If the Eagles aren't careful, they might just shut their contending window on themselves

It's the OC search, it's Jalen Hurts, it's Nick Sirianni, and it's paydays coming due. It takes a lot to keep the Super Bowl window open, and the Eagles already know it.

By Nick Tricome
PhillyVoice Staff

Denny Medley/Imagn Images

Jalen Hurts, Nick Sirianni, and the Eagles are in a tricky offseason that few teams ever have to navigate.

Doug Pederson stood atop the Art Museum steps eight years ago and declared "our new norm."

The Philadelphia Eagles had just won their first Super Bowl, millions of fans swarmed to the city for the parade on a freezing February morning because they finally got to see one, and better yet, they had a team that looked like it was set to bring them so much more. 

"This is our new norm," Pederson told a team and a city that were both on top of the world that day. "To be playing football in February."

Of course, now we know that it never worked out that way.

That team got old quick, patchwork signings and trades to fill up new deficiencies didn't help with that, the Nick Foles-Carson Wentz argument sewed an irreparable discord within the building (as stories from players in the years since have revealed), injuries rapidly outpaced depth, and then finally, a benching of Wentz for a young Jalen Hurts and a stubbornness from Pederson to keep his assistant coach Press Taylor around brought what was originally thought to be a golden era to a bitter, smoldering end after just a few short years.

A new era of success, marked by Hurts, Nick Sirianni, and the core that carried over from Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Fletcher Cox, and Brandon Graham rose out of it, but that initial window from 2017 did close.

Part of it was just the NFL passing the organization by. 

A lot of it, though, was the Eagles inadvertently shutting it on themselves, by Pederson, by Howie Roseman's mistakes as the acting general manager (see Jalen Reagor), and even Wentz as the long-since former franchise quarterback.

Now the Eagles of today, though not exact, are at a similar jam with their hands on the sash.

This era of the team won a Super Bowl, has been to two even, and has its championship window still open, yet feels like it's suddenly just a couple of poor decisions and a down year away from slamming this one shut, too.

The Eagles need a new offensive coordinator, again, because Sirianni and his internal replacements have twice now proven incapable of running a competent offensive scheme after their more established playcallers get poached by other teams following a Super Bowl run.

The search has been on, but has proceeded slowly. High-profile and notable candidates are progressively getting crossed off the board from taking other jobs around the league as the weeks go by. And the longer this goes, the more the fear has time to get rooted among fans that the Eagles are going to back themselves into a corner and make an underwhelming decision, with the full knowledge that playcalling power can't afford to go back to Sirianni – and maybe with the additional fear now that the Eagles are their own worst enemy in their OC search.

Hurts, even after a still recent Super Bowl MVP performance, is here needing to prove himself to many again after his own underwhelming season, in that he's willing to take varied snaps under center, that he's willing to take off on designed runs and keep using his legs, and that he's willing to try and thread tight passes through the middle rather than live in fear of interceptions. 

But even then, he'll have to do so with an overall offense that's getting older, expensive, and may just have to take a step back next season in overall talent.

By all accounts, the general presumption is that leading receiver A.J. Brown won't be an Eagle for much longer, while Jahan Dotson and Dallas Goedert are up for free agency paydays, too. Saquon Barkley is about to turn 29 with a ton of mileage on him, especially after getting constantly hit at the line throughout all of this past season, while the ever-saving grace of that elite O-line has spent all year injured, slowed down, and suddenly not looking all too young anymore themselves.

Lane Johnson never returned from his Lisfranc injury and is pushing into his late 30s, Landon Dickerson is 27 but looked like he aged to 37 from trying to power through his own ailments all year, Cam Jurgens is still just 26 but never looked fully recovered from his back surgery, and Jordan Mailata will be 29 and had his own ruts this season where he just didn't look like his usual overpowering self on the edge. 

