News: Philadelphia Eagles formally select new coach…
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Following a 1-6 season that appeared certain to cause organizational instability, Nick Sirianni was forced to clarify on Wednesday how the Eagles will move forward this offseason, particularly by hiring new offensive and defensive coordinators.
What was it Sirianni wasn’t concerned about? Moving on from the third-year coach are general manager Howie Roseman and owner Jeffrey Lurie.
As anticipated, the 42-year-old Sirianni will return for a fourth season. Despite all the rumors and heated debate following Philadelphia’s NFC wild-card playoff loss, Sirianni’s position within the NovaCare Complex seemed to be unquestioned.
“Have I have to give up my dream? No, since everything went according to plan,” Sirianni remarked.
But someone had to pay for the disintegration of a team that qualified for the Super Bowl the previous year and began this one 10-1 before going through a seven-week implosion. Brian Johnson, the offensive coordinator, and Sean Desai, the defensive coordinator, were fired, according to Sirianni. Sirianni merely stated that he wanted to strengthen the defense while continuously labeling the offensive as “stale”.
Sirianni and Roseman declined to comment on whether Vic Fangio, a former team consultant during the previous season’s postseason run, was a top contender, even as word spread during their news conference that the defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins was leaving his position.
“We’ve got a lot of good targets that we’re working through,” Sirianni stated. Many of the boys have performed quite well during the interview process. We’re eager to carry on with that process and will monitor its outcome.
After Shane Steichen left the Eagles to assume the head coaching position in Indianapolis in 2021, Johnson was promoted to offensive coordinator. Johnson had joined the team as the quarterbacks coach. This month, he has conducted interviews to become the head coach of the Tennessee Titans and the Atlanta Falcons.
Jalen Hurts was a nominee for 2022 MVP and Offensive Player of the Year while working as an assistant for Johnson. This season, when Johnson was calling the plays, injuries worsened.
His career-high 15 interceptions were thrown, and his passer rating fell from 101.5 to 89.1 during the previous campaign.
In December, Matt Patricia, the assistant coach, took over as Desai’s playcaller.
“Matt was in a difficult circumstance. The defense isn’t entirely modifiable,” Sirianni stated. “To be honest, he was attempting to force certain outcomes with things that weren’t in his favor. I realize I made Matt’s situation difficult. Of course, I know I put Sean in a difficult situation. However, at the time I made that choice, I did it because I believed it to be best for the football team.”
Sirianni will make the final decision over the new hires.
“I trust him with the coaching staff, that’s his responsibility,” Roseman stated.
Roseman seemed like a general manager who was eager to collaborate with Sirianni for many years to come.
Roseman remarked, “I’ve seen what he has done winning games.” We’re now in the running for a global title thanks to him. putting us in a situation where we can compete for a playoff spot every year. Those items are difficult to locate.”
That satisfied Lurie as well. Since he acquired the team in 1994, the Eagles have lost two Super Bowls and won just one.
“It was business as usual with how we go about the end-of-the-year meeting,” Sirianni stated. It was simply typical. Nothing about it was different from the previous three years.
You can count on me to be thinking about ways to re-prove myself. Mr. Lurie, Howie, and this corporation trusted me, a young coach, to do the job. I had to demonstrate to them that this man was capable of leading the company as they had requested. Since then, I had to establish my worth.”
In three seasons, Sirianni has made three trips to the playoffs, appeared in the Super Bowl, and won 67% of his games during the regular season. Fletcher Cox and Jason Kelce, two Eagles veterans who intend to retire, were two of Sirianni’s most ardent supporters.
“I think the important thing for us to look at is, before the stretch, which was a difficult stretch, not diminishing the 1-6 stretch at the end, we were 26-5 over the last 31 games,” Roseman stated. “In the National Football League, that is a difficult task. In this league, head coaches with such a successful track record are rare to come by.”
After defeating Buffalo in overtime on November 26 to open the season 10-1 for the second straight year, the Eagles were ecstatic. Up until then, they had won 27 of the 29 regular-season games Hurts had started for them.
The next game, they lost badly to the San Francisco 49ers at home, and everything fell apart. They were then thrashed at Dallas. The next game was a last-minute loss to the Seahawks and Drew Lock. They defeated the Giants on Christmas Day, but then lost back-to-back games to the deplorable Cardinals and Giants.
The Eagles lost the NFC East championship as a result, fell to the No. 5 spot in the playoffs, and were heavily defeated by NFC South champion Tampa Bay.
Naturally, there are things that Sirianni will be changing. “You don’t simply decide to discard this entire ideology after six weeks. You consider it in its entirety.”
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