We can finally put a rest to all the conspiracy theories.
Nick Sirianni will have his first news conference on Friday around noon. It’s finally happening.
The Eagles hired Sirianni last Thursday and they announced the hire on Sunday, so it has been over a week waiting for this press conference. This is a while to wait, but it’s almost here and you can stream it live when it starts.
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But until then, let’s get into five major topics that will come up:
1. Quarterback
Welcome to Philly, Nick. Who’s your quarterback? While Sirianni will get asked about a ton of topics in this press conference, the top thing on most people’s minds is the quarterback situation. How much has he spoken with Carson Wentz? Does he think Wentz will be back in 2021? What does he think about Jalen Hurts?
Honestly, we probably won’t get many — if any — concrete answers to the biggest dilemma surrounding the Eagles, but maybe we’ll start to get some more hints. I’m curious to see how Sirianni handles these questions about what is obviously a touchy subject.
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While the relationship between Wentz and Doug Pederson was clearly fractured, it reportedly went beyond the head coach. There are reportedly some hurt feelings from Wentz toward others in the organization. Everything we’ve heard about Sirianni is that he’s a super likable guy. Will Wentz like him enough to think he can resume his career in Philadelphia? Will Sirianni (and the front office) feel comfortable with Wentz’s returning in 2021? So many questions to be answered on this front and perhaps Friday will be a small first step.
2. Play calling/philosophy
The Eagles hired an offensive coordinator who worked under a head coach and play caller. So while we have some hints, we don’t really know what to expect from a Sirianni offense. Sirianni confirmed with the Eagles' website that he'll call plays so now, we have to figure out what the staples of his offense are going to be.
In an interview with the Colts’ website, Sirianni once outlined his offensive philosophy, but also stressed the importance of creating a scheme around the strengths of your players. There are some basic staples of the offense Sirianni wants to run but he seems flexible too.
But even during that interview from 2018, Sirianni was speaking as an offensive coordinator under Frank Reich. And that was also three years ago; things might have changed.
3. Interview process
Believe it or not, Sirianni just happened to be vacationing with his family in South Florida when the Eagles called requesting an interview. So he was able to simply drive to meet with Jeff Lurie, Howie Roseman and others. While there are more hard-hitting questions to be asked, the process is generally pretty interesting too. Sirianni wasn’t named as a candidate for any other job. Was he surprised the Eagles called? Why did the Eagles identify him as a coach? How much did they listen to Frank Reich, who obviously vouched for him?
It seemed like Josh McDaniels was the Eagles’ front runner before they met with Sirianni. That must have been some interview. Hopefully we’ll get a little glimpse into what actually happened.
4. Putting his staff together
Maybe by the time Sirianni meets virtually with reporters his entire coaching staff will be announced. But even if it’s not, we already know most of the key names. And most of the major positions are now filled by guys he’s worked with before.
As you remember, Doug Pederson’s first coaching staff consisted of a few coaches who were hand-picked for him and a bunch of holdovers from Chip Kelly’s tenure. This time it’s very different.
I’m genuinely curious to hear what he has to say about some of his new assistants, specifically defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen.
5. Working with front office/scouting
I’ll put the odds at -250 that we hear the words “collaborative process” on Friday. But hopefully we’ll be able to sort through some of the corporate speak to get to some truth. Because the best teams have healthy relationships between the coaching, front office and scouting departments. There were reports that Pederson and Roseman were seeing eye to eye less frequently as their time together went on.
The biggest problem with the Eagles in 2020 wasn’t coaching. I certainly understand why the Eagles moved on from Pederson but Sirianni won’t be able to make the Eagles a winner unless they start giving him some good players. How big of a role will he have in deciding who those players are?
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