The Philadelphia Eagles saw a great amount of turnover on their coaching staff this offseason, primarily at the coordinator positions as both Jonathan Gannon and Shane Steichen jumped for head coaching opportunities. The club promoted Brian Johnson as the OC and brought in former Seahawks assistant Sean Desai as the DC, but they also hired former NFL head coach Matt Patricia as a senior defensive assistant.
That addition was an interesting one on a couple of different levels. Most notable was how this hire was going to jive with starting cornerback Darius Slay, who just signed an extension with the franchise this offseason. Slay has experience playing under Patricia during their days in Detroit when he was the head coach and the two did not mesh well.
In fact, things got so sour between the two that it led to the Lions trading Slay to the Eagles. Patricia reportedly told Slay that he had no business working out with fellow corner Aqib Talib and Richard Sherman because those players were elite and Slay is merely good. Slay also previously admitted that he lost all respect for the coach and even took a shot at him as recently as last February leading up to Super Bowl LVII.
With that in mind, it stands to wonder how these two will co-exist now that they are together again in Philadelphia.
While speaking to reporters at a charity golf tournament in Detroit on Monday, Slay noted that things have been "cordial" between him and Patricia.
"It's another day at the office," Slay said, via the Detroit Free Press. "We both got the same goal, just going out there to compete and win a championship, so that's the main focus."
Slay is coming off a Pro Bowl season in 2022 where he helped lead a stout Eagles defense to a Super Bowl LVII appearance. Philadelphia is once again among the favorites to reach the Super Bowl this coming season and if they maintain their winning ways, that could do wonders to keep things cordial between Slay and Patricia.
