Jason Kelce mostly mum on his future while trying to assess what went wrong with the Eagles

Jason Kelce didn’t want to talk about his future in football, but he was willing to discuss Nick Sirianni’s and whether he should remain Eagles head coach.

“Of course, I love Nick,” Kelce said Wednesday. “I think Nick’s a great coach, I really do. I think he’s a great head coach. Obviously, nobody was good enough this year. I wasn’t. None of the players. None of the coaches were good down the stretch. That’s the reality of this business. It’s a collective thing.

“I’ll always have faith in Nick Sirianni. I think he does a lot of things structurally and organizationally that I think are really well done. Obviously, we got a lot of things to fix to improve the outcomes and the offense in general from my perspective next year.”

Kelce spoke to reporters at his stall at the NovaCare Complex — possibly for the last time — during locker room cleanup two days after the Eagles’ embarrassing end to their season. On Monday night in Tampa, the center declined to be interviewed after the Buccaneers trounced his team, 32-9, in the first round of the playoffs.

The emotional veteran Eagles captain had indicated to his teammates in the immediate aftermath that he would eventually officially announce his retirement, sources that were present told The Inquirer.

But Kelce offered more context on his New Heights podcast that was recorded Tuesday, saying, “I just don’t think you’re in a position after a game like that to really make that decision. There’s too much emotion in the moment.

“I’m not trying to be dramatic and continue to draw this thing out. When it’s time to officially announce what’s happening in the future, it’ll be done in a way that’s definitive and pays respect to a lot of people and individuals who have meant a lot to me.”

» READ MORE: Eagles’ Jason Kelce gets emotional while addressing retirement rumors on ‘New Heights’

When Kelce walked to his stall Wednesday, he said that he didn’t want to answer questions about the possible end of his decorated 13 seasons in the NFL. The closest he got to addressing the topic was when he was asked if — whatever way he’s leaning — it was possible he could change his mind.

“Oh, man. I don’t even know what involves my future, whether it’s playing football or not. I have no idea,” Kelce said. “We’ll figure it out. I don’t want to address any of that stuff right now. I don’t know. I don’t like to live in absolutes in general, so I guess it could be.”

If it ends up being the end for the 36-year-old, it was a hard way to go out. The Eagles lost six of their final seven games — after an NFL-best 10-1 start — with each defeat seemingly worse than the last.

“It was a frustrating close on an even more frustrating season,” Kelce said.

» READ MORE: Jason Kelce’s career with the Eagles, by the numbers

Blowout losses to the 49ers and Cowboys in early December snowballed into setbacks against perceived lesser teams — the Seahawks, Cardinals, and Giants. The last two were embarrassments against losing squads.

The Eagles hung with the Bucs late into the third quarter and trailed, 16-9, but quarterback Jalen Hurts took a safety and the Birds collapsed. There were myriad reasons for the late-season tailspin, but Kelce couldn’t yet put his finger on some of the main reasons they folded.

“The season is not Madden. You don’t play with a ‘100 offense’ that’s rated each and every week,” Kelce said. “I think there’s ups and downs of a season every year. We were playing and executing at a higher level earlier in the season, offensively, defensively.

“We operated in clutch situations much cleaner. If you look back at the games earlier in the season we were a better football team. Obviously, at the end of the season we didn’t operate and execute at the same level.

“I wish I could give you definitive reasons as to why that’s the case. There’s probably a lot of things that factor into that.”

Kelce said the offense was slowed in various ways, but blitzing Hurts toward the end of the season became one of the more effective methods of keeping the quarterback and the passing attack in check.

The weight of expectations also burdened the Eagles.

“When you’re not performing to the level of expectation, it’s hard on a player and it’s hard to figure out why it’s happening,” Kelce said. “I think that, obviously, when the expectation is coming off a Super Bowl run, internally you think that you’re going to be very, very good, and that you’re going to operate at a very high level.

“Offensively, we were returning a lot of players. You expect to pick up right where you left off and, if not, improve. And when that’s not happening it’s frustrating.”

Kelce said he didn’t have any immediate plans for the offseason other than maybe going to watch his brother Travis and the Chiefs play the Bills in Buffalo on Sunday. He said he also plans on going to the Pro Bowl in Orlando in a few weeks with his family.

It was the seventh time he earned the honor. He was also voted first-team All-Pro for the sixth time, further cementing his Hall of Fame credentials.

Kelce also has his No. 1-rated podcast to run, along with many other outside endeavors. He won’t be without opportunities and has expressed interest in becoming an NFL analyst and still having a hand in the Eagles organization post-football.

As for his future on the field, a time will come for Kelce to make an announcement. Whether he’s back at NovaCare or not, he’ll always have a place in the heart of Eagles fans and the city of Philadelphia.

“This organization largely breathes through the fans and I was fortunate enough to be able to represent the city for a long time,” Kelce said. “I really cherish the times that I’ve had. I don’t know what’s next, but this city has obviously meant a lot to me.”