Tag: Sirianni

Dec 29, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) walks from the tunnel for a game against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Eagles undecided on Saquon Barkley’s record pursuit

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The status of Saquon Barkley’s pursuit of the NFL single-season rushing record remains up in the air.

Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said during his weekly radio show with 94WIP on Tuesday that he will meet with players and team brass before deciding whether Barkley will play in Sunday’s regular season finale against his old team, the New York Giants, at Lincoln Financial Field.

The NFC East champion Eagles (13-3) are locked into the No. 2 playoff seed in the NFC, turning the contest against the Giants (3-13) into an ideal opportunity to rest their starters for the postseason.

Barkley, 27, needs 101 yards to break Eric Dickerson’s hallowed mark of 2,105 yards set during a 16-game season in 1984. Barkley has rushed for at least 101 yards in 11 games this season, including Sunday’s 41-7 rout of the Dallas Cowboys when his 167 yards made him the ninth player in NFL history to reach 2,000.

“I’ll talk to our staff, I’ll talk to the players, I’ll talk to (general manager) Howie (Roseman), I’ll talk to (owner) Mr. (Jeffrey) Lurie. I’ll talk to everybody to try and make sure that I’m making the best decision for the football team,” Sirianni said Tuesday.

Sirianni’s next media availability is Wednesday, when he is expected to announce the playing status for Barkley as well as quarterback Jalen Hurts (concussion protocol) and other starters.

There is a precedent for playing Barkley. In the Eagles’ 2021 season finale against Dallas, Sirianni rested several key players but gave wideout DeVonta Smith a chance to break the franchise’s rookie receiving record held by DeSean Jackson. Smith had 41 yards to finish with 916, topping Jackson’s 2018 total of 912.

“If you think back a couple of years ago to 2021, Smitty was going for the rookie receiver record. Everybody else was resting, but we wanted for everyone else — whatever it was — we didn’t play some other guys in that game, but we went and got him that record,” Sirianni said. “Every situation is a little different. Not saying one way or the other or how that’s going to play out or even that I made a decision yet.”

Barkley told reporters on Sunday that he will respect Sirianni’s wishes.

“Whatever his decision is, I’m all for it,” Barkley said. “If his mindset is, we’ll go out there and try it, I’ll go out there and try it. If his mindset is, let’s rest and get ready for this run, I’m all for that, too … I came here to do something special. Breaking a record is special, but I want a banner up there. I think we all do.”

In his first season with the Eagles, Barkley leads the NFL in rushing attempts (345), rushing yards (2,005) and yards from scrimmage (2,283).

–Field Level Media

Sep 29, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Nick Sirianni sorry for jawing with Eagles fans

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Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni changed course Monday and apologized for getting into it with a group of fans as his team finished off a win over the visiting Cleveland Browns.

The Eagles had trouble pulling away from the woeful Browns, and fans were heard booing the team and chanting “Fire Nick” at certain points of the game.

As Philadelphia (3-2) ran out the clock on a 20-16 victory over Cleveland (1-5), the FOX broadcast caught Sirianni walking in the direction of the stands. With a smile, he was yelling and pointing to one ear, as if to say he couldn’t hear them booing anymore.

Sirianni said postgame that he was “having fun” and “just excited to get the win.” He sang a different tune Monday during a conference call with reporters.

“I was trying to bring energy and enthusiasm (Sunday), and I’m sorry and disappointed at how my energy was directed at the end of the game,” Sirianni said. “My energy should be all-in on coaching, motivating and celebrating with our guys. And I’ve got to have better wisdom and discernment of when to use that energy and that wasn’t the time.”

Sirianni, who has interacted with opposing fans at road games before, said football is an emotional game but he needs to check himself in certain situations.

“I don’t think there’s a playbook for that, but I think at the end of the day it is OK if you want to be passionate and have energy just like I did in there today with the guys, you know, when we watch film together, but again it’s having that discernment of when to do that,” he said.

Philadelphia sports fans have a reputation for being particularly boisterous and quick to boo. Sirianni, 43, is in his fourth season on the job and has taken the Eagles to the playoffs in each of his first three years, including a Super Bowl appearance, but the team is just 4-8 in its past 12 games (regular season and playoffs) after a 10-1 start to last season.

“We have the best fans in the world,” Sirianni said. “There’s no place like this.”

–Field Level Media

Sep 16, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) talks with head coach Nick Sirianni during a timeout in the first quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni not second-guessing FG decision despite one-point loss

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Head coach Nick Sirianni and the Eagles put themselves in a position similar to the Week 1 win over Green Bay as the final minutes played out against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday.

