Sources: Patricia to Eagles, back to coaching D

The Philadelphia Eagles have hired former New England Patriots assistant coach Matt Patricia as their new senior defensive assistant, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Coach Nick Sirianni had said Thursday at a news conference that it was "trending" toward the Eagles hiring Patricia.

Patricia, a longtime defensive assistant and former Detroit Lions head coach, called the offensive plays last season for a struggling New England offense. Now he will be moving back to the defensive side of the ball.

Patricia, 48, has spent 16 seasons as an assistant with the Patriots, including six seasons as the team's defensive coordinator (2012-17). He was hired as the Lions' head coach in 2018 and went 13-29-1 as coach before he was fired during the 2020 season. He rejoined the Patriots in 2021 as assistant head coach and then last year switched to coaching offense.