Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham spoke to the media on June 5 during the team’s mandatory minicamp, and he had some eye-opening comments about the team’s coaching on the defensive side of the ball in 2023.
In 2023, Sean Desai served as Philadelphia’s DC. The team made a change in mid-December, moving Desai to the coaches’ booth and having then-senior defensive assistant Matt Patricia assume defensive play-calling duties. Neither Desai nor Patricia are still with the team, and according to Graham, that 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 said, via 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, Clint Hurtt
Quite an admission from Brandon Graham, one of the #Eagles’ most — maybe THE most respected leader.
— Matt Lombardo 🏈 (@MattLombardoNFL) June 5, 2024
Jibes with the almost unanimous consensus from conversations around the league on why Philly collapsed down the stretch last season. https://t.co/vri8OCd8xr
Former Eagles defensive line coach Tracy Rocker was with the team from 2021 until 2023. He was also let go when new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio came aboard this offseason. One of the most respected DCs in the business, Fangio added Clint Hurtt to coach the defensive line, a move Graham endorsed wholly.
“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 about the D-line, adding:
“I’m more excited because we do have Fangio, somebody experienced, real good. I’m not saying anything about the past, but it was just more like you could just tell that everybody is on the same page about stuff.”
Eagles’ DE Brandon Graham Delves Deeper Into 2023 Coaching Issues
The Eagles led the NFL in sacks with 70 in 2022. That number dipped drastically in 2023 when they finished with 43. There was also a noticeable drop in production over the second half of season. Philadelphia’s edge rushers amassed 16 sacks over the team’s first nine games last year. The group went out with a whimper, netting just 4.5 over the final eight games.
Philly’s early 32-9 loss in the Wild Card round at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was also glaring. The Eagles managed four sacks in the loss, but they gave up 426 total yards on defense.
“You just noticed little stuff last year, certain stuff we weren’t on the same page about,” Graham noted. “Just here and there, it will pop up, but it popped up in a big way that last game. And it was just like, anything I learned, you always want to make sure that we just have the proper communication, so there’s a real big communication going on right now within the locker room, on the field, in the classrooms.”
Graham, 36, has spent all 14 of his NFL seasons in Philly, and he’s likely getting set to play his final year with the team in 2024. His endorsement of Fangio is telling — and important, as he’s one of the leaders in the locker room. It’s early, but Graham’s words suggest the arrows may be pointing up for the Eagles defensively.