Sirianni already knew what he was going to do based on an analytics study he led the team through entering the season. The Eagles kicked a field goal to go up six and wound up losing by one when Kirk Cousins drove the Falcons 70 yards in six plays for the 22-21 win.

“Is every decision I make going to be successful? No,” he told reporters Wednesday. “I’m responsible for all of it.”

The Eagles beat the Packers 34-29 in Brazil in Week 1. With a five-point lead entering the fourth quarter, the Eagles tacked on two field goals in the fourth quarter and held on as Green Bay had a last-gasp chance in the final minute.

Sirianni knew the situation would come up again, but it’s one he studied closely with an internal league review of similar situations and analytics analysis.

“I asked (our staff) for every time it was 1 point to 5 points the team was up,” Sirianni said of reviewing late-game situations around the league.

“I come back and I re-evaluate it (after Week 2), right, and I’m even more convicted, to be quite honest with you, because of just everything that goes into that … As an offensive coach, there’s a stress having to have to score a touchdown when you’re giving the ball back to a team… There’s a different stress being down six as opposed to being down three.

“This game always comes down to players and plays. That’s where your confidence is coming from in going for that. We’ve went for it more in our plus territory than anybody else.”

Sirianni cited two home wins against the Cowboys in 2022 and 2023 and the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers two years ago when the team converted a 4th-and-3.

In the regular season, the Eagles are 3-for-4 on fourth down this season, and went 19-of-26 in 2023 and 22-of-32 in 2022.

On Monday, Sirianni said he referenced his trusted “chart” for guidance on what to do in the late-game situation — attempt a field goal or go for a first down — and it read “kick it.”

Atlanta’s defensive look with pressure up the middle on second down prompted the Eagles to go outside on third down. On 3rd-and-3 with the Eagles leading 18-15 from the Atlanta 10-yard line and 1:46 on the game clock, three yards ends the game. The Falcons were out of timeouts. Rather than run the ball, quarterback Jalen Hurts attempted a pass to Saquan Barkley. He bobbled and dropped the pass, stopping the clock, and Sirianni went for the field goal.

“Be ready, be willing to pass it,” Sirianni said. “We’ve done it and we’ve won games that way. We’ve also lost being too conservative.”

–Field Level Media

Toledo Rockets cornerback Quinyon Mitchell poses with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected by the Philadelphia Eagles as the No. 22 pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Eagles’ inside intel aided selection of Toledo CB in first round

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Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni made a call no other NFL coach or general manager could before the final decision was made to select Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell in the first round Thursday night.

Sirianni called his old college roommate Jason Candle and soon knew his pairing with Mitchell was a perfect match.

“Their personality match is perfect,” Candle, the head coach at Toledo who maintains a close bond with Sirianni years after they roomed together at Mount Union, said Friday of the Eagles drafting Mitchell.

What some in the NFL viewed as a risk because of his small-school production in the MAC (Mid-American Conference), the Eagles viewed as a decided edge. Sirianni knows the small-school, prove-it mentality when he sees it, and Mitchell starred in every phase of the pre-draft process. He was the best player on the field at the Senior Bowl by their estimation, then ran in the 4.3s at the NFL Scouting Combine and smashed position drills and private meetings.

Candle was able to ease some of those concerns for Philadelphia, telling Sirianni how Mitchell turned down Power 5 options — including Alabama, Georgia and Florida State — to stay with the Rockets four years and all about how he sees Sirianni’s personality and competitive mentality in Mitchell in everything from team meetings to pickup basketball games.

The game tape and production — 45 pass break-ups the past two seasons — spoke for itself.

“We think we have an extremely talented, hard-working outside corner,” Eagles president Howie Roseman said. “He’s got the right mentality, all the tools in his body. He had a great process. He had a chance to transfer out of Toledo; he stayed there and came back. He got better, he went to the Senior Bowl, and he checked all the offseason process boxes one by one, which is important.”

Mitchell walks into a loaded secondary with James Bradberry and Darius Slay at cornerback and 2023 draft pick Kelee Ringo, Josh Jobe and Eli Ricks are in the running for more time this season.

“He’s got a lot to prove as a small-school player. The MAC isn’t the National Football League. We understand that … so to take a player like this, he has to be special. We think he is a special person,” Roseman said.

–Field Level Media

Dec 25, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni (L) and quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson (R) talk during the second quarter against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Eagles planning ‘aggressive’ approach to free agency

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INDIANAPOLIS — Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman plans on “aggressively” pursuing free agents who can help erase the sting of last season’s second-half collapse.

