Brandon Graham, a Philadelphia Eagles defensive end, addressed to the media on June 5 during the team’s required minicamp, and he made some eye-opening comments on the defense’s coaching in 2023.
Sean Desai was Philadelphia’s district attorney in 2023. In mid-December, the team made a shift, moving Desai to the coaches’ booth and giving then-senior defensive assistant Matt Patricia the responsibility for calling defensive plays. Desai and Patricia are no longer with the team, which Graham believes may be for the best.
“I really think that last year, we didn’t have all the right coaches in the right position, I would say,” Graham told NBC Sports Philadelphia.
“You can just see the guys (now) truly believing in what we’ve got going on, and I’m excited for the young guys that just came in and new rookies coming in because they’re really going to get a good shot and good taste of what it what it really is to be in the NFL.”
Graham Endorses Vic Fangio and Clint Hurtt
Tracy Rocker, the former Eagles defensive line coach, worked with the team from 2021 to 2023. He was also let go when new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio took over this summer. Fangio, one of the most recognized defensive coordinators in the industry, hired Clint Hurtt to teach the defensive line, a decision Graham wholeheartedly supported.
“They’ve got a good coach in Clint, and I really think that last year, that’s what we didn’t have,” Graham, a two-time second-team All-Pro, said of the defensive line.
Quite an admission from Brandon Graham, one of the #Eagles’ most — maybe THE most respected leader.
Jibes with the almost unanimous consensus from conversations around the league on why Philly collapsed down the stretch last season. https://t.co/vri8OCd8xr
— Matt Lombardo 🏈 (@MattLombardoNFL) June 5, 2024
“I’m more excited because we have Fangio, who is very seasoned and good. I’m not talking about the past, but it was clear that everyone was on the same page about things.”
Eagles’ DE Brandon Graham delves deeper into 2023 coaching issues.
The Eagles topped the NFL in sacks in 2022, with 70. That figure fell dramatically in 2023, when they finished at 43. There was also a considerable decrease in production over the second half of the season. Philadelphia’s edge rushers recorded 16 sacks in the team’s first nine games last season. The group finished with a whimper, scoring only 4.5 points in the remaining eight games.
Philadelphia’s early 32-9 loss in the Wild Card round to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was particularly notable. The Eagles recorded four sacks in the loss, but they allowed 426 total yards on defense.
“You just noticed little stuff last year, certain stuff we weren’t on the same page about,” Graham said. “It will appear here and there, but it did so in a significant way in the last game. And it was just like, anything I learned, you always want to make sure that we have correct communication, so there is a lot of communication going on right now in the locker room, on the field, and in the classrooms.”
Graham, 36, has spent all 14 NFL seasons in Philadelphia and is expected to play his final year with the team in 2024. His backing of Fangio is telling — and significant, given that he is one of the locker room leaders. It’s early, but Graham’s statements indicate that the Eagles’ defensive arrows may be pointing upward.