The Philadelphia Eagles have lost their second game in a row following their loss to the Chicago Bears on Friday, handing the Eagles their fourth loss on the season as a whole. They were sloppy, undisciplined, and genuinely looked awful the whole game. Simply, they were unprepared, and this is a big wakeup call as to what the franchise is to do next.
All year, fans have been complaining about playcalling from the offensive coordinator (OC) Kevin Patullo, and they are not wrong in doing that. However, despite those inconsistencies, there are plenty more problems on this team. Our run defense looked awful, sloppy, undisciplined, and unprepared overall. Our players look angry, like they don’t even want to be there. And ultimately, this Super Bowl winning, and contending, roster has become toxic and disheveled. Nick Sirianni, the head coach (HC), has responded to these criticisms, specifically on Patullo, saying “I think we always are looking for answers as coaches… and as coaches we are never into assigning blame, it is just always looking for answers. And I think what sometimes can happen is ‘it’s just this’ and it’s not just that and it’s every piece of the puzzle: coaching, playing, execution, scheme, everything. We gotta be better in all of those aspects.”
Guess who all of these criticisms fall on? Sirianni. The Eagles’ inconsistencies and issues fall on the shoulders of Nick Sirianni. Let’s look at it.
The issue that fans love to harp on is playcalling, even to the point that reporters and announcers are talking about it, too. Fans have been comparing this to the Eagles’ 2023 season, where Brian Johnson was the OC and he consistently struggled. The year before him was Shane Steichen as OC, and he was amazing. He was so good that he was hired as a HC. The year after Johnson, Kellen Moore was OC and he was so good that he was hired as a HC. Now, the Eagles are back to having a bad OC that fans are blaming for their struggles. But we look around the NFL and see that when inconsistencies like this happen, a long term head coach, a good head coach, would take over playcalling. For example, Dan Campbell, Sean McVay, Ben Johnson, Zach Taylor, Shane Steichen, Kellen Moore, etc. This issue normally can be covered up by a head coach that can scheme and run an offense. Mind you, Sirianni also prides himself on “his offense.” Sirianni, however, tried that in 2021, scheming and calling plays, and he recognized he couldn’t do it so he handed over responsibility to Steichen. The offensive inconsistencies fall on him alone. He has also expressed his distaste for changing the coaching positions in season, although he has done it in the past with OC Brian Johnson and DC Sean Desai.
This leads me into the next point: nepotism. Kevin Patullo is Sirianni’s best friend, and Sirianni is fully against taking him out of the position he is in. There is a clear correlation here. Sirianni decided to hire in-house, taking somebody that he is familiar with and despite him never having playcalling experience, ever. Patullo doesn’t know what he is doing, and it shows, so why is he in that position? So why hire him? Nepotism.
Let’s back up, though. If Sirianni is an offensive minded coach but he doesn’t call plays, what does he do? Exactly. What does Sirianni even do? His job is to scheme and keep the locker room controlled, motivated, and together. But, if you watch any Eagles game, they aren’t. The biggest issue on Friday was, in fact, motivation and preparation. The Eagles did not scheme well, and that has been a common theme this year that has been a burden thrown onto Patullo. On top of that, it is well known among the league that the Eagles locker room is toxic and angry. AJ Brown has expressed his anger all year, Jalen Hurts is visibly frustrated, and Saquon Barkley is also expressing his confusion. Our three best players have expressed their anger towards the offense and team as a whole, and that falls on Sirianni’s shoulders.
“Oh, but he’s been to 2 Super Bowls in 3 years.” Yeah he also has had the best team in the league consistently. Sirianni is a product of a good team, and the inconsistencies of this good team fall on him. Sirianni does nothing, at all. The few responsibilities that he does do, he doesn’t do well. The team carries him and makes him look good, which is a credit to the general manager Howie Roseman.
Sirianni needs to go, and the Eagles need to hire a head coach who can consistently call plays and control an offense.
