The Philadelphia Eagles‘ 2023 campaign wasn’t supposed to end like it did. After coming within a few plays of winning last year’s Super Bowl, the Eagles couldn’t even escape the first round of this season’s playoff bracket.
While many fans in Philadelphia wanted head coach Nick Sirianni fired after the club’s embarrassing Wild Card loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he will return for a fourth season at the helm — with significant staff changes.
On Wednesday, Roseman explained why the Eagles retained Sirianni, while both men discussed the team’s coaching plan after Philadelphia parted ways with coordinators on both sides of the ball.
Nick Sirianni Is Still the Eagles’ Head Coach — Here’s Why
It became apparent that Sirianni would be back in 2024 when the Eagles started letting their offensive and defensive play-callers go while not providing an update on Sirianni’s future.
Sean Desai, demoted as Philadelphia’s DC at midseason, won’t be back. Matt Patricia replaced Desai, didn’t improve the Eagles’ defensive performance, and is on an expiring contract.
Meanwhile, Roseman and Sirianni confirmed reports that the Eagles also fired offensive coordinator Brian Johnson after one season.
Johnson, formerly the team’s quarterbacks coach, took over as OC for Shane Steichen, who became the Indianapolis Colts’ head coach.
With all the change underneath him, why did Sirianni get to stick around? Roseman pointed to Sirianni’s entire track record, weighing his résumé against Philadelphia’s 1-6 season-ending collapse.
“I think the important thing for us to look at is, before this stretch … we were 26-5 over the last 31 games. I mean, that’s four times the amount of games we played over this stretch. That is hard to do in the National Football League.
“That is hard to find a head coach in this league who has that record of success. I think we are 33-11 up until (the 1-6 finish) with Nick. We’ve made the playoffs three straight years.
“Again, not OK finishing 1-6. I’m not sitting up here saying that. But it is hard to find somebody who can do those sort of things.”
Eagles Staff Changes Already in Motion
Philadelphia’s coaching staff under Sirianni figures to look quite a bit different in 2024, and some changes are already underway.
Vic Fangio, who surprisingly parted ways with the Miami Dolphins on Wednesday, is the leading candidate to take over as the Eagles’ DC, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
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Fangio was in line to replace Jonathan Gannon as Philadelphia’s defensive play-caller last season. He’d been working as a consultant for the Eagles and was expected to take the position once Gannon became the Arizona Cardinals’ head coach.
Timing issues forced that plan to evaporate, but Fangio appears likely to end up with Philadelphia this time around. During their press conference, Roseman and Sirianni refused to confirm Fangio’s hiring, but Schefter said a “deal is expected.”
On offense, Sirianni consistently harped on the idea that the Eagles need “fresh ideas,” admitting that the team’s offense had become “stale” by the end of the season.
Sirianni, who has an offensive background, said the offense will belong to Philadelphia’s new coordinator. He also suggested the club will employ a new scheme, but there will likely be some carryover.
“It’d be crazy not to add some of the things that we’ve done here in the past, as well,” Sirianni said.
The Eagles have interviewed two known candidates for their vacant OC position: USC QB coach and former Arizona Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury and Houston Texans QB coach Jerrod Johnson.
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