Eagles officially keeping Nick Sirianni despite late-season collapse
Fangio #Fangio
Nick Sirianni will officially remain as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles for 2024 despite the team’s late-season collapse. Siranni conducted the team’s end-of-season press conference alongside general manager Howie Roseman on Wednesday, nine days after Philadelphia’s 32-9 playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round.
Sirianni led the Eagles to playoff berths in each of his first three seasons at the helm, and in 2022, Philadelphia had a 14-3 regular season record and beat the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers to win the NFC title before allowing a late comeback to the Kansas City Chiefs to lose the Super Bowl, 38-35.
The Eagles jumped out to a 10-1 record this season but suffered a 42-19 drubbing to the 49ers in Week 13 and closed out the season with a 1-5 record.
Sirianni’s bold decision to effectively replace first-year defensive coordinator Sean Desai with longtime Patriots assistant and former Lions head coach Matt Patricia in December failed to improve the Eagles’ defense and earned the head coach heavy criticism, especially after the Eagles’ debacle in Tampa Bay. Desai and first-year offensive coordinator Brian Johnson have both been let go by the team, with former Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio emerging as the favorite to replace Desai.
[Related: Nick Sirianni deserves another shot because Eagles have bigger problems to fix]
Sirianni previously faced the unenviable task of replacing two coordinators after the team’s Super Bowl run, losing offensive coordinator Shane Steichen to the Indianapolis Colts and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon to the Arizona Cardinals, both as head coaches. But Sirianni, an offensive-minded head coach, still faced criticism for the team’s often uninventive play-calling by Johnson.
The Eagles have long had one of the NFL’s best rosters, but several key players are aging. All-Pro center Jason Kelce reportedly told teammates after Monday’s loss that he would likely retire, though he has since denied he has made a decision on his future, and the futures of star offensive lineman Lane Johnson and defensive lineman Fletcher Cox are also in question. Philadelphia general manager Howie Roseman also faces salary cap concerns after handing quarterback Jalen Hurts a five-year contract extension worth up to $255 million last offseason.
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