Is Nick Sirianni's job really in jeopardy?

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Is Nick Sirianni's job really in jeopardy?

By Reuben Frank • Published January 14, 2024

 

You’d think by now the Eagles would have done something to quell the speculation about Nick Sirianni’s future. 

They could have leaked word to the usual national guys that Sirianni will definitely be back in 2024. They could have given him a relatively meaningless but symbolically significant contract extension. They could have had Jeff Lurie or Howie Roseman appear on one of the network shows to laugh off the notion that the Eagles might get rid of Sirianni if things don’t go well in Tampa. They could have done a number of things to make sure Sirianni’s status didn’t become a distraction going into the postseason.

They did none of them.

So here we are. A year ago the Eagles were on their way to the Super Bowl. Today they may be playing to save their coach’s job.

And to get a sense of how unusual this whole situation is, consider this: No coach in NFL history has been fired after reaching a Super Bowl one year and then returning to the playoffs the next year.

The only coach who’s been fired a year after a Super Bowl appearance is Bill Callahan, who took the Raiders to the Super Bowl in 2002 – they lost to his Mount Laurel neighbor and former Eagles colleague Jon Gruden – and was fired a year later after a 4-12 season.

Three coaches left two years after reaching a Super Bowl – Forrest Gregg with the Bengals in 1983, Jim Caldwell with the Colts in 2011 and Jim Harbaugh with the 49ers in 2014. But Gregg left voluntarily to become head coach of the Packers, the team he was a Hall of Fame tackle with. Harbaugh’s firing had nothing to do with football and was more a result of his fractured relationship with general manager Trent Baalke and owner Jed York. Caldwell was fired after the Colts went 2-14 in 2011.

So if the Eagles do move on from Sirianni, it would be unprecedented in NFL history. The Eagles have fallen to pieces in recent weeks, but they’re still an 11-win playoff team that’s made the postseason in all three of Sirianni’s seasons as head coach. 

Jeff Lurie is not one to make rash decisions, but he also doesn’t like to be embarrassed, and the last month and a half has been downright embarrassing for this entire franchise. If he believes Sirianni lost the team and is not the person to fix this, it wouldn’t be shocking if he does make a change. Or if he insists on specific coaching staff changes and Sirianni resists, and he's out anyway.

What’s interesting is that a total of 13 NFL head coaches have been fired within three years of reaching a Super Bowl, and one of them is Doug Pederson and if Sirianni goes, he’d be No. 14. So if Lurie makes a move, he will have fired two Super Bowl coaches in four years, both of them within three years of a Super Bowl. For an owner that talks about consistency and stability, that’s not ideal. 

But this has also been a historic collapse. The Eagles are the first team in 37 years to start a season 10-1 and not win its division and the first team in 37 years to start out 10-1 and not win 12 games. And the losses have all been either blowouts or late collapses.

If that pattern continues Monday night in Tampa – against a mediocre Buccaneers team that the Eagles should beat – anything is on the table.

It certainly wouldn’t be shocking if Lurie decides there have been enough positives in three years under Sirianni that he deserves a chance to be the guy to fix things in 2024. I even think that’s the more likely scenario.

But if Monday night looks like the Cowboys or 49ers games or the Seahawks or Giants or Cards games, if the Eagles simply aren’t competitive in their biggest game of the season against another team they're favored against, then it’s reasonable to think Lurie might make a change.

And a year after the Eagles had the Chiefs on the ropes in Super Bowl LVII, it might be crazy to even be talking about this. 

But it might be crazier not to.

https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/is-nick-siriannis-job-really-in-jeopardy/558537/