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Did Eagles Make a Mistake by Letting Dennard Wilson Go?

Originally posted on FanNation Eagle Maven
By Max Gamarra | Last updated 12/17/23

The Philadelphia Eagles announced a big change Sunday, moving first-year defensive coordinator Sean Desai into the coaching box and allowing Matt Patricia to call the plays ahead of Monday night's meeting with the Seattle Seahawks.

Desai was hired during the offseason to replace Jonathan Gannon who left the Eagles for a head coaching job with the Arizona Cardinals. Desai was previously with the Chicago Bears in various positions for nine seasons before spending the 2022 season with the Seahawks.

He was one of the two known finalists for the defensive coordinator job in the offseason, with the other being an in-house candidate in Dennard Wilson, who served as Philadelphia's defensive backs coach in 2021 and 2022 and stood out as a great coach.

Under Wilson, the Eagles secondary thrived, with many players including C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Avonte Maddox and Marcus Epps playing the best football of their careers. However, he was passed up for the job and while it was reported that he would be fine staying in his current position, he was fired.

Now, Wilson serves as the defensive backs coach for the Baltimore Ravens. Last season, Philadelphia had the top defense in terms of passing yards allowed per game while Baltimore sat at 28th in the NFL. This year, with Wilson switching teams, the Ravens passing defense has jumped up to fourth in the same stat as the Eagles dropped to 23rd.

With Desai being quietly demoted, it is growing more likely that Philadelphia will be looking for a new defensive coordinator in the offseason. One would think that Wilson would be a top target for the team if he is willing to return after being fired.

This article first appeared on FanNation Eagle Maven and was syndicated with permission.

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