“The end of the season didn’t go how we wanted it to,” he said at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday. “I don’t know that I think about it other than how do we improve, how do we get better as quickly as we can.”

One way to do so is by “aggressively going after” veterans on the market, he said, which presumably includes many of the Eagles’ own 20 pending free agents.

Philadelphia has $27.4 million in salary cap space to work with to help fix a team that lost six of its last seven games in 2023, including a wild-card playoff loss at Tampa Bay.

“The standard is trying to compete for world championships,” said Roseman, 48, who helped build the team that won Super Bowl LII and fell just short in Super Bowl LVII.

Roseman reflected on losing several key defensive players from that 2022 Super Bowl team in free agency last year, including defensive tackle Javon Hargrave and safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

“Looking back, we certainly missed some of those guys and that starts with me and making those decisions,” Roseman said.

In addition to preparing for April’s draft, where the Eagles have the 22nd pick in the first round, Roseman said that his offseason to-do list includes a potential contract extension for wide receiver DeVonta Smith and waiting to hear whether two veteran anchors — center Jason Kelce and defensive tackle Fletcher Cox –decide to return for another season.

Entering a quarterback-heavy draft, head coach Nick Sirianni said the Eagles have not lost faith in signal-caller Jalen Hurts or his leadership ability despite the second-half slide.

“Everyone has to lead their own way. Jalen has special qualities that people will follow and will want to follow,” he said. “He’s gotta do what he needs to do to lead in that way. Some people’s leadership style is loud and aggressive, some people’s leadership style is by example, and some is a mixture of both. And so Jalen needs to lead how he needs to lead.”

Hurts will be working with new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who replaces Brian Johnson. Vic Fangio is the new defensive coordinator tasked with improving a unit that ranked 30th in scoring defense and 31st against the pass last season.

–Field Level Media

Nov 2, 2023; Frankfurt, Germany; Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio during practice at the PSD Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Going green: Eagles to hand defense to Vic Fangio

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One day after ending his one-year run as defensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins, Vic Fangio is taking over the Eagles’ defense, according to multiple reports Thursday.

Fangio and head coach Mike McDaniel said a mutual parting in Miami was agreed to Wednesday, not long before Nick Sirianni was asked at his season-ending press conference about bringing the 65-year-old to Philadelphia.

Fangio has been a defensive coordinator in the NFL for 20 seasons and was head coach of the Denver Broncos (2019-21). When he was fired by the Broncos, Fangio didn’t immediately take another full-time role but served as a consultant for the Eagles during their run to the NFC Championship in 2022.

He discussed the coordinator job with Sirianni last year but was hired by the Dolphins when Miami made him the highest-paid coordinator in the NFL.

Philadelphia is hiring a third defensive coordinator in three seasons.

Jonathan Gannon was hired as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals after the Eagles’ Super Bowl run and Sean Desai held the role most of last season before being demoted in favor of Matt Patricia, former New England Patriots defensive coordinator and Detroit Lions head coach. Neither is returning to the Eagles in 2024.

Fangio’s defense in Miami was ravaged by injuries and was No. 22 in total defense and points allowed last season.

He was also the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts and Carolina Panthers stretching back to the mid-1990s.

–Field Level Media

Dec 25, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni (L) and quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson (R) talk during the second quarter against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

‘Hungry’ Nick Sirianni stays, Eagles boot coordinators for ‘new ideas’

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Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni sticks around for a fourth year as head coach in Philadelphia but is spending the playoffs interviewing for the newly vacant coordinator roles on his staff.

“I’m just hungry to prove myself again to (owner Jeffrey) Lurie and the faith he’s had in me,” Sirianni said Wednesday.

Sirianni and team president Howie Roseman, who helped hire Sirianni from the Colts in 2021, confirmed offensive coordinator Brian Johnson and defensive coordinator Sean Desai were fired at a season-ending press conference. The reigning NFC champions ended the season on a 1-6 skid, capped by a 32-9 playoff defeat at Tampa Bay.

“I just think right now we just need to bring some new ideas from the outside,” Sirianni said. “We need to bring a guy in with new ideas that’s not part of this family of coaches. I think that an important thing or even if it is from one of the coaches that have been somewhere else — it can be any of that. So, that’s important and because that’s important you are making sure you always evolve.”

The Eagles started the season 10-1 and were in position to fight the San Francisco 49ers for the top seed in the NFC. Until the wheels fell off.

Johnson came under fire as Hurts’ performance dipped in the second half of the season, but Sirianni said there was plenty of blame to go around.

