled any immediate reservations, sharing his intention of accentuating the strengths of his personnel to ensure they aren’t overthinking and can execute confidently. It might sound self-explanatory; some coaches, though, aim to reinvent the wheel and overcomplicate the infrastructure.

Sure, there are bound to be a handful of new wrinkles. And there absolutely should be, as quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receiver A.J. Brown last week spoke about the necessary “evolution” of the offense. But based on his answer, Patullo is grounded and understands the value of maximizing what his players do best. He already checked off the first box.

Kellen Moore’s impact

While Patullo steps into a new role by title, his promotion doesn’t figure to be accompanied by the typical growing pains that many first-time coordinators encounter. For perspective, Patullo worked closely last season with Kellen Moore, collaborating with Moore to put the offense together, expanding his knowledge of the nuances of the coordinator role in addition to serving as a sounding board of sorts for Moore. Working alongside Moore for a season and being involved in the day-to-day functions furnish Patullo with a foundation on which to build. He’s going into his new role with a different perspective than most, with an understanding of the unique stresses and demands of the job.

Patullo was effusive in his praise of Moore and his impact.

“Anytime you can get around somebody that’s different, kind of outside your circle or new – right? – it can expand your knowledge, it just kind of tests you and it brings something different to the table and a new piece of information that you may not have had,” he said.

“Him and I worked very closely last year together on putting the offense together and it was fun. I learned a lot from him. I think the same from back and forth. We had a lot of conversations back and forth what he had done in the past, whether it was with Dallas or the Chargers and what we had done here and trying to bridge that as a staff was unique.

“That doesn’t happen a ton, and it was really, really successful, obviously, but benefiting from his knowledge and being able to ask questions to him and the back-and-forth conversations and during games, it was the same kind of thing, the back and forth. We had a very unique relationship. We didn’t know each other prior to and it went quickly to where we trusted each other and I could lean on him and he could lean on me. Working with him last year was a huge benefit.”

Continuity with Jalen Hurts lends itself to smooth beginnings

Another benefit working in the Eagles’ favor is that Patullo has worked with Hurts from Day 1 of the Nick Sirianni era. There’s already a rapport, familiarity and understanding between the coordinator and franchise quarterback that won’t require time to establish. Rather than going through the introductory process, Patullo and Hurts can hit the ground running.

Each is likely well-versed in the other’s approach and idiosyncrasies, supporting the notion that Patullo should know just how to support and build around the strengths of his star quarterback, while pressing buttons when needed to optimize Hurts’ impact. Patullo spoke of their relationship – a dynamic that now changes with the new role – and Hurts’ commitment to excellence.

“I mean, I’ve been here with him since day one and it’s been great,” Patullo said. “He works extremely hard, we all know that. He’s super detailed in what he does and the biggest thing with him is he always wants to get better and that’s awesome.

“He’s willing to listen to anybody about anything. If he feels like it’s going to get him better, he’s willing to take it and try it. Then the best part of it is the dialogue after. We had one practice yesterday, he’s willing to try anything and then we can have dialogue after and kind of go from there. He’s a great player for a reason. His work ethic speaks for itself.”

Coaching Influences

Patullo first mentioned former Eagles offensive coordinators Moore and Shane Steichen in terms of shaping his play-calling acumen. He also mentioned another former play-caller in Frank Reich, a former Eagles OC, as Patullo was part of his staff with the Colts. The most prominent influence, though, according to Patullo is Chan Gailey, who led a 46-year coaching career.

Patullo, who served different roles, was part of Gailey’s staff from 2010-12, when Gailey was head coach of the Buffalo Bills. The two also overlapped during the 2008 season, when Patullo was an offensive assistant and offensive quality control coach. Gailey, at the time, was the offensive coordinator in Kansas City.

Specifically, Patullo cited Gailey’s penchant for trusting his players and setting things up and going through the process. Having as many coaches to learn from – with varied backgrounds – arms Patullo with a unique opportunity to assess the different approaches and subtleties of each, presumably taking all details and methods into consideration as he shapes his own vision.

Staff members draw praise

Due to the significance of their titles, Patullo must particularly lean on two new additions to the Eagles’ offensive staff, quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler and pass game coordinator Parks Frazier.

Loeffler, most recently head coach of Bowling Green (2019-24), joined the staff in late February. With an extensive history of working with quarterbacks, the 50-year-old Loeffler will be tasked with building upon – or maintaining – the progress demonstrated last season by Hurts under previous position coach Doug Nussmeier. For the third consecutive season, Hurts will have a new position coach.

Among the quarterbacks Loeffler has worked with throughout his career include Tom Brady, Tim Tebow, Brian Griese, Chad Henne, Logan Thomas and Dan Orlovsky.

“Scot’s been great,” Patullo said. “I mean, he’s got a wealth of knowledge. He’s been a quarterback coach forever, coordinator forever and a head coach. He ran a diverse system in college, which has been really cool.

“When you have a guy in your staff that’s got all this wealth of knowledge, it’s great to lean on him and just kind of hear what he has to say and it’s good.

“You don’t always want the same things from your coaches just like I am. I want somebody different to bounce ideas off of and give me some kind of new information. He’s been really, really good so far. Super detailed guy, very energetic and works hard and he’s passionate about football, he’s been great.”

As for Frazier, the 33-year-old upstart spent three seasons with Patullo in Indianapolis (2018-20), wearing a multitude of hats over a total of five years with the Colts. In 2022, on the heels of the midseason firing of Reich, Frazier elevated into the role of interim offensive coordinator, where he called plays. The latter is notable, due to the lack of a veteran offensive coach for Patullo to lean on.

Frazier steps into Patullo’s former role, presiding over the passing game as the Eagles’ new pass game coordinator. Frazier will not only have the benefit of a fully stocked cupboard of playmakers, he’ll also have a hand in installing a more dynamic, evolutionary passing attack. While it’s been some time since Patullo and Frazier last worked together, that continuity is significant, as is Frazier’s growth as a young coach, which wasn’t lost on Patullo.

“So, really from the time we were with him at the Colts until now, his offensive knowledge has grown, right?” Patullo began. “Being in Miami last year, he learned all this new stuff and then being at Carolina kind of on his own, doing his own thing and coaching up [Panthers quarterback] Bryce [Young] there, he’s really expanded his game.

“He had to jump into an awkward situation as a coordinator, a play caller that one year at Indy. That was another thing. He’s really developed as a coach and then just the new styles he has and the ways to communicate. But he still kind of knows the same language and the way we were able to talk prior to, which is really beneficial. He can just jump right in there and go.”

– Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com.