Eagles’ Nick Sirianni could be coaching for his job in Tampa. How did he get here?
Firing Sirianni at this stage of his tenure would be unprecedented for the Eagles. Take a closer look at the head coach in the latest episode of “unCovering the Birds.”
One of the main questions about the Eagles these days — inside and outside the NovaCare Complex — has suddenly become whether or not Nick Sirianni will survive his team’s end-of-regular-season collapse, and whether Monday night’s wild-card playoff game at the Buccaneers will be a referendum on his ability to lead the eam.
The vibes around the Eagles have gotten bad. Typically, teams that sink to these depths are losing ones that ultimately get coaches fired — not ones with 11-6 records who are heading into the playoffs for a third year in a row.
Just two months ago, Sirianni was riding high with his team soaring to an NFL-best 10-1 start. The Eagles have come crashing down to earth, however, and have lost five of their last six games, with each defeat seemingly worse than the previous one.
Around the NovaCare, it feels like 2020, 2015, and 2012 — the last years for former Eagles coaches Doug Pederson, Chip Kelly, and Andy Reid. Unlike Sirianni, they didn’t have a looming playoff appearance to right the ship. And they weren’t just one year removed from nearly winning the Super Bowl.
The latest episode of “unCovering the Birds” takes a closer look at Sirianni as he heads into maybe the most important game of his coaching career — at least as it relates to his future in Philadelphia. The coach still seemingly has support in the locker room, largely because of his loyalty to the players and his accountability.
A wider view of his three seasons in Philadelphia also shows just how successful the first-time coach has been relative to the rest of the NFL. Sirianni’s .667 winning percentage in the regular season is by far the best of any NFL coach hired in the last three years.
» READ MORE: Actions speak louder: Eagles players are showing they’ve lost confidence in Nick Sirianni
Jeffrey Lurie is certain to take Sirianni’s full record into account when assessing his coach — no matter how the season ends. And the Eagles owner knows most of what’s going on behind the scenes, and whether the controversial decision to demote defensive coordinator Sean Desai was Sirianni’s alone.
But Lurie has been known to not stand idly while his team is floundering. In fact, the 72-year-old owner has taken a more active interest in football operations as the Eagles’ recent slide has gotten worse, team sources told The Inquirer ahead of the recording for our podcast episode titled simply “Nick.”
What that means for Sirianni’s future — it’s still too early to tell. Lurie is an involved owner, but he is typically more of the asking-questions type than the meddling kind. But when he sees fit, he will assert his authority. Lurie has pulled a quick trigger on Pederson and Kelly, but firing the 42-year-old Sirianni now would be unprecedented.
Listen to the latest episode of unCovering the Birds for more details about the stakes surrounding Nick Sirianni heading into Monday’s wild-card round playoff matchup with the Tampa Buccaneers.