The Philadelphia Eagles are still searching for their next offensive coordinator after turning the page on Kevin Patullo. The current NFC East champs have interviewed several candidates in this process; however, on Monday, they saw a candidate step away from the pool. The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported that Bears OC Declan Doyle withdrew his name from consideration.
Philly fans don't want to read that a candidate is taking his name out of the hat, but Doyle's update points that the Eagles' opening may not be as desirable as initially thought. As the OC options continue to dwindle, Philadelphia's list of candidates is shrinking, and that can't be ignored.
Eagles' OC Outlook Becoming Dire After Declan Doyle Rejection
Although Doyle wasn't calling plays in Chicago, he was crafted with creating the gameplan. He would have been a flyer considering he hasn't called plays before, but instead, he wants to stay in Chicago.
The Eagles were also told by Charlie Weis Jr. that he will stay at LSU with Lane Kiffin instead of joining Philadelphia. Former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll is another name that has been linked to the Eagles. Despite him meeting with the Eagles for the vacancy, he's interviewing with the Bills for their HC opening and could prioritize the Titans OC role over Philadelphia, per Russini.
Mike McDaniel was another name that spoke with the Eagles but decided to take on the same job with the Los Angeles Chargers. That's without mentioning that Bobby Slowik interviewed with Philadelphia before taking the Miami Dolphins OC gig. Considering that these coaches spoke with the Eagles and wanted to go elsewhere isn't ideal.
There are some questions around the offense that need to be answered. Will A.J. Brown be on the team in 2026? Will the OC have full autonomy over the offense? Can Jalen Hurts recapture the magic he had during the Super Bowl run?
None of these things has an answer at this exact moment, but there are some questions that are around the job. Kevin Patullo and Brian Johnson were fired after one season as the offensive coordinators. Both guys were first-time play-callers in the NFL and struggled with the role.
Yet guys like Shane Steichen and Kellen Moore were extremely successful as offensive coordinators before moving on to become head coaches. Fans have seen both sides of the coin in terms of OCs, but seeing how multiple coaches are turning away isn't optimal.
The Eagles won the Super Bowl just last season, and now they are struggling to land an OC. There seems to be a disconnect regarding the open job, and the update on Doyle is the latest example of that.
Philadelphia will need to pull any lever it hasleft to land the person it wants at OC. They have a nice collection of playmakers on that side of the ball, but still have questions around the role.