5 Offensive Consultant Options for the Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are an absolute mess on offense through the first six weeks of the regular season. Despite Philadelphia fielding an offense loaded with talent that other teams are jealous of, Eagles first-year offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo hasn’t been able to put it all together quite yet.
Despite Patullo’s struggles, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni stated that Philadelphia’s offensive play-caller will not be changing. While it’s fair to give Patullo the opportunity to work through his rough start, the Eagles could bring in another voice to help him right the ship this season.
Philadelphia brought in former Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Marcus Brady as an offensive consultant midseason once he was fired in 2022. Eagles current defensive coordinator Vic Fangio worked in Philadelphia as a consultant in 2022 as well.
If the Eagles don’t want to make an outright change at offensive coordinator, it would make sense to add someone with an outsider’s perspective to help Patullo. Here are five potential offensive consultant options for the Eagles.
Doug Pederson
Former Eagles head coach Doug Pederson will always hold a special place in franchise history as he led the team to their first Super Bowl victory. After the Eagles fired Pederson in 2020, he was the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars for three seasons.
Now Pederson is back on the open market and recently mentioned in an interview with Jakib Sports that he would have been open to a potential consulting role with the Eagles. Yet Pederson also acknowledged that his history with the franchise could potentially make things difficult with a different coaching staff in place.
Pederson mentioned that he received offers in the offseason to join other NFL teams as a consultant, yet he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to do so. If the Eagles and Sirianni are open to bringing Pederson back, he would make sense as an offensive consultant in Philadelphia.
Mike McCarthy
Former Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is from Pennsylvania, yet he has never worked for the Eagles. McCarthy has coached in the NFL for over 30 years, as he worked his way from being an offensive quality control coach to being a head coach for two historic franchises.
After being fired by the Cowboys following last season, McCarthy hasn’t found a new job in the NFL. Given his wealth of experience, McCarthy would bring a much-needed outside perspective to Philadelphia as an offensive consultant.
Brian Callahan
Following a 1-5 start to the regular season, the Tennessee Titans fired head coach Brian Callahan. While Callahan could opt to take the rest of the season off, he is suddenly an intriguing offensive consultant option for the Eagles.
Callahan is just 41-years old and has plenty of experience developing game plans from his time as offensive coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals. It also helps that Callahan has a working relationship with Eagles assistant head coach and running backs coach Jemal Singleton.
Callahan and Singleton worked for three seasons together, as they were both with the Oakland Raiders in 2018 and then the Bengals from 2019 to 2020. If Callahan is open to helping the Eagles this season, Singleton should give his former colleague a call.
Mike Munchak
The Scranton, Pennsylvania native and former Penn State offensive lineman has been around the NFL since 1982. Mike Munchak was a nine-time All-Pro for the Houston Oilers before making the transition to coaching in 1994.
Munchak has held numerous roles during his coaching tenure, including three seasons as the Tennessee Titans head coach. He also served as the offensive line coach of the Denver Broncos from 2019 to 2021 on Vic Fangio’s coaching staff.
In each of the last two seasons, Munchak served as an offensive consultant for the Los Angeles Rams. Now Munchak is possibly available and Fangio should see if his old friend would be interested in helping the Eagles turn things around.
James Franklin
After losing three consecutive games, Penn State finally fired head coach James Franklin. While Franklin certainly isn’t a popular name in Pennsylvania right now, a potential consulting job with the Eagles could actually benefit both sides in the immediate future.
According to Front Office Sports, Franklin’s contract states the following after his buyout:
“Once terminated, Coach is obligated to diligently search for and make a good faith effort to obtain another position appropriate for his skill set (i.e., coaching, scouting and broadcasting only) and to provide the university upon request with evidence that he is seeking such employment.”
If Franklin needs to find a job quickly, it would make sense for him to stay in Pennsylvania and help fix Philadelphia’s offense. Franklin already has existing connections with Saquon Barkley and Jahan Dotson, who played for him at Penn State.
Franklin has also been spotted at the NovaCare Complex in the past, as he has attended practices as a spectator. There is also the controversy that he created when speaking about Barkley signing with the Eagles and potential unauthorized discussions with Howie Roseman.
This could be a case of the old “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch your back” for Franklin and the Eagles. He would repay the franchise for sparking an investigation around Barkley’s signing last season, while Philadelphia could help him receive more of his buyout from Penn State with a relatively low paying position.