The Eagles have finally settled on the coach they believe can lead their franchise back from the brink. Nick Sirianni is the man of choice and he brings with him an eclectic coaching background that is bound to excite fans.
Here are five thoughts on the move.
What Nick Sirianni can do for Carson Wentz
There’s no getting around it, this move shows that the Eagles are all about getting their $127M investment right – as they should be.
Sirianni has an impressive history with Phillip Rivers (as documented here), coaching him to three of his five most accurate seasons and helping to drastically reduce fumbles. This in itself is huge when you consider some of the biggest criticisms Wentz faced in 2020.
Carson Wentz had his best season under Frank Reich and while success under the current Colts HC isn’t guaranteed to translate to Sirianni, there’s a good chance that a similar coaching style will at least help fix some of the broken mechanics that were on display last year.
Hitting the reset button
The Eagles were at a crossroads in this coaching search. They could either opt to go down a very volatile path and hire Josh McDaniels, who would either make or break the career of Carson Wentz, or opt to hit a soft reset.
The latter was the option they settled on in the end.
Having worked under Frank Reich extensively, the decision to hire Sirianni does feel like a way to try and get as close to hiring the former Eagles offensive coordinator as possible, keeping the same basic principles, coaching style, and offense.
It’s clear that while the Eagles parted ways with Pederson, that they clearly valued the type of coach he was and the relationships built with the players, which may ultimately end up being the saving grace here.
Extensive due diligence
Regardless of if you agree with the move or not, you can’t be mad at the process. The Eagles have basically held a string of endurance events at this point as opposed to a coaching search. Sirianni’s interview reportedly ran long into Wednesday morning, while McDaniels had an interview last 12 hours.
After interviews with a flurry of defensive candidates, they ultimately remained with an offensive head coach which is also absolutely huge in terms of moving the franchise forward.
You’d like to think after a process that intense, the Eagles will be capable of making the right decision and hiring a coach who can pick up where Pederson left off and begin to rebuild a broken offense.
Nick Sirianni brings the perfect balance
The Eagles were walking a tightrope this past week. They had to make sure they struck a balance between finding a coach who can perhaps flair up a sense of accountability that was previously lacking but without rupturing the locker room after a tricky season.
Sirianni has the makings of a Pederson/Reich 2.0 and that, oddly, is exactly what the Eagles needed. Making a risky decision that could set the franchise back even further was totally unnecessary. The Eagles were bad last season, sure. But they have a strong foundation to build on.
A running game?
If there’s one glaring thing missing from the Eagles offense, it’s a running game. Despite drafting Miles Sanders two years ago, the Penn State product spent his second season twiddling his thumbs while the Eagles insisted on forcing the ball 30-yards down the field on every play.
Nick Sirianni has not only coached a 1,169-yard rusher in Jonathan Taylor, but a 1,039-yard season from Marlon Mack in 2019 and a 908-yard season from him in 2018.
Inject. It. Into. My. Veins. Take. It. Out. Then. Do. It. Again.
