Now that former Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson (right) is gone, head coach Nick Sirianni will focus on Jalen Hurts (left) and a new coordinator to get the offense back on track. (Doug Murray – Associated Press)
PHILADELPHIA — Nick Sirianni announced Wednesday how the Eagles will proceed this offseason, especially by finding a new offensive and defensive coordinator after a 1-6 record that will likely lead to upheaval in the organization. I needed to explain.
What wasn't Sirianni worried about? Owner Jeffrey Lurie and general manager Howie Roseman step down from their third year as coaches.
Sirianni, 42, will return for a fourth season, as he expected. There was a lot of speculation and speculation about Sirianni's position following Philadelphia's elimination in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs, but his position within the NovaCare Complex never seemed to be in question. .
“Did I have to sell my vision? No, it was business as usual,” Sirianni said.
But someone had to pay for the collapse of a team that reached the Super Bowl last season and started 10-1 before a seven-week collapse. Sirianni said it was his decision to fire offensive coordinator Brian Johnson and defensive coordinator Sean Desai. Sirianni repeatedly called the offense “outdated” and said only that he wants the defense to grow.
Both Sirianni and Roseman were sparse about specifics such as preferred candidates and timelines for hiring a new coach.
During Sirianni and Roseman's press conference, there was talk about whether the former team consultant was the frontrunner during last season's postseason, despite the news that Vic Fangio was resigning as defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins. refused to mention it.
“We have a lot of good goals and we're working on them,” Sirianni said. “There are a lot of players who did very well in the interview process. We look forward to continuing that process and see what happens.”
Johnson joined the Eagles in 2021 as quarterbacks coach and was promoted to offensive coordinator after Shane Steichen left to take the managerial job in Indianapolis. He interviewed for head coaching positions with the Atlanta Falcons and Tennessee Titans this month.
Under Johnson's guidance as an assistant, Jalen Hurts was a finalist for 2022 MVP and Offensive Player of the Year. Hurts regressed this season as Johnson called plays, threw a career-high 15 interceptions and saw his passer rating drop to 89.1 from 101.5 last season. season.
Desai handed over play-calling duties to assistant coach Matt Patricia in December.
“Matt was in a tough situation. You can't completely change the defense,” Sirianni said. “Frankly, he was trying to make something happen that wasn't his defense. I know I put Matt in a tough position. Of course I put Sean in a tough position. I know that. But I did it because I thought it was the best decision for the football team.”
Sirianni will have the power to decide on new employees.
“I trust him, along with the coaching staff, and that's his responsibility,” Roseman said.
Roseman sounded like a GM ready to work with Sirianni for years to come.
“I've seen what he's done to win games,” Roseman said. “He put us in a position to compete for a world championship. He put us in a position to be in playoff contention every year. Those kinds of things are hard to find.”
That was enough for Lurie. The Eagles won their only Super Bowl, but lost two more since he bought the team in 1994.
“The year-end meeting proceeded as usual,” Sirianni said. “It was normal. Nothing different from the past three years.
“In my mind, you better believe I'm thinking about how I can re-prove myself. I'm a young coach that Mr. Lurie and Mr. Howie and this organization trust to do the job. I had to prove to myself that I could lead an organization the way this guy asked me to. From then on, I had to prove myself.”
Sirianni made the playoffs three times in three seasons, played in the Super Bowl and won 67% of his regular season games. Eagles veteran Fletcher Cox and retiring Jason Kelce were among Sirianni's most loyal defenders.
“The important thing to note for us is that we didn't let that last 1-6 stretch fade before we got into a difficult stretch. We were 26-5 in our last 31 games,” Roseman said. said. “That's hard to do in the National Football League. It's hard to find a head coach in this league with that kind of track record of success.”
The Eagles were on a roll after starting the season 10-1 for the second straight year with an overtime win against Buffalo on Nov. 26. At this point, Hurts had won 27 of the past 29 regular season games he had started.
Everything became clear in the next game, a blowout loss at home to the San Francisco 49ers. Then they were beaten in Dallas. Then they lost in the last minute to Drew Lock and the Seahawks. After getting away with a win against the Giants on Christmas, they suffered consecutive losses to the lower-ranked Cardinals and Giants.
As a result, the Eagles lost the NFC East title, dropped to the 5th seed, and lost to NFC South champion Tampa Bay in the playoffs.
“Of course there are adjustments to be made,” Sirianni said. “You don't have to just go on for six weeks and say, 'Well, I've thoroughly researched this whole philosophy.' Look at it as a whole.”
