Kevin Patullo

Q. You didn’t have a ton of reps with the first teams together this summer. How do you feel going into this game with all those moving parts that haven’t played together? (John McMullen)

Kevin Patullo: I think when you look at the whole picture, even back to the Spring, we’ve had a lot of the guys together and the biggest thing is that we’re on the same page. So, when you get in the meeting room and we’re all talking and doing things together and walkthroughs, I think that’s a big piece of it is the mental piece. The physical piece, we’ve had guys out there in spurts, but I think when you look at the overall picture, just being in the classroom, meeting settings, walkthroughs, and just detailing out things, I think we’re in a really good spot.

Q. How much of your game plan did you have to scrap or adjust after the former Cowboys LB Micah Parsons trade? (Tim McManus)

Kevin Patullo: I think when stuff like that happens, you’re going in with a plan specifically for people at times, but just your overall philosophy of going against their defense. So, when something like that happens, you kind of pivot a little bit, but they got a really good player in [Cowboys DT] Kenny [Clark], and from there we just kind of keep with the game plan and looking at what they’re doing and going from there.

Q. Your time with Cowboys Defensive Coordinator Matt Eberflus, are you able to envision how he’s going to use the pieces he has now? (Dave Zangaro)

Kevin Patullo: I think Flus is a really good coach. He brings a lot of energy to the team, a lot of detail and discipline. He’s had good defenses, and he and I spent a lot of time together in Indianapolis talking ball. He’s very knowledgeable, so I think I know the person well, but once again, he does a good job at just using his personnel. So, if you look at his defenses in Chicago throughout the years and even in Indy, and obviously probably now, he’s going to tweak it to his personnel. Time will tell during the game what he’s relying on with their personnel.

Q. Since the cutdown, there has been even more shuffling in terms of interior depth on the offensive line. How do you feel about that group right now and the depth there and who you have? (Brooks Kubena)

Kevin Patullo: Just like in training camp, I think [Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach Jeff Stoutland] Stout does such a good job of preparing those guys. Whoever’s had to step up has, whether it’s in camp, whether it’s previous years like [G/T] Tyler Steen stepping in for [former Eagles T] Mekhi [Becton] or whatever it may be. So, I think as a whole, we feel confident no matter who’s in there at practice, because we do rotate guys during practice just to get reps to have a feel for in the game what moves we’re going to make if somebody goes down.

Q. This is your first official game as the play caller. You’ve had a huge role here before in previous seasons, but what are your emotions? How do you feel about your official debut as the offensive coordinator and play caller? (Dave Uram)

Kevin Patullo: I’m excited. I mean, it’s fun. It’s a huge opportunity obviously, but it goes back to even in year one with [Head Coach] Nick [Sirianni] just working through all the situations and things that we’ve done together. I’ve been a part of so much of it, it doesn’t feel too much different, but it is exciting, and I think the guys feel good energy and they’re excited, too.

Q. How much do you talk to QB Jalen Hurts about play calling and what he likes or how much of that is just a product of knowing him? (Reuben Frank)

Kevin Patullo: It’s really both. He and I spend a lot of time together, and we have even prior to, just getting a feel for him and what certain things we like and what we want to do and when we want to do it. It is important everywhere I’ve ever been, you want to have a good relationship with the quarterback just so you can talk outside and off the field about things, so you have a sense of what they’re thinking and what they’re doing. So, when you call certain things situationally or just a random first intent, you’ve got a good feel for what may happen.

Q. As a follow-up to both those questions, will observers watching the game know that there’s a new play caller or new OC because of the continuity on offense and the coaching staff, is it going to look like it’s looked in the past? (Zach Berman)

Kevin Patullo: It’s hard to say just one game, but I think there’ll be some new things. Whether there will be a ton of them or not, it just depends on the situation, how the game flow goes and how they come up throughout the game. So, I think there’ll be a few things here or there, and then we’ll see throughout the season how much it continues in that direction.

Q. How quickly are you guys able to get QB Sam Howell ready if he has to play Thursday night for any kind of–? (Martin Frank)

Kevin Patullo: You know what? He’s been amazing. He’s worked extremely hard on preparing. [Quarterbacks Coach] Scot Loeffler’s done a great job and so has [Passing Game Coordinator] Parks Frazier with him and making sure he knows where we’re at with obviously the game plan but even giving him just a grassroots baseline of the offense because he came in so late. So, he’s worked extremely hard on preparing in every way he can, whether it’s extra reps, walkthrough film, extra meetings, whatever we need to do. He’s definitely done it, and you can see how intelligent he is to pick it up rather quickly.

Q. When watching film, the quarterback corrections, do they come from you or the quarterback coach? (Jeff McLane)

Kevin Patullo: It depends on the setting, right? So, if we do a team setting, it could be Nick, and then if it’s an offensive, full unit setting like we had today, it would be me. If it’s a position meeting, it would be Scot. So, it kind of comes from everybody.

Q. How does that change your relationship with QB Jalen Hurts, the dynamic? (Jeff McLane)

Kevin Patullo: I haven’t really ever thought about it, believe it or not. It’s never really come up in that way. Him and I have a good working relationship. I think it’s good. We both want to push each other to be better.

Q. Are you thinking about specific play calling throughout the day? When you’re going to bed, are you thinking, ‘What am I going to call in the red zone?’ Does your mind work that way? How does that work? (Bo Wulf)

Kevin Patullo: Probably not on a, what is today? [A football] Thursday? I’m not there yet. Maybe it will Friday or Saturday. But no, I think there’s certain things you get excited about. Like, ‘Oh, there’s this rep coming up in practice, let’s see what happens.’ Or you’re like, ‘Hey, I really want to try to call that at some point.’ But it’s very difficult because at times, as much as you want to call certain plays, and even in the past we’ve gone through, ‘Hey, we’ve got to make sure we call this.’ If the situation doesn’t present itself, whether it may be a down in distance or a field position, it may never come up. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. So, there are certain ones that you get excited for like, ‘Hey, I really hope we get this call just to see what happens.

Q. Are you conditioned to think today is Thursday? (Brooks Kubena)

Kevin Patullo: Yes, it’s a football Thursday.

Q. As the game progresses, will you have a sense of WR A.J. Brown’s touches, WR DeVonta Smith’s touches, RB Saquon Barkley’s touches? (Zach Berman)

Kevin Patullo: I think it’s important, right? If you’ve got guys like we do just to make sure they get in the flow of the game and sometimes they know the flow can kind of go a little bit differently and they’ve got to feel it, but I think they know going in what the plan is. So, if the plan is a certain way and it has to pivot or move, they know that they were included in the plan. So, at some point it’ll pivot back.

Q. Head Coach Nick Sirianni mentioned RB Saquon Barkley is one of the guys that you want to get the ball to in the pass game. What do you like about that element of his game? Is it something that you feel like you could tap into a little bit more? (Tim McManus)

Kevin Patullo: I think just him in space is dynamic, so anytime he is running the ball, catching the ball, whatever it may be, if he’s in space, he’s a really, really good player.

Q. While everything’s really familiar to you because you’ve been doing it here for several years, Head Coach Nick Sirianni and the staff. I guess one difference this time is if things go well, you’ll get a lot of praise publicly. If things don’t go well, you’ll be the one having to answer the questions. How do you feel about that change and aspect? (Dave Uram)

Kevin Patullo: I think that’s just part of it, right? I mean, we all do this because we want to do well and succeed. I think as a coach, you know going in that’s part of what you’re stepping into. But ultimately, we are a team. I’m a reflection of Nick and vice versa, and I’m a reflection of the offense and vice versa.

I think when you walk into the situation, that’s not something you really focus on. You know it’s part of it, but you enjoy it. You show up every day. You want to do the best you can to succeed and have the best outcomes.

Q. As a play caller, what is your perspective on opening scripts and the benefit to them and the utility of them? (Zach Berman)

Kevin Patullo: I think it just depends on who you have. We’re a little bit of an older veteran team, so you may not have to, and then some games you want to because you want to set up certain things. So, I think it’s a little bit fluid, and I think because we’ve been around, we can kind of go either which way with it, which is great. You don’t have to set on one thing.