Matt Patricia Talks About Taking Over Philadelphia Eagles Defense, Darius Slay, Sean Desai: 'It's Crazy!'

Matt Patricia had plenty to say after taking over as the Philadelphia Eagles' de facto defensive coordinator last week

PHILADELPHIA – It was nearly eight months to the day that Matt Patricia was hired by the Philadelphia Eagles that he finally spoke to reporters.

It took a coaching reshuffle to make it happen, with Sean Desai being moved upstairs on game day and stripped of his play-calling duties, so there was Patricia on Thursday, days before the Eagles will try to end a three-game losing streak when they host the New York Giants on Christmas afternoon, shaking hands and introducing himself to every single member of the media on hand to ask him a question.

Patricia coordinated the Patriots' defense from 2012-17. In that span, New England won two Super Bowls (2014 and 2016), three AFC Championships (2014, 2016 and 2017) and six AFC East titles (2012-17).

So, what did the Eagles now de facto defensive coordinator say?

Here’s a quick wraparound of the 20-minute session with the 49-year-old coach who was hired on April 20:

Matt Patricia, now the Philadelphia Eagles' de facto defensive coordinator, meets with reporters for the first time since he was hired back on April 20 :: Ed Kracz/SI Eagles Today

On Darius Slay: It’s no secret that the two had their issues when Patricia was hired by the Detroit Lions and said some disparaging things about Slay, who was still with the Lions when Patricia took over in 2018 and before he was traded to the Eagles in 2020.

“Man, I just gave him a big hug before I came in here, too,” said Patricia. “It’s really been awesome for me to be back around Slay, and really have an unbelievable relationship. He’s a great guy. He’s super kind, super funny. He’s very determined. He’s everything that he is.

“Obviously, just so appreciative of him, and our conversation that we had in the spring. Just helping me. Honestly, he’s helped me a lot … Everybody tries to grow as people, to sit down and come together and go forward. And that’s been really, really awesome and cool.”

On Nick Sirianni: Patricia worked for Bill Belichick, a defensive-minded head coach, and is now working for the offensive-minded Eagles coach.

“It’s crazy thinking about this,” said Patricia. “I’ve worked for two head coaches, and I’ve been in the league for like 20 years. It’s kind of crazy. This is the first time with an offensive head coach, which is cool for me. I’m learning a lot from him, not only because he’s the head coach, and how he handles all the different areas, and then the offense too.

“He’s very, very smart. Coach Sirianni has been doing this a long time. He’s got a great mind for the game. We talk a lot about situational football together, and what he sees, and then he asks what I see. I think that collaborative conversation is really awesome. You grow a lot from that.”

On Desai. “Sean is a tremendous, tremendous football coach,” said Patricia. “He’s super intelligent with scheme and teaching, and I’ve learned a lot from him, and I’ve tried to offer some insight from things that I’ve seen through the years. So, we’re all trying to work together from that aspect of it, and make it a group effort.”

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On the Seahawks’ 92-yard touchdown drive in the final two minutes: “Obviously, I would take it all back. That drive starts with me. I gotta do a better job to get them in position to get them off the field, and obviously help us win. I think our guys played really, really hard. I was really proud of them for the way they went out, and I give praise to them for what they did.

“We tried to play aggressive, we tried to play physical up front, and covered really well. Obviously, in the 2-minute drive, it wasn’t good enough. And that’s me. I gotta get something in there, some calls in there, whatever it may be, to help them a little bit more.”