It’s his time | Sports Daily Newsletter

His teammates knew it was coming.

Jason Kelce had been pondering retirement the last several offseasons, but the All-Pro is still among the best at his position. Despite that, he’s calling it a career, The Inquirer learned on Tuesday.

He hasn’t made it official yet, but Marcus Hayes recalled a conversation with the Eagles’ legendary center about retirement — and Wednesdays — and it was rather enlightening.

And if you’d like a walk down memory lane, here’s a look at Kelce’s career by the numbers and his career in pictures.

— Maria McIlwain, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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❓ Share your favorite Jason Kelce memory with us. Why is it your favorite? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

After the Eagles’ downward spiral reached its end Monday night, head coach Nick Sirianni said he wasn’t worried about his job security. But he didn’t exactly get a ringing endorsement from his quarterback, Jeff McLane writes.

During his postgame comments to the media, Sirianni took accountability for the team’s shortcomings. Mike Sielski pointed to one oversight on defense that was particularly glaring, not just Monday night but during Matt Patricia’s entire tenure.

And Kelce isn’t the only Eagles veteran with retirement on the mind. Brandon Graham plans to hang it up after next season, and he hopes that final campaign is here in Philadelphia, the only franchise he’s ever known.

If you’re ready to move on to next season, we don’t blame you. Here’s a look at prospects the Eagles could target with the No. 22 pick in April’s draft.

If there was still debate on whether or not Joel Embiid isn’t on the same level as Nikola Jokić or that he stole an MVP crown that belonged to Jokić, all of that noise was laid to rest Tuesday night in the Sixers’ 126-121 win over the Nuggets.

Embiid scored a game-high 41 points and added 10 assists and seven boards as the Sixers increased their win streak to three games. Jokić was no slouch himself, finishing with 25 points and 19 rebounds but an all-around Sixers performance spearheaded yet again by Embiid, the NBA’s reigning MVP (say it once more, for effect), proved the difference.

Next: The Sixers hit the road to face the Magic on Friday (7 p.m., NBCSP).

The Flyers capped a perfect three-game road trip on Monday night with a 4-2 win in St. Louis. The win was the team’s fourth straight and also included a few other streaks.

Here are Lochlahn March’s takeaways from the victory, including a highlight-reel goal from Owen Tippett.

Next: The Flyers host the Dallas Stars at 7 p.m. Thursday (NBCSP).

When 27-year-old Ani Kilambi was hired as a Phillies assistant general manager in November of 2021, it was with a specific goal in mind. General manager Sam Fuld and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski wanted to improve their research and development department. They knew Kilambi was the man for the job. Dombrowski and Fuld wanted the Phillies to be an industry leader in the analytics space. Here’s Kilambi has made an impact in his first two seasons.

We asked you: Who racked up the most victories while coaching the Sixers?

Answer: D: Billy Cunningham. Cunningham, whose Sixers tenure ran from 1978 to 1985 recorded 454 regular-season victories. Patrick M. was first with the correct answer.

We asked you: What was the biggest reason for the Eagles’ collapse this season? Among your responses:

The problem is obvious. Blocking and tackling. How can professional football players miss so many blocks, tackles ... the fundamentals of the game. This is where coaches earn their worth (Jeff Stoutland). Eagles should hire Seth Joyner and Brian Dawkins to teach and stress fundamentals ... I would pay to see that. — John S.

The signs have been there for a while but the Eagles paid homage to “The Emperor’s New Clothes” all season long. Incompetent coaches (every one of them) who cannot game plan, adjust or coach up, too many long-in-the-tooth formerly good talents, and a GM who does not see around the corner. — Robert H.

Porous secondary. Terrible linebackers. Defensive line that ran out of gas as the season progressed and no blitz imagination. A befuddled Hurts. Offensive line that couldn’t even handle a 5 man blitz package. No commitment to the run. Inability to run a simple screen left or screen right — bring back Andy Reid. ... WOW, Howie has a big job ahead of him in the next six months — Ray G.

