Nick Sirianni’s meeting with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie scheduled for Friday
Sirianni's exit meeting with Lurie comes amid rampant speculation about the coach's job security after the Eagles lost six of their last seven games.
Weather permitting, Nick Sirianni is scheduled to meet with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie on Friday at the NovaCare Complex for his end-of-season exit interview, an NFL source told The Inquirer.
While the annual meeting is typically a formality between Lurie and his head coach, Sirianni enters this year’s confab fresh off losing six of the Eagles’ last seven games — including an embarrassing 32-9 loss to the Buccaneers in the first round of the playoffs — and with rampant speculation about his job security.
The Eagles became only the second team in NFL history to start the season 10-1 and not end up winning 12 games, joining the 1986 New York Jets.
But if Sirianni was to be fired, he would become only the third coach (Bill Callahan, Raiders, 2002, and John Fox, Broncos, 2013) to be let go the year after reaching the Super Bowl. His Eagles were clipped by the Chiefs, 38-35, in last February’s Super Bowl LVII.
The 42-year-old Sirianni also has the best winning percentage (.667) of any coach hired over the last three seasons and has reached the postseason three times over that span.
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Multiple players and captains from the Eagles have come out in support of Sirianni. Center Jason Kelce, defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, and others voiced their support for the coach Wednesday during the locker room cleanup.
Kelce and Cox may be retiring this offseason, though. Quarterback Jalen Hurts will be back and it took two news conferences for him to say that he had confidence — specifically — in Sirianni.
“Owners own, coaches coach, and players play,” Hurts said when asked a day after seemingly dodging the question on whether he wanted Sirianni back. “I answered that question the other day. ... I didn’t even know that was a thing. I had no idea that was a thing.
“I don’t see why that wouldn’t be the case. We’re planning on fixing everything that we’ve done and growing together, Coach Sirianni, Brian [Johnson], everyone.”
If Sirianni returns, his coaching staff is likely to look significantly different. He certainly will have to find a new coach to lead the defense after the Sean Desai-demoted-for-Matt Patricia experiment failed spectacularly.
On the offensive side, Johnson’s coordinator job may also be in jeopardy. The Falcons announced that they interviewed Johnson for their head coaching position on Thursday. He’s also reportedly up for other top jobs.
Sirianni reportedly has already reached out to agents who represent coordinator-level coaches, with assistance from general manager Howie Roseman. Lurie, 72, will likely want him to bring a strong list of candidates and detailed plans to the meeting on how he plans to turn the late-season tailspin around.
Three years ago, former coach Doug Pederson was expected to return even though the Eagles went 4-11-1. But he didn’t bring with him to his gathering with Lurie replacements at the coordinator positions who satisfied the owner, and when Pederson refused to budge, he was terminated.
There were other reasons for Lurie deciding to move on. But he has asserted himself when it comes to assistants, specifically at the coordinator and quarterbacks coach spots.