And all that's before even getting to the defense, which is still young, talented, and was managed extraordinarily by defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, but is about to get pricey, too. Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Quinyon Mitchell, and Cooper DeJean are all establishing themselves as long-term pieces, but with that are the extensions that are going to suddenly stockpile over the next few years and take up even more cap resources, which inevitably brings on tougher decisions.

It's all a super fine line to walk, one that is obviously the ultimate luxury to because it meant winning the Super Bowl, but also one that comes with shifted and far greater expectations, especially in this town. 

It comes with the weight of a "new norm," of going from the goal of winning just one Super Bowl, which is lofty enough alone, to multiple, and of keeping that contending window open for as long as sustainably possible.

The Eagles of the Pederson-Wentz era ultimately couldn't do it. They're immortal for doing the once thought impossible with Nick Foles miraculously leading the charge, but they crumbled trying to push forward in maintaining that.

Now the Eagles of the Hurts-Sirianni era are standing at the windowsill trying to keep themselves in annual contention.

But if they're not careful over these next few months, they might just end up slamming it all down on their figurative hand.

https://www.phillyvoice.com/eagles-thoughts-are-they-shutting-super-bowl-window-themselves-oc-search-nfl-free-agency/

The Offense is getting old. Quickly and quietly.

This a bit of an overreaction......the eagles are the second youngest team in the league......they have 2 players on offense over 30.

Two problems this year was another lousy OC and injuries on the offensive line. The depth on the O-line was not as good as last year and it's tough to heal completely when you're playing every week like Dickerson and Jurgens. And it's time to draft a right tackle.....Johnson misses time almost every year now and he's going to be 36.

But the biggest issue the eagles have to deal with is the salary cap.....They had to deal with that last year by letting Sweat, Williams, Rogers and Becton leave in free agency. Most of the talent lost in the offseason was on the defense, yet Fangio merged the new guys in and the unit got better as the year went on.

To assume Dickerson and Jurgens are declining is premature......but it does put an emphasis on rebuilding the depth on the O-line.

One of the big things that needs to happen is that Hurts needs to be a top 5 QB. The amount he is going to be paid he’s going to need to be a top QB to allow this team to still be relevant and to be a contender. And he’s going to need to do it with potentially less talent around him because cap is going to have to move across to the defensive side of the ball.

On 2/1/2026 at 4:20 PM, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

One of the big things that needs to happen is that Hurts needs to be a top 5 QB. The amount he is going to be paid he’s going to need to be a top QB to allow this team to still be relevant and to be a contender. And he’s going to need to do it with potentially less talent around him because cap is going to have to move across to the defensive side of the ball.

Was Hurts a top 5 QB in 2024? I'd probably say no (top 10 sure but not top 5). He was able to take advantage of a scheme that focused on our strength offensively (a strong running game that was aided by a QB that used his legs to make it hard for other teams to defend against our attack). But the OL was healthy then which allowed us to execute much more effectively and also opened things up in the passing game more. Obviously the play of the defense was also huge that year too.

I think to get back to being legit contenders first and foremost we need to have the OL return to full health. If players like Jurgens or Dickerson are far enough below 100% to start the season that it is going to have a huge impact on doing their jobs effectively like we saw in 2025, then the smart move would be to shut them down until they are 100%, which means having good enough backups that can come in and allow them function without missing a beat.

Secondly, we need for Mannion to be able to scheme properly to take advantage of our strengths (and minimize the chances of our weaknesses being exposed). And obviously a defense that continues to play at an elite level. Hopefully this upcoming season we are playing more complementary football where both units are playing well enough and not having the defense carry an underwhelming offense for most of the season.

We also need for Howie to knock it out of the park again in free agency and the draft to address the many needs on the roster.

The offensive woes this past season were, in my opinion, the result of a terrible play caller and O-line injuries. The replacement of the play caller is actually the easy part. Expecting Dickerson and Jurgens to ever get back to 100% and stay that way looks like fantasy. The nature of their injuries and their histories suggest that replacements need to be on hand, in case this upcoming season shows that their ceilings are still average at best...forever. Expecting Steen to be more than an average fill-in caliber OG looks like fantasy. Steen has been an average OG who doesn't look like he can dominate physically. So that leaves what?

