After the Eagles’ season-ending loss to the 49ers last weekend, every Philly fan and their grandmother chimed in with their thoughts on what the team needs to do to bounce back in 2026. Here are Jason Kelce’s.
Kelce had previously unloaded on Eagles players for their “mediocre” performances in the 23-19 loss, as offensive stars Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and A.J. Brown each struggled to make an impact when the game was on the line.
In the wake of the Eagles relieving former OC Kevin Patullo of his play-calling duties this week, Kelce emphasized that he didn’t think it was fair to put the Eagles’ offensive struggles on “one guy.”
“I’m not trying to absolve Kevin Patullo of blame, obviously they let go of Kevin today as offensive coordinator,” Kelce said on Wednesday’s episode of New Heights. “Of course, the offense wasn’t up to the task. It regressed. And the main reason it regressed, and I’ve been saying this from the beginning, was the run game. The offensive line’s inability to stay healthy all together, to open up holes. ... The passing game’s been an issue for multiple seasons now.”
Jason shared his thoughts on the Eagles coaching changes and the end of the season pic.twitter.com/25Lw64AnF6
— New Heights (@newheightshow) January 14, 2026
Kelce added that Hurts didn’t have as many designed runs this year, which also hurt the offense as a whole, and admitted he wanted to see more “creativity” from the Eagles moving forward.
“I know everybody wants to talk about the predictability, and to be honest, yes, I would love to see more creative things,” Kelce said. “I love watching the trick plays... I like watching the creativeness. I would love to see more motions. I would love to see all that stuff.”
As for what direction the Eagles should take in their offensive coordinator search, Kelce thought that having a new face at the helm could provide valuable “perspective” for a talented yet underperforming offensive cast that seems to have lost its identity this season.
“It’s a frustrating way to end it, not that surprising with how they just were never able to get a lot of it fixed. I don’t know where they’re going to go offensively,” continued Kelce. “... Like, A.J. Brown on a slant route has been automatic for four years, it doesn’t matter what you do, you can’t stop it, he’s too big, he’s too physical. This year, all that stuff just didn’t work as well. It would probably behoove the Eagles to bring in somebody with a fresh perspective on where it’s at currently.
“Now we can bring in some fresh ideas, we can figure out a way to maximize things. ... I don’t think it needs to be anything actually that drastic. I think we probably want somebody who’s been proven offensively, who’s a successful coach, and he can come in and look at things with a new lens with a lot of similar pieces.”
Just one year after winning the Super Bowl, the Eagles are going back to the drawing board with no clear solution in sight to their persistent offensive woes. No one wants to see the Eagles succeed more than Kelce does, but they’ll have their work cut out for them this offseason.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jason Kelce Lays Out What His Eagles Need in Next OC After Playoff Exit.
