Actions speak louder: Eagles players are showing they’ve lost confidence in Nick Sirianni
While the Eagles say they support Sirianni, their play in his schemes says otherwise. Next week's wild-card game is a referendum that could reveal the ultimate answer.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Jalen Hurts was asked about his confidence in Nick Sirianni.
While the same could have been asked of Sirianni in regards to Hurts after the Eagles bit the shed, so to speak, in a stunning 27-10 loss at the New York Giants, the team’s investment in the quarterback means there’s only one possible hot seat if a recent slide continues into the playoffs.
“I have a lot of confidence in Coach,” Hurts said. “He puts his heart into it. He has a will to win and that’s really all you can ask for.”
A different question centered on Sirianni’s coaching and his schemes, however, might have yielded another response if Hurts or other players had been given truth serum. The Eagles’ performance in the season finale — and, really, over the last six weeks — offered as much evidence that they are losing faith in the coach.
What that may say about Sirianni’s future is uncertain.
“None of us are quitters,” Sirianni said. “We all get up off the mat when we’re down and we get up and we keep going. When you get hit in life and when you get hit in football, you’ve got two options: You can stay down or you can get the ‘F’ up.
“And I know this group is fighters. I know this group will get up.”
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Take a step back and Sirianni has guided the Eagles to the postseason in each of his three seasons. He had them on the cusp of a Super Bowl victory just 11 months ago. He brings much to the table beyond his overall 34-17 regular-season record.
But here we are with the Eagles losing five of their last six, with each defeat seemingly worse than the last, after a 10-1 start, and the assertion — agreed upon by team leaders — that a first-round meeting at the Buccaneers next Monday night could be a referendum on the locker room’s support of Sirianni.
“Right. You’re going to see it. And I think we’re going to be with each other,” Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham said. “I know this team with him. I know that everybody creates their own narrative on the outside, but I don’t see nothing but people just working every week and owning [their] stuff.
“I feel we’ll see next week.”
The same idea was posited to players last week following what was then the nadir of the season: A shocking 35-31 loss to the lowly Cardinals.
Tackle Jordan Mailata and others said they were with their coach. Some spoke about a renewed energy. Shorter, crisper practices. More accountability. Wide receiver A.J. Brown stood up in front of his teammates and apologized for his media silence. Sirianni showed video of teams that struggled down the stretch before winning Super Bowls during Wednesday’s meeting, according to ESPN.
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But given the opportunity to put pressure on the Cowboys with the NFC East title still up for grabs, the Eagles may have delivered the worst first half since Sirianni’s “roots” speech during his rookie season. Dallas was tied with the Commanders, 7-7, early in the second quarter, while the Eagles trailed the Giants, 3-0.
The Eagles, though, were inept on both sides of the ball and the Giants scored three straight touchdowns. The Cowboys, perhaps buoyed by the collapse three hours up I-95, rallied from a 10-7 deficit to take a 21-10 lead into the half.
Sirianni then waved the white flag and pulled Hurts, center Jason Kelce, left tackle Lane Johnson, and other key starters.
“It hasn’t been pretty, obviously, the last month. It would be an understatement,” Kelce said. “But we’ve had a lot of really, really successful football with Nick. I think he does a lot of really, really good things organizationally. Every game that we play is ultimately a reflection of the team and the head coach.
“Whether you win or lose … when you’re in the position of leadership, when you’re the head guy, you’re going to bear the brunt of it. But I think that there’s a lot of things that collectively we can all do better at. For me, I don’t have any lack of faith or trust in Nick Sirianni.”
» READ MORE: Nick Sirianni says he’s not thinking about his job status for next season amid Eagles’ free fall
But actions speak louder. The Eagles had mixed results against Wink Martindale’s blitz-heavy defense two weeks ago. Hurts, Kelce & Co. found some ways to offset the Giants defensive coordinator’s pressures in that sloppy win.
But they looked almost unprepared two weeks later, which was shocking considering that Martindale blitzes as often as anyone. The game plan lacked built-in answers for Hurts, but so has Sirianni’s scheme for years. The quarterback just hasn’t been as good at bailing his coach out this season.
“I just don’t think we executed it well enough,” Hurts said.
Kelce shouldered some of the blame for his protection calls. But there were far too many times when Hurts would drop back and there wouldn’t be easy outlet throws when he was either “hot” or didn’t have open receivers downfield.
It didn’t help that Hurts was without his top two receivers. DeVonta Smith was out with an ankle injury and Brown left in the first quarter with a knee injury. The final nail might have come when, yes, another blitzer ran free at Hurts and hit his right hand as he threw, dislocating his middle finger.
“It popped out,” Hurts said.
As for whether he can play in a week, he said he’ll take it day by day. But Hurts, who wore bandages on his middle and pointer fingers after the game, could be at less than 100 percent.
The offense may be banged up, but the defense may be in more dire straits. The return of linebacker Zach Cunningham wasn’t the balm some teammates had hoped for. Cornerback Darius Slay, who missed the last four games with a knee injury, is expected back for Tampa Bay.
» READ MORE: Defense has missed Zach Cunningham — yes, a linebacker! Don’t tell Howie Roseman
But it may be too late. The switch from Sean Desai to Matt Patricia at defensive coordinator has backfired. It isn’t a stretch to say that players sometimes haven’t known their responsibilities on given plays the last two weeks, and have either lacked conviction in their execution or haven’t given the necessary effort.
Fletcher Cox was rested in the finale. But the veteran defensive tackle still felt the need to talk with reporters.
“This team won 11 games. You know how hard that is to do in the NFL — to win 11 professional football games? It’s really, really hard,” Cox said. “You know how hard it is to get into the postseason? It’s really, really hard. You know how many teams are having exit meetings tomorrow? A whole lot of them.
“We’re not one of those teams. We’re going to keep fighting and that’s the end of it.”
» READ MORE: If things don’t get better for the Eagles against the Bucs, they could get much worse
The Eagles are not lacking in leaders. Graham, Kelce, and Cox have won a Super Bowl and been to another. They have also been on losing teams that got coaches fired. But they’ve never been on a team that has limped into the postseason like this.
“We’ve got a lot to fix, we’ve got a lot to do better,” Kelce said. “This is about the worst stretch of football since Nick has been here and it’s very, very frustrating. But we’re in the playoffs and now it’s one and done you’re out.”
Kelce likely meant to say something more positive about the Eagles’ chances. But his faux pas may end up the most accurate thing said to reflect the waning confidence in the team under Sirianni. If the Eagles feel otherwise, they’re running out of time to show it.