Mailata who has some trouble with speed rushers but overall is good. 3 interior linemen who must be dominant run blockers but are not anywhere near that. A RT who is long in the tooth but still very good overall. The O-line, once a great strength, is now a bit of a liability and not likely to get better.

Throw in that all year we saw that Hurts is back to not seeing the whole field, which means that he's back to needing a lot of extra time to process information. This O-line can't give him that anymore. He's going to have to speed up a lot too, which is asking a lot of him. He is who he is at this point in his career. I hope the new OC and passing game coordinator find a way to counter what looks like a few serious problems. If not, Barkley will suffer a lot of tackles for loss, Hurts will suffer pressures and sacks, and the Offense that has names people know will perform poorly week after week with everyone asking why.

I think Howie's #1 priority this off season is to fully fix the interior of the O-line. If those 3 guys, whoever they may be, can dominate physically, then everything else gets better by default, and they look a lot more like 2024 than 2025. We'll see what he does. Oh, and this upcoming draft doesn't look like a great one for O-linemen. Howie's going to have to be on his game this year.

8 hours ago, time2rock said:

Was Hurts a top 5 QB in 2024? I'd probably say no (top 10 sure but not top 5). He was able to take advantage of a scheme that focused on our strength offensively (a strong running game that was aided by a QB that used his legs to make it hard for other teams to defend against our attack). But the OL was healthy then which allowed us to execute much more effectively and also opened things up in the passing game more. Obviously the play of the defense was also huge that year too.

Firstly great reply bud! I’ll do this bit by bit to try my best to do you justice. I agree with what you’ve said here but… can we get back to an elite run game? Sure we can. But is Hurts going to run more next year? Why didn’t he run as much this year? Can Cam and Landon get back to full health? What about Lane? Even if he returns he’s closing in on retirement. What we saw last year was an historic run game and we can’t rely on that every year.

Appreciate you’ve said we need a healthy OL (or if not then better depth). So yeah I mean Howie has his work cut out there. A lot of teams don’t have 5 quality starters let alone back ups. With money going to the defense we have a dilemma there.

8 hours ago, time2rock said:

Secondly, we need for Mannion to be able to scheme properly to take advantage of our strengths (and minimize the chances of our weaknesses being exposed).

And this is the thing right… Mannion may be great but we just don’t know. And he’s not called plays in the NFL (something we’ve suffered with last year and in 2023) so it’s a real gamble there.

13 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Firstly great reply bud! I’ll do this bit by bit to try my best to do you justice. I agree with what you’ve said here but… can we get back to an elite run game? Sure we can. But is Hurts going to run more next year? Why didn’t he run as much this year? Can Cam and Landon get back to full health? What about Lane? Even if he returns he’s closing in on retirement. What we saw last year was an historic run game and we can’t rely on that every year.

Appreciate you’ve said we need a healthy OL (or if not then better depth). So yeah I mean Howie has his work cut out there. A lot of teams don’t have 5 quality starters let alone back ups. With money going to the defense we have a dilemma there.

And this is the thing right… Mannion may be great but we just don’t know. And he’s not called plays in the NFL (something we’ve suffered with last year and in 2023) so it’s a real gamble there.

Thanks man ... appreciate the kind words. Regarding Jalen running ... I sure hope he isn't purposely trying to phase that aspect out of his game. Without it being a legitmiate threat it makes us much easier to defend against (and the only way for it to be a legitimate threat is if it is used regularly). He doesn't need to take a pounding in the process ... be smart and get down before contact (it does seem like he is doing that more recently).

