PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Eagles will be moving on from offensive coordinator Brian Johnson in an effort to assign blame for what went wrong on an offense that still managed to finish No. 8 overall and a tick better than that at No. 7 in points per game.
Top-10 finishes aside it’s fair to claim that the Eagles did underperform on that side of the football in 2023, especially late in the season.
More creativity, along with the evolution of Nick Sirianni’s schemes was needed for a system that seemed to stagnate. That system, though, is Sirianni’s, and firing Johnson for painting inside the lines the OC was given is the equivalent of middle-school logic.
With a net worth approaching $5 billion, it’s safe to say Jeffrey Lurie is smart enough to understand that but once you decide to move forward with Sirianni, the number $255 million prohibits a move with franchise quarterback Jalen Hurts so Johnson ends up as the sacrifice to the barbarians at the gate of the NovaCare Complex who needed a target to direct their anger at.
The disconnect is assuming you have to satiate that anger.
Lurie’s Eagles have the luxury of not having to play the game many other franchises need to. For as many callers as WIP gets claiming they’ll never attend or watch a game if [insert name] returns, the number who might follow through with that threat serves as a rounding error for Lurie’s bottom line.
The owner could practice patience if he wants to but the only difference between Lurie and those angst-ridden sports-talk callers are the zeros at the end of the owner’s bank account.
Lurie is being every bit as erratic and emotional as the most devoted of his fan base. He undoubtedly cares deeply about the franchise but in times of turmoil, the first plan of action is always to assign blame.
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