Sources - Eagles hire Matt Patricia as senior defensive asst.

PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles have hired former Detroit Lions head coach and New England Patriots assistant Matt Patricia as a senior defensive assistant, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Coach Nick Sirianni said during a news conference Thursday that it was «trending» in the direction of Patricia being hired.

«Obviously his resume speaks for itself. It gives you a great mind in there that's done it at the highest level,» Sirianni said. «It gives you great ability to bounce ideas off of with the defensive staff, and also gives me another former head coach that I can bounce ideas off of as well with things which I think would be very helpful.»

Patriots coach Bill Belichick turned to Patricia, the team's defensive coordinator from 2012-17, as the offensive play-caller in 2022 following the departure of longtime coordinator Josh McDaniels to become Las Vegas Raiders head coach. It was an unconventional choice considering Patricia's primary background in the NFL had come on defense. Patricia, 48, was also entrusted with implementing a new offensive scheme, with which Belichick naturally had significant influence.

The desired results never came to fruition, however, with Belichick saying at the end of the Patriots' 8-9 season: «It wasn't what we want it to be or need it to be.»

That led to the Patriots hiring Bill O'Brien to return as offensive coordinator on Jan. 26.

Between stints with the Patriots, Patricia served as the Lions head coach from 2018-20, where he compiled a record of 13-29-1. He butted heads with former Lions and current Eagles cornerback Darius Slay during his time there.

Slay told ESPN's Michael Rothstein in 2020 that there were multiple incidents that led to the fraying of the relationship between he and