What Jalen Hurts said about Kevin Patullo, A.J. Brown after Philadelphia Eagles' playoff loss to 49ers
The Philadelphia Eagles enter the offseason with plenty of tough decisions to make after the ugly wild-card round playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
The first domino to fall will likely be whether the Eagles decide to move on from first-year offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo. More importantly, does quarterback Jalen Hurts want to see Patullo return?
"It's too soon to think about that," Hurts said. "And like I said, I put my trust back in Howie [Roseman], Nick [Sirianni] and Mr. [Jeffrey] Lurie."
Patullo was promoted to offensive coordinator to replace Kellen Moore, who took the New Orleans Saints head coaching job after the Eagles' Super Bowl LIX win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Patullo has been on Sirianni's staff since he took the job in Philadelphia in 2021. He served as the team's passing game coordinator from 2021 to 2024 and was also appointed the associate head coach in 2023 and 2024.
But the offense, which was the most expensive in the NFL and loaded with talent, was underwhelming in the 2025 season with Patullo calling the plays. They were inconsistent, often lacked rhythm and were extremely conservative up until the wild-card round loss.
Two of Philadelphia's first three drives Sunday vs. the 49ers went for touchdowns. They then started the second half with three of their first four drives ending in three-and-outs and didn't score a touchdown in the second half of the playoff exit.
A change at offensive coordinator wouldn't be a new thing for the Birds. After the team collapsed in the 2023 season, the team fired former offensive coordinator Brian Johnson and then hired Moore. Since he was drafted by the team in 2020, Hurts has had six different play-callers, including Patullo.
"Change has not prevented us from having an opportunity of going on a championship run," Hurts said.
Patullo wasn't the only member of the organization Hurts was asked about. The franchise quarterback was also asked if he wanted star wide receiver A.J. Brown to return for the 2026 season.
"A.J. and I have talked, we're in a great place," Hurts said. "Maybe y'all can talk to him and ask."
Brown had a forgettable game Sunday against the 49ers, when he had multiple drops that could've changed the outcome of the game. He didn't speak to reporters after the loss, and the broadcast caught him and Sirianni having a heated exchange on the sideline.
Sirianni defended Brown in his postgame press conference and said he has a special relationship with his receiver. But that spat was just the latest of several incidents in the 2025 season involving Brown.
Earlier in the year, he posted multiple cryptic social media posts, told his fantasy football owners to "drop" him and more.
Brown was the subject of trade rumors around the NFL trade deadline, but that didn't happen. Trading Brown in the offseason would be complicated because of the significant dead cap hit that team would take. He's under contract through the 2029 season.
Regardless of what the team will look like in the 2026 season, Hurts is looking to grow from his experiences in the 2025 season.
"The humbling thing for me as a leader, I've been able to learn more about myself, more about my team and more about what it takes and what demands of a quarterback," Hurts said. "And just growing throughout my time, and so are those the things I relish in and I take great pride in, you know? Like everything that I've experienced to this point in my career, something I'll be able to learn from and be better from. So I look at this opportunity as no different."