When the confetti — Midnight Green, Kelly Green, gray, white, and black — started falling at the Superdome, the Eagles had scored a postseason-record 145 points through their four games, including the 40-22 blowout of the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. Six of those points came from a Cooper DeJean interception return for a touchdown. The rest were courtesy of the offense and kicker Jake Elliott. Taking over this explosive offense, in the wake of coordinator Kellen Moore leaving to become head coach of the New Orleans Saints, is new OC Kevin Patullo. He had been in charge of the passing game since 2021, when he came here from Indianapolis with head coach Nick Sirianni. Filling Patullo’s spot is 33-year-old Parks Frazier, whom Sirianni also worked with Indy. He spent last year as an offensive assistant in Miami under Mike McDaniel. Likely the next order of business is to replace quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier, who, according to most reports, will join Moore in New Orleans as offensive coordinator. All this movement means that next season, quarterback Jalen Hurts will have his fifth combination of offensive coordinator (play-caller/system designer) and QB coach in his six years as a pro. That’s a lot voices in his ear and thick playbooks to learn. “I’ve had different coordinators, different voices almost every year of my career,” Hurts said. “So, my whole approach has been to just to learn as much as I can and take those different things in and apply them to my game and find ways to win.” But the coaching changes aren’t all that’s in flux for the offense. There’s also the matter of free agency. Right guard Mekhi Becton tops the list of Birds on that side of the ball whose contract is up. The former first-round pick struggled at left tackle with the New York Jets, but he has flourished here after changing positions. Becton, 25, will be in high demand. But he has credited the support of the Eagles organization and O-line coach Jeff Stoutland with reviving his career, so he may be inclined to stay here. “Just reflecting back on the year, coming in here not knowing what to expect, ready for my number to be called, and my number being called very early and I accepted the challenge, I feel like I’ve grown a lot,” Becton said. “I talked to Stout, and he told me I’d grown a lot.” Fred Johnson, who filled in effectively at left tackle when Jordan Mailata was out four games, will also be a free agent, as will fellow backup tackle Jack Driscoll. The Birds don’t want to lose depth on their signature offensive line. They do have G/T Tyler Steen in reserve. Other offensive players whose contracts are up include running back Kenneth Gainwell, tight end C.J. Uzomah, receiver/punt returner Britain Covey (a restricted free agent), and right tackle L’Raven Clark. Fortunately for the Eagles, it was announced this week that the NFL salary cap will be higher than expected, likely landing between $277 million and $281 million per team. (That’s a $55 million jump over the last two years, meaning NFL revenue has been skyrocketing.) The Birds were expected to have $12M-$14M in cap space this year, but now may have approximately $19 million. It will come in handy, not only on the offensive side, but in what they may be able to do with their top defensive free agents in linebacker Zack Baun, defensive tackle Milton Williams and defensive end Josh Sweat. Pro-Bowl center Cam Jurgens, who replaced Jason Kelce, underwent back surgery this week with Dr. Robert Watkins in Los Angeles to alleviate nerve pain. He is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for training camp in July. His rookie contract will be up at the end of next season. Jurgens dealt with major back pain leading up to the Super Bowl. He was unable to start the NFC title game against the Washington Commanders. But after his replacement, Landon Dickerson (who slid over from left guard to center), exited with a knee injury, Jurgens played the entire second half. Two weeks later, he started in the Super Bowl. Former Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz, who was a backup with Kansas City this year, responded this way when asked if he could trade places with any player during his career: “I mean, I’m not going to lie, I would love to trade places with Nick Foles and go win that Super Bowl back in the day. That would have been a pretty cool ending to that season, but it was still pretty sweet for him nonetheless.”
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