And the more I think about the OL, I think maybe it would be best to have a shift in philosophy with how we pay those guys. Maybe it is best if we only pay the OTs but perhaps the interior OL should be replaced by young, cheaper draft picks every 4 years rather than dishing out big $ to them on 2nd contracts. I know Kelce could be used as an argument against that idea but he was most definitely an exception (to play that long and stay as healthy as he did for most of his career).

On 2/4/2026 at 11:59 AM, time2rock said:

Thanks man ... appreciate the kind words. Regarding Jalen running ... I sure hope he isn't purposely trying to phase that aspect out of his game. Without it being a legitmiate threat it makes us much easier to defend against (and the only way for it to be a legitimate threat is if it is used regularly). He doesn't need to take a pounding in the process ... be smart and get down before contact (it does seem like he is doing that more recently).

And the more I think about the OL, I think maybe it would be best to have a shift in philosophy with how we pay those guys. Maybe it is best if we only pay the OTs but perhaps the interior OL should be replaced by young, cheaper draft picks every 4 years rather than dishing out big $ to them on 2nd contracts. I know Kelce could be used as an argument against that idea but he was most definitely an exception (to play that long and stay as healthy as he did for most of his career).

I know we have our debates but I always feel you are very respectful and our debates are considered. But enough of the niceness… You are wrong.

Jalen can’t become a pure pocket passer in my opinion. He’s not a good enough passer, don’t use enough of the field and can’t regularly make all the throws. He’s dual threat and that’s what has made him successful so he needs to get back to thatto. The worry is he’s getting older and perhaps a bit like Wilson will drop off at a slightly younger age?

45 minutes ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I know we have our debates but I always feel you are very respectful and our debates are considered. But enough of the niceness… You are wrong.

Jalen can’t become a pure pocket passer in my opinion. He’s not a good enough passer, don’t use enough of the field and can’t regularly make all the throws. He’s dual threat and that’s what has made him successful so he needs to get back to thatto. The worry is he’s getting older and perhaps a bit like Wilson will drop off at a slightly younger age?

Not sure what I included in the previous reply that made you think I want Jalen to become a pure pocket passer. In fact I have the exact opposite stand ... I WANT him to run more (just be smart about it).

1 hour ago, time2rock said:

Not sure what I included in the previous reply that made you think I want Jalen to become a pure pocket passer. In fact I have the exact opposite stand ... I WANT him to run more (just be smart about it).

Sorry bud my reply was worded badly. I wasn’t trying to imply that’s what you were saying. I was agreeing that he can’t be a pure pocket passer and if he thinks he can we are in trouble.

On 2/5/2026 at 9:55 AM, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

perhaps a bit like Wilson will drop off at a slightly younger age?

That's what I expect to happen. He'll never be a Drew Breese or Joe Burrow passer I don't think. He did better last year when he did run to not give the D a good shot at him. Take what's there and slide.

On 2/7/2026 at 4:50 PM, eglz1 said:

That's what I expect to happen. He'll never be a Drew Breese or Joe Burrow passer I don't think. He did better last year when he did run to not give the D a good shot at him. Take what's there and slide.

I don’t think he’s a reckless runner to be fair. Like you say I think he does take what the defense gives him and gets down or out of bounds. The problem he’s going to have is that he’s going to lose some of that athleticism as he gets older that makes him a less reliable runner and less of a threat.

4 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I don’t think he’s a reckless runner to be fair. Like you say I think he does take what the defense gives him and gets down or out of bounds. The problem he’s going to have is that he’s going to lose some of that athleticism as he gets older that makes him a less reliable runner and less of a threat.

I think it was 2022 he was running like he thought he was a power back. No matter how strong he is that was going to wear on him. He got smarter.

1 hour ago, eglz1 said:

I think it was 2022 he was running like he thought he was a power back. No matter how strong he is that was going to wear on him. He got smarter.

Yeah I seem to remember him lowering his shoulder in to players and trying to run over guys. Or taking big hits as he reached for the end zone or for a first down. He definitely got smarter after that.