Nick Sirianni adjusting to new role as pivotal season nears originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
In the coming days and weeks, Nick Sirianni will watch over his football team at training camp.
He’s still the head coach of the Eagles, as he reminded those who attended his end-of-the-year press conference in January.
In many ways, Sirianni’s role is the same. But in others, it’s different.
Because this offseason, Sirianni ceded control of an offense expected to carry the 2024 Eagles. The team hired offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, a decision Sirianni claims was his and his alone.
“Yeah, just like it was my idea to let Shane (Steichen) call the plays. Just like it was my idea to hire Vic Fangio or Sean Desai or Jonathan Gannon, right?” Sirianni said in an interview with Eagles reporters at the end of spring practices. “Just like it was my idea to switch from Sean Desai to Matt Patricia. So, you know, that doesn’t mean you don’t collaborate with everybody, right? Because you do. You’d be crazy not to. But at the end of the day, my job, the hard job of this job, is to try to make, gather the information and try to make the best decision that’s good for 90.”
Fine. It was his decision. But there were seemingly some implications behind it.
While Sirianni’s record — three playoff bids and a Super Bowl appearance in three seasons — saved his job, there was no ignoring an epic collapse at the end of the 2023 season and there was no turning a blind eye to an admittedly stale offense that needed an infusion of new ideas.
So this offseason, the Eagles swapped out both of their coordinators but the most notable change is actually happening on the offensive side of the ball. For the last three years, the Eagles have run Sirianni’s offense. He’s a former offensive coach and former offensive coordinator and has taken pride in his ability as a game-planner throughout his time as a head coach.
Before the coaching staff broke for summer, Sirianni admitted that it wasn’t easy for him to give up his power on offense.
“But I think at the end of the day you always have to do what you think is best for the team, right? And I think that’s selflessness, right?,” Sirianni said. “Regardless of how much I love something it’s what’s best for the team and in this case what was best for the team is that, you know, I brought Kellen in, I let him run with the offense. We share some thoughts and he goes with it and so that’s what I felt was best for the team.
“I felt like Shane calling plays in 2021 was best for the team, right? I felt that switching (defensive) coordinators last year was best for the team and I felt like there’s a lot of decisions that I have to make and I have to listen a lot of different input, right? I mean, I do listen to a lot of different input. I want it to be collaborative because I don’t have all the answers and I have really good people around me and I got great players around me that want to listen … And I won’t lie to you that was hard but I knew in my gut what was best for the team and I see a lot of positives from it. I’m able to see things from a 30,000-foot view. That doesn’t mean I don’t have opinions on what this should look like. …
“You do what’s best for the team because you love the team, not because you love your selfish reasons of what you want. And I really fell good about that, and, like I said, I feel good in the direction we’re going and I think we’ve had a good offseason.”
It was clear after the 2023 season that the offense was too reliant on star power and the scheme got stale. So this offseason, the Eagles hired Moore — who actually interviewed with Jeffrey Lurie for the head coaching job in 2021 before it went to Sirianni — to take control on that side of the football. We saw signs of a new offense this spring.
Sirianni has since climbed the perch a bit to get a broader view of his football team, a climb he thinks will give him valuable perspective. But he’ll still coach 1-on-1 when he sees a receiver display some sloppy technique or admonish a gunner who lackadaisically lets a punt roll into the end zone. Both examples were on display in a limited viewing window this spring.
And during the OTAs and mandatory minicamp, Sirianni was learning to divvy up his time a little differently. He’s no longer sitting in every offensive meeting. He’s spreading himself around a little more.
“I don’t think there’s a playbook for it,” he said.
But Sirianni is figuring it out. During the spring, he said he enjoyed sitting in on a defensive end meeting to see Brandon Graham and position coach Jeremiah Washburn work together. Sirianni seemed impressed that they were able to crack a joke and then get back on track with Washburn showing a teaching clip.
“Those have been the things that have been so valuable,” Sirianni said. “Like I said, there’s not a playbook, but you try to spread it around, go through everything, and then there’s some times where meetings are going on and I’ve got something else to handle, and I really value that, that I’m able to give that time to the rest of the team.”
There’s no question that there’s a ton of pressure on Sirianni entering the 2024 season. Despite the overall success of the last few years, the collapse last season was colossal and it led to major changes this offseason. It wouldn’t have been outlandish to suggest the Eagles should have changed head coaches.
Sirianni’s leash is presumably shorter these days and expectations are as high as ever.
“Every coach is in a high-pressured situation,” Lurie said at the NFL’s annual meetings in March. “Nick has had a pretty spectacular first three seasons and he’s shown all the ingredients to have outstanding success. So I’m just looking forward.”
ESPN this offseason reported that the Eagles at least gave some thought to the idea of pursuing Bill Belichick but decided to not go through with the overhaul.
When asked about that report, Sirianni just mentioned that he had the trust of Lurie and Roseman to return in 2024. He’s still the Eagles’ head coach — for now.
“My job is to be the head football coach in everything that comes with it and oversee everything of that,” Sirianni said. “And that is our culture, that’s our game management, that’s everything that’s involved in it, and that’s what I’m going to strive to do my best is to be the head coach of this football team of all those different things.
“And detail lies under that. And that’s detail in how we tackle. That’s detail in how we know the playbook. That’s detail in how we do plus-50 punts. All right? Accountability, connect and toughness.”
The goal for the coaching staff in 2024 is that Fangio will bring stability to the defensive side of the ball, Moore will provide some fresh ideas for a talented offense and Sirianni will master his role as a CEO coach.
If it works, the Eagles could be a a Super Bowl contender. If it doesn’t, well, a bigger coaching change could be coming.
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