Prior to the Philadelphia Eagles Monday Night Football game against the Seattle Seahawks, coach Nick Sirianni made a change by moving defensive play-calling duties from defensive coordinator Sean Desai to defensive assistant Matt Patricia.

Desai was relieved of play-calling duties after the Eagles lost two straight games to the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys while giving up a combined 75 points and 850 yards. Even after his demotion, Desai received support from several of his players, including center Jason Kelce.

“Sean Desai's a fantastic coach. It's been awesome having him here — bouncing things off each other, going up against each other in training camp, figuring out his defenses and having that competition with each other with blitzes and different fronts,” Kelce said. “I have so much respect for Sean. Ultimately the organization felt it was in the best interest of the team to move forward with Matt calling plays, but that doesn't take away any amount of respect I have for Sean. I know he's a talented coach,” via the New Heights podcast presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment.

Unfortunately for Desai, the results didn't match the talent Kelce and teammates see in their defensive coordinator. The Eagles pass defense has been a far cry from what it was last year the entire 2023 campaign, currently ranking fifth-last in the NFL. Their run defense was at least their strength for much of the year, until they gave up 135+ yards in each of Desai's last three games before changing play callers.

Now, the Eagles will look to Patricia to turn their defense around before the playoffs. The results looked better in Patricia's first game calling the defense, giving up just 297 total yards to the Seahawks. With remaining games against the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals, it's likely the defense will continue to improve statistically, but the real test for the Eagles will come during the playoffs.