The Dallas Cowboys certainly weren't opposed to the Philadelphia Eagles crashing out of the playoffs on Wild Card Weekend, but the excitement of their rough season and quick playoff exit has quickly faded.
The Eagles' offensive struggles this season were rather staggering for a team that had just dominated the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs. The running game took a huge step back, ranking 18th in yards and 23rd in yards per attempt after ranking in the top five of every major category last season.
The issues with wide receiver A.J. Brown and head coach Nick Sirianni reached a boiling point. It seems like a foregone conclusion that he'll be traded. The Eagles' offense was among the league leaders in 3-and-outs and they were 24th in the NFL in third-down conversion rate. But after the dismissal of offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, those issues might be short-lived.
The #Eagles have informed offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo they’re making a change at the position, sources tell me and @RapSheet.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 13, 2026
The search for another OC for Jalen Hurts begins soon. pic.twitter.com/WyC1vmbdev
Eagles moving on from OC Kevin Patullo is the news every Cowboys fan was dreading
The Eagles are reportedly prioritizing an experienced play-caller, which puts names like Mike McDaniel, Kevin Stefanski, and even Kliff Kingsbury in play. Cowboys fans already saw how effective Kellen Moore was running Philadelphia’s offense in 2024. Giving someone with McDaniel’s résumé access to that level of star power would be a nightmare scenario for Dallas.
Unfortunately, Patullo's demotion was inevitable. The inability to run the ball consistently was the primary reason for the Eagles' overall struggle this season. When you can't run the ball well and stay ahead of the sticks, you don't get the luxury of balance in the offensive gameplan.
The Eagles ranked 23rd in the NFL in passing yards this past season and turned the ball over just 15 times, the fourth-fewest in the NFL. It is staggering for a team of this caliber to have had the struggles they did offensively despite the fact that they didn't turn the ball over hardly at all.
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Especially with a defense that ranked 5th in points allowed and had the 10th-most takeaways in the NFL as well.
This is reminiscent of the issues the Eagles had defensively after Shane Steichen's departure, when they tried to replace him with the combination of Sean Desai and others over the course of the season. They just weren't able to recover from the change at coordinator, and the same is true of losing Kellen Moore.
Unfortunately, Nick Sirianni realized the source of the problem and took care of it. The opportunity to be the offensive coordinator of the Eagles should be considered one of the most appealing for prospective head coaches, because we've seen the effects of being a coordinator for the Eagles and the benefits it can bring.
What's most annoying is the fact that the Cowboys are likely to have to deal with another bounce-back year from the Philadelphia offense. It was fun while it lasted.