The football world has been closely watching a pair of teams in the NFC East since both made ugly exits from the postseason in the wild-card round. On Wednesday, there could be some clarity from one of them.
Via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni will meet Wednesday with owner Jeffrey Lurie and G.M. Howie Roseman.
It’s a routine meeting, which will follow exit interviews with players and meetings with coaches. The circumstances are anything but routine.
As McLane notes, if Sirianni stays, there will be major changes to the coaching staff, possibly with new defensive and offensive coordinators for 2024. It’s also possible Sirianni will be gone.
McLane explained that, three years ago, Lure entered his interview with former coach Doug Pederson expecting to keep him. Lurie, however, wasn’t happy withe the proposed candidates for the coordinator positions. An “impasse” was reached, and Pederson was fired.
Early indications, per McLane, are that Lurie has made no final decisions about Sirianni’s future.
Yes, Sirianni led the Eagles to the playoffs in each of his three years on the job. Last year, the Eagles went to the Super Bowl. On the surface, it seems odd that Sirianni would be in trouble.
The magnitude of the late-season collapse, however, is undeniable. After a 10-1 start, the Eagles ran into a 42-19 buzzsaw at home against the 49ers and never recovered. Nothing Sirianni tried to right the ship worked, and the Eagles made a sluggish and disappointing exit from the postseason, losing 32-9 to the Buccaneers.
There’s precedent for a major change. Nine years ago, then-Broncos G.M. John Elway fired coach John Fox one year after Denver made it to the Super Bowl, and despite four playoff appearances in Fox’s four years on the job. Elway was disappointed that the team didn’t exit the playoffs “kicking and screaming” after an upset loss to the Colts in the divisional round, at home.
The next year, with new coach Gary Kubiak, the Broncos won the Super Bowl.
For Lurie, the question could be whether he believes he’d successfully recruit a better coach to take over a talented team that has suddenly and dramatically lost its way. Even without a clear belief that an upgrade can be hired, Lurie will surely want a concrete plan from Sirianni regarding a solution to the various problems.
A vague and general expression of “confidence” that he can do it likely won’t be good enough. Lurie will want to know what Sirianni proposes with specificity, and Lurie will need to think it reflects an awareness of the issues and a path toward fixing them quickly. Otherwise, it could be see-ya-later for Sirianni.