Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback Jalen Hurts is now staring at his sixth offensive coordinator in seven seasons after Kevin Patullo was let go. The team still doesn’t have a new OC in place. First part of that is timing, sure, but the second part might be that this isn’t the easiest job to sell. There’s a reason for that.

According to reporter Chase Senior, one major factor could be the presence of Jeff Stoutland.

“Jeff Stoutland is one of most respected offensive line coaches in the history of the NFL, but he’s also the Eagles’ run game coordinator,” Senior wrote. “A lot of OC’s (understandably so) want full control of the offense and want to bring in their own run game coordinators to fit their scheme and play-calling, but the Eagles want to keep Stoutland. As they should. He’s a legend.”

Most experienced coordinators want ownership. They want to shape the offense top to bottom, including the run game. If that piece is already spoken for, the job gets a lot less appealing. You’re calling plays, but you’re not fully steering the ship. For a high-level OC, that’s a tough sell.

It naturally leads to the next question: why not just promote Stoutland?

He’s 63 now, and if being an offensive coordinator was the goal, it probably would’ve happened by now. He’s been in Philadelphia since 2013, and by all indications, he’s comfortable where he is, being an offensive line coach and run game coordinator.

Still, there’s an argument to be made that something has to give, as the run game this season wasn’t good enough, at least not by Eagles‘ standards. They dropped from 3,048 rushing yards a year ago to 1,908 this season. Moreover, yards per carry slid from 4.91 down to 4.16. Explosive runs of 10-plus yards fell by about 30 percent. They managed just 114 rushing first downs.

Efficiency numbers were horrid, too. A team EPA of minus-11.59 and a negative EPA per rush tells you just how bad they were on the ground this year. That puts the spotlight back on head coach Nick Sirianni. If the Eagles want to land a top offensive mind, they may have to loosen the reins a bit.

The fact that they haven’t yet might have cost them their top OC target.

Mike McDaniel won’t be the Eagles’ new OC

The Philadelphia Eagles can cross one big name off their list. They won’t be hiring Mike McDaniel to replace Kevin Patullo. According to ESPN, the former Dolphins head coach is expected to land with the Los Angeles Chargers as their offensive coordinator.

Why McDaniel chose the Chargers over the Eagles isn’t fully clear. But of course, the lack of full authority over play-calling in Philadelphia may have played a role. And losing out on him might prove costly. Even with how his run as a head coach ended in Miami, McDaniel is still viewed as one of the sharper offensive minds in football.

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When he came to the Dolphins in 2022, he did wonders in his first year. His offense finished sixth in total yards. That might not sound flashy, but for the Miami Dolphins, it was a big feat. That was the first time they cracked the top 10 in that category since 1995. A year later, Miami led the entire league in total offense.

Tua Tagovailoa had a career year, throwing for a league-high 4,624 yards. You can doubt him as an HC, but his offensive play-calling cannot be questioned. From the Eagles’ perspective, missing out on him stings. And he may not be the only one slipping away.

The Athletic reported that former Giants head coach Brian Daboll has interest in becoming the next head coach of the Buffalo Bills. If that doesn’t materialize, he could end up as offensive coordinator with the Tennessee Titans. Either way, that likely puts him out of Philadelphia’s reach as well.

That’s two primary targets gone. Matt Nagy from Kansas City could be another name to watch, but if a head coaching opportunity opens up, that’s almost certainly where his attention would go first. So for now, there’s uncertainty. A lot of it.

It may stay that way unless Nick Sirianni is willing to make a meaningful concession by handing over control of the run game to the next offensive coordinator.