The Philadelphia Eagles have fired defensive coordinator Sean Desai, as CBS Sports Lead NFL Insider Jonathan Jones confirms an NFL Media report . It’s expected to be the first of many sweeping changes on that side of the ball. Desai lasted just one season as the team’s defensive coordinator and 13 games as the defensive play-caller before being replaced by Matt Patricia with a month left in the regular season.
Nick Sirianni was the one who fired Desai, per the Philadelphia Inquirer . Another indication the head coach appears to be returning for next season. Patricia was on a one-year contract and that has run out and he’s exploring other options.
In what was essentially a panic move, Philadelphia made the change to the defense after two poor performances against the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys . In Desai’s last six games as the defensive play-caller, the Eagles were 32nd in the NFL in third-down defense (54.8%) and red zone defense (78.3%) — allowing a league high 428.2 yards per game and 297.8 passing yards per game.