What a heartbreaking collapse after being 10-1. Certainly reminds me of the Phillies’ 1964 failure. There were many reasons that contributed to the collapse including aging key players, a very physically demanding schedule, etc., but I think the biggest reason was the loss of Jonathan Gannon and Shane Steichen. Their departure left the Eagles with a 3rd-year NFL coach who was not up to the challenges without their support. — Everett S.

Several reasons. The other teams became wise to their plays, especially the tush push. The new coordinators are obviously ineffective with their play calling. And Sirianni is ineffective without strong play callers. It was the most awful thing to watch them collapse. Lots to fix before next season. — Kathy T.

The Eagles collapse can be considered a total collapse of this team ... from management to coaches to players. Management gets recognition for not realizing the impact of quickly aging players and not backstopping them with reserves (as they did last season on the D line). Coaches get recognition for basically doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result (how many times were receivers wide open across the middle!). Player deserve recognition for just not playing tough, hard-nosed football (they forgot how to tackle it seems and players regressed, like Hurts, Bradberry, the O-line).

It will be a major challenge to resurrect a playoff and Super Bowl contender in the near term. One has to think that new coaches are in the cards. One has to think that we will see the end of stellar careers, like Kelce, Cox, Graham, all major contributors and leaders. One has to think that getting the right mix of contract and free agents will be the biggest challenge, as we now see what can happen when free agents are a bust. — Philip W.

No Heart, NO DEFENSE, LOUSY OFFENSIVE PLAY CALLING. The head coach has lost the room and the change in the DC didn’t help at all. I believe that was a HOWIE and JEFFREY move and it backfired. The players, I believe, sided with Desai. It’s going to be difficult to get a good head coach here, because Howie wants someone he can control and manipulate. Good Luck. — Tom G.

This season was so similar to the season after the Birds won the Super Bowl. Frank Reich left to become head coach at the Colts. Reich did not get enough credit for his role in sustaining the offense through Nick Foles when Wentz went down. Losing Shane Steichen and Jonathon Gannon in the past offseason is the primary reason for the downfall of the Eagles. Gannon received a lot of negative reaction from the press and the fans, but look at the defense this past season. Similarly for Steichen, this year’s offense had zero imagination and innovation. ... Their leadership, analyses, and imagination were key to the Eagles success in 2022 and primary reasons for the HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT of 2023. — Ted W.

The team had the personnel in most areas to be successful. The coaching, all, was abysmal. From Nick Sirianni’s failure to connect with his quarterback, his lack of vision to change plays, his disastrous change of defense play caller midseason, the list goes on. Neither his offense nor his defense assistants were up to speed.

For example, the decision to start and continue to play James Bradberry was ridiculous. Week after week all reporting showed quarterbacks were targeting the receiver he was covering. Once a good corner, but he was so obviously not up to task by the end of last season. The lack of the offense to adjust against a blitz, the inability to change up plays, their predictably. This was Johnson and Sirianni.

There are too many examples to list as to the complete and utter failure of the coaching. Starting and ending with Sirianni. — Marilyn J.

Several reasons Eagles collapsed. Super Bowl hangover. Difficult to climb NFL mountaintop when OC and DC coaching changes, Free agency. Hurts lack of running compared to a season ago along with lingering knee injury reduced his offensive capabilities to “freeze” defensive backs and linebackers. Team seemed out of sync nearly the entire season. Coaching counts. Players older and slower over time. Need to rejuvenate and reenergize. — Jonathan B.

One of two is there was terrible tackling or lack there of against the Bucs. And the second problem is they don’t stop pass completions. They hardly ever knock down a pass to the other team’s receivers. Last night they actually looked like they quit. Hard to believe this Eagles team had no heart to play to win. — Larry B.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from EJ Smith, Marcus Hayes, Olivia Reiner, Matt Breen, Devin Jackson, Jeff McLane, Mike Sielski, Lochlahn March, Josh Verlin, and Owen McCue.

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