The Philadelphia Eagles have descended upon the NovaCare Complex in South Philadelphia for offseason training camp activities, also known as OTAs, this week. As the Birds hit the practice field on Wednesday, Kevin Patullo, the new Eagles’ Offensive Coordinator, answered questions from the media about how he expects the offense to look heading into the 2025 season, his coaching philosophy, and more.
“I think it’s going to be what our players do best,” Patullo said. “Then from there, we expand upon it. We’ve added some new coaches, so they bring some other layers to it, too. As we build this thing together as a staff, you’ll see some new wrinkles here and there. Moreso, it’s building on what our players do best.”
One thing the Eagles will continue to do best is the “Tush Push,” the play upheld last week at the NFL meetings. Coach Patullo is excited to have the play still at his disposal. “I mean, it’s great for us,” the 43-year-old coach answered. “We get to continue to use it, and have our compliments off of it, and do different things. It’s fun. It’s something we are passionate about. We are very detailed about it. We put a lot of work in as a staff, and it’s exciting to be able to continue to use it.”
Patullo Speaks on Sirianni’s Recent Influence
As a passing game coordinator (2021-2024) , Patullo has worked closely with Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni since his arrival in Philadelphia. “I’ve been here with Nick since Day 1,” Patullo said. “I think there’s a lot of fundamental things we see the same way, but our brains work differently. It’s a good back-and-forth conversation. We challenge each other to grow.”
Over the past two seasons, Patullo has added “Associate Head Coach” (2023-24) to his resume. “I saw big picture at all times, and now, I can concentrate on certain things,” Patullo said on the differences in roles from associate head coach to offensive coordinator. “I’ve been in each room every year and spread my knowledge around. Now, it’s a matter of getting to know the players at a different level.”
Play Calling Style Should Remain Similar for Eagles
The long-time NFL coach echoed HC Nick Sirianni’s message of execution and attention to detail several times during his nearly 15 minutes with the media. “We are going to be detailed in our fundamentals and everything we do, we’ll be detailed in the scheme, and then put players in the best position to be successful,” Patullo responded. “You want to make sure they are confident in everything they do. As a coach, you want to be confident that you put them in that position, so they can go out there and do their best.”
When asked about his most significant influences in his play-calling style, Patullo tossed out a few names. “Kellen [Moore] was really good at what he did last year,” Patullo said. “He had to adjust on the fly, which was really cool to see. Shane [Steichen] had his own very unique style. The biggest one for me was Chan Galley. How to do things, trust the players, set things up, and go through the process of it.”
Chan Galley’s Massive Influence on Patullo’s Career
Before Patullo arrived on the scene, Galley had coached the Dallas Cowboys to an NFC East Championship in 1998, but lost to the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Wild Card Game. Galley was fired after an 8-8 season ended at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings in 1999 in the same NFC Wild Card contest.
After a successful stint as head coach at Georgia Tech from 2002 to 2007, Galley returned to the NFL as the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, where he met Patullo. “I was with Chan at a couple of different places, and started in Kansas City under coach Herm Edwards,” Patullo recalled. “In 2008, we lost a couple of quarterbacks, and Tyler Thigpen came in. We ended up developing this no-huddle system. We were in the Pistol [Formation] in 2008, and nobody knew what the Pistol was in 2008 in the NFL. We were successful for the most part… we didn’t win a lot of games, but we moved the ball with a bunch of guys we didn’t know we could do that with.”
The 2008 Chiefs went 2-14 in the AFC West that season behind 11 starts from QB Thigpen. The offensive performance was enough to earn Galley a head coaching job in Buffalo for the next three seasons. Galley took a young Coach Patullo to Buffalo as an Offensive Quality Control Coach.
It’s been over a decade since the experience in a pre-Josh Allen Bills team. Patullo has never forgotten the lessons he learned spending years alongside Galley. “I think the most important thing is to be me,” Patullo flatly stated. “I’m going to be how I am, and just rely on all the coaches that we have. That was something that Chan always taught me. All the coaches around you are there for a reason, so don’t just all of a sudden think you are going to do it yourself. Lean on those guys and what they are experts at.”
Kevin Patullo and the rest of the Eagles coaching staff will have plenty of time to dial in the correct message as the Eagles get back to work during OTAs. There are still three months until the Eagles hoist their Super Bowl LIX banner against the Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field on Sept. 4.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