“We did what we thought was best at the time,” Sirianni said. “I can’t say enough good things about Brian, though. He’s a great football coach. He’s going to have another opportunity to lead an offense, and I will miss him. Some of the things that we want to do as a team is grow in a lot of different areas.

“It’s about coming up with fresh ideas and doing some things different, and that’s exactly where we are right now. Brian being at that position, unfortunately, he’s the one that’s leaving at this particular time. But I can’t say how much I appreciate him as a coach. We’ve had a lot of success here in the past three years and Brian’s contributed a lot to that. … Just wanted to bring in some fresh ideas, and that’s where we are with that.”

Sirianni believes cleaning the slate by refreshing his coaching staff also eliminates the notion of a “stale offense” or scheme.

“It’s just about putting the players in the best positions to succeed but doing things differently at times, too,” Sirianni said as the Eagles search for a third coordinator in three seasons.

“There’s going to be things for whoever the new coordinator is that there’s going to be things that they bring that are going to be fresh ideas for us to help out players grow and help our players play at the top level. There’s been some things that we’ve done well that our offense has done in the past that you’ll mesh in some of that together as well. I think with some of the success that we’ve had these last three years and our guys do well. I’m excited about that.”

–Field Level Media

Jan 15, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni stands on the sidelines during warm ups before a 2024 NFC wild card game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports

Reports: Eagles owner, coach Nick Sirianni to meet Friday

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Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and head coach Nick Sirianni are scheduled for their annual exit interview on Friday, according to multiple reports.

Sirianni, 34-17 in the regular season with the Eagles, will be asked to pitch Lurie on keeping his job, according to multiple reports, with anticipated mandates for changes at both coordinator positions.

Philadelphia’s season went up in flames with losses in six of the final seven games, the last of which was a lopsided 32-9 defeat at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC wild-card round Monday night.

Super Bowl runners-up last season, the Eagles were in the driver’s seat in the NFC and controlled the East division in mid-November. While the end result of 11 victories in 2023 signal a successful season for most, the unraveling in Philadelphia could prompt a harsh review from Lurie and team president Howie Roseman.

A peek in the rearview mirror offers a glimpse at Lurie’s mindset on such matters.

He made what he called a “tough, but unemotional decision” to fire Doug Pederson at the end of the 2020 season because he felt the future was brighter with a fresh start. He followed a similar instinct parting with Andy Reid in 2012 while describing the move as “extremely difficult” because of their close personal relationship.

“My first allegiance is what will be best for the Philadelphia Eagles and our fans for the next three, four, five years,” Lurie said shortly after firing Pederson. “It’s not based on does someone deserve to hold their job or deserve to get fired; that’s a different bar. Very few people probably after success deserve to lose their job. This is much more about the evaluation of whether the Eagles, moving forward, our best option is to have a new coach.”

Players lined up to go to bat for Sirianni on Wednesday.

Defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, who played for Reid and Pederson with the Eagles, passionately endorsed Sirianni in a heated exchange with media gathered around his locker.

Cox, who said he hadn’t decided whether to play another season, didn’t hesitate when asked whether Sirianni should be back in 2024.

“What is there to talk about? This man is a winner,” Cox said Wednesday. “He’s a winner head coach. Did we have some bumps this year? Yeah. But every team … goes through it.

“But we don’t look at firing a man who has won 10-plus games two years in a row … (made the playoffs) three years in a row. Have some respect. He’s a good leader for this team, and he does a really good job. Did we come up short? Yeah. Did things happen this year? Yeah.”

The Eagles lost five of their final six regular-season games, tumbling from possible No. 1 seed in the NFC to hitting the road for the postseason as a wild-card.

Sirianni said after the game he wasn’t thinking about his future, and players said Wednesday that job status and returning next season wasn’t discussed in a team meeting before they were dismissed to start the offseason.

“Think Nick’s a great coach, great head coach,” center Jason Kelce said. “Obviously nobody was good enough this year. I wasn’t, none of the players, none of the coaches were good enough down the stretch. That’s the reality of this business. It’s a collective thing.

“He does a lot of things structurally and organizationally that I think are really well done. Obviously we’ve got a lot of things to fix to improve the outlook of the offense in general, from my perspective, for next year, but I think very, very highly of Nick Sirianni.”

Kelce, who was drafted during Reid’s tenure and won a Super Bowl under Pederson, said reports of his retirement are premature, and he remains undecided about his NFL future.

–Field Level Media

Philadelphia Eagles' head coach Nick Sirianni, