Sean Desai's biggest key to get Eagles to buy in to his defense

This isn’t just Sean Desai’s defense. It’s the Eagles’ defense.

And that’s an important distinction to make.

Sure, Desai is the defensive coordinator. It’s his scheme and he’s the one calling plays into the MIKE linebacker on Sundays. But from the moment Desai got to Philadelphia this spring and began installing, he has made a point to listen to his players, give them some freedom and allow them play to their strengths. 

He wants his players to take ownership of the defense. And they have.

“That just means he listens to us,” longest-tenured Eagle Brandon Graham said. “What we like, what we don’t like. And while sometimes he might have to do certain things because of what he believes is going to happen. But he’s definitely open to hearing us more than just saying this is the scheme, learn it and run what I call. Because you get those too.

“I think that we the ones that’s playing and he always wants to put us in position and I think that’s what that means.”

Graham, 35, said Jim Schwartz would also solicit advice from his veterans and it would sometimes drive Schwartz to change his view on something and his approach after years of doing it one way. Even a veteran coach like Schwartz appreciated the viewpoint from players on the field.

So there are plenty of reasons for a more inexperienced DC like Desai to listen to his players. Aside from getting valuable insight that can help his scheme and help him call a better game, Desai is also making sure his players, especially his leaders and veterans, are invested. That matters too.

“Yeah, sure,” middle linebacker Nakobe Dean said. “That’s how he presented the defense when he gave it to us. When he gave it to us, we was always working together. He’ll install something and be like, ‘What y’all like? What y’all want to do? Can y’all do this?’ It’s always like that. It’s been a cohesiveness with us all working together.”

The Eagles hired Desai in February after former defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon took the head coaching gig in Arizona after two seasons in Philly. Had the timing worked out differently, the Eagles might have hired now-Dolphins DC Vic Fangio. But Fangio had already agreed to terms with the Dolphins by the time the Eagles job opened. So the Eagles went through an exhaustive search before landing on Desai, a noted and direct Fangio disciple.

But Desai isn’t just a knockoff version of Fangio and he’s been proving that through the first seven games of the season. He really proved that on Sunday night when his defense stifled the Dolphins’ high-flying offensive attack that entered the game as a historically great unit.

Now through seven games, the Eagles have the No. 6-ranked defense in the NFL and the No. 1-ranked run defense. It all starts up front with waves of talented defensive linemen but Desai deserves credit for holding things together in the back seven despite a rash of injuries in the secondary.

After the 31-17 win over Miami, Eagles defensive players were very willing and eager to give Desai his flowers. It showed just how much they’ve bought in this season.

How has Desai managed to get so much buy-in from his players?

“I can't tell you how I've earned that,” Desai said. “I can tell you just the process I go about. It's about being authentic, being real with them. I hope they respect the preparation and the ability for us to put them in positions to make plays and for their talents to shine because it's ultimately about them on the field executing.

Then our level of detail and our preparation and our teaching, we hope can help them feel more confident to trust themselves and go make plays. Then we try to give them some liberties of owning the defense, taking ownership of the calls within the defense.

“When there's tools and different adjustments that need to be made, we give them the rubrics of what to do, and they have been owning it. That allows them to play a little bit to their strengths, and so that's really what we try to do, and we try to be consistent with that. Our approach tries to be consistent.”

When asked about the genesis of his wanting players to take ownership of the defense, Desai wasn’t exactly sure. Eventually, he said he thinks it comes from the different coaches he’s worked under and the staffs he’s been part of. It also has something to do with his background in education.

Desai stressed the importance of making sure guys can play freely within the structure of the defense, “knowing when they can take their shots.” It doesn’t mean he wants all 11 guys freelancing — there are rules and assignments — but he also doesn’t want to be overly rigid and take the teeth out of the defense.

“We've got playmakers and so they've got to know when they can go make plays,” Desai said. “And that's our job is to provide them those opportunities to go make plays when we need them to.”

Winning over players often starts with veterans. When you’re talking about the Eagles’ defense there are two keys guys you need to get on your side first. One is Graham, who has been here since 2010. The other is six-time Pro Bowler Fletcher Cox, who arrived in 2012.

Cox had a well-known and public disagreement with Gannon in 2021, their first year together. While those two were able to smooth things out and find common ground, it has been smoother sailing with Desai.

“Yeah, he has a unique way of coaching,” Cox said. “He kind of gives us ownership of the defense. Things that we see that maybe he’s not seeing but we obviously see when we’re playing. But I think the biggest thing is we have some freedom but we still have to play within the means of the defense.”

After the Eagles had the No. 2 defense in the NFL last season, we were bound to see some regression. After all, the schedule is way tougher in 2023 and the Eagles lost some key players on that side of the ball in free agency, when Javon Hargrave, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, T.J. Edwards and more left.

But Howie Roseman did a great job of replenishing the talent. And Desai has (at least so far) done a great job of maximizing the roster and making sure those guys feel like their voices are being heard.

“I love when people are talking about different things as far as being able to suggest certain things,” Graham said. “That just means it means something to them. Some people just won’t say nothing because it’s your defense. But I think Desai opening that door to let people know that everything is run through you guys and want to put you in the best position, it just shows that he knows his personnel and knows he’s got a veteran group.”

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