Sep 14, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and offenisve coordinator Kevin Patullo speak with Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) during the second quarter of the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images Denny Medley
C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Richard Sherman aren't known for mincing words, and neither did when discussing the Eagles' offense Friday.
Gardner-Johnson — now a member of the Chicago Bears, who defeated the Eagles Friday — was asked by LeSean McCoy whether the Kevin Patullo-led offense was predictable.
CJGJ actually didn't even need to use his words to get his answer across:
C.J. Gardner-Johnson didn’t use words to give his answer when asked by LeSean McCoy if the Eagles’ offense was predictable Friday. 😳
(Via @speakeasytlkshw)
pic.twitter.com/vQ4dSJ9oeB
Gardner-Johnson is a huge personality, one that can wear out his welcome. There's a reason that he's had two different one-year stints with the Eagles that have ended with the team moving on from him, even though he's helped them reach the Super Bowl twice. He's also on his second team this season, as he was released by the Houston Texans in September.
Still, Gardner-Johnson has had a really good career, which is why he continues to get jobs from contending teams. And if you don't want to take his word for it, Sherman — who likely will have a bust in Canton one day — had even stronger thoughts at halftime as part of Amazon Prime Video's coverage of the game:
Richard Sherman has also had enough of Kevin Patullo👀👀
“(Nick) Sirianni, maybe get your wand out and find you a new offensive coordinator.”
(@NFLonPrime)pic.twitter.com/oUt8kxWxee
— OnPattison (@OnPattison) November 28, 2025
There are a few things at play here.
Is the Eagles offense too predictable? Yes. Patullo — who was promoted to offensive coordinator after spending the past four years as the pass-game coordinator on Nick Sirianni's staff — seems likely to be one-and-done in this role. It just hasn't worked. There's way too much talent on the Eagles' offense for it to feel like getting teeth pulled to watch them every week. Sirianni stood by Patullo after the game, but Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman had a quick hook for Brian Johnson two seasons ago, and if things don't change drastically in the coming weeks, it's fair to think Patullo will be shown the door in the offseason.
The Eagles are sticking with Kevin Patullo as their play caller following their loss to the Bears, per Nick Sirianni. pic.twitter.com/ZqLBXx1PB3
At the same time, the Eagles really haven't had an innovative offense since Shane Steichen left to become the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts after the 2022 season. It may turn out that Johnson and Moore are valuable members of an NFL staff, but over their skis as offensive coordinators. Fine. But what about Kellen Moore? He had success as offensive coordinator with the Dallas Cowboys from 2019-2022, and when Mike McCarthy decided to take over playcalling, Moore was immediately hired by the Los Angeles Chargers. Moore couldn't save Brandon Staley's sinking ship in LA in 2023, but he remained highly thought of around the league, as evidenced by the Eagles hiring him before the 2024 season. He parlayed his one season with the Eagles into being the New Orleans Saints head coach.
The reason we're revisiting what's a pretty strong resume with Moore is to point this out — while he's obviously talented, some of the same issues rearing their ugly head now with Patullo at the helm also existed a year ago. If you still want to call it a media creation, you're borderline delusional, because A.J. Brown and Jalen Hurts were clearly not on the same page for large chunks of last season. They actually were Sunday, but haven't been for much of 2025. The offense wasn't particularly innovative a year ago, it was the definition of being reliant on the Jimmys and Joes, not the X's and O's. And that worked because Saquon Barkley had arguably the greatest season a running back has ever had. It's not that Moore deserves zero credit for that, but he's a head coach now largely based on the greatness of Barkley.
This year, Barkley has regressed badly, going from averaging 5.8 yards per carry last season to 3.7 this year. Is some of that Patullo's fault? Yes. But the passing game has continued to underachieve, just as it did last year. Lane Johnson isn't healthy, and Cam Jurgens has regressed. And Barkley had a monster workload last season, so some regression was in order. Whether it would have been to this same degree or not, a lot of the problems plaguing Patullo now likely would also be affecting Moore if he hadn't gotten a head coaching job.
It's difficult having a new offensive coordinator every year, which is one of the reasons that Sirianni remains such a polarizing figure despite having an off-the-charts winning percentage. For much of the last three seasons, the Eagles have relied too much on just out-talenting opponents. The two common denominators in an offense that has a lack of creativity are Sirianni and Hurts. You're left to conclude that both have some sort of preference for a more vanilla offense. And hey, it netted them a Lombardi Trophy a year ago. But each is probably going to have to be more open to getting out of their comfort zone moving forward, because the Eagles aren't going to have loaded rosters the way they did in 2022 and 2024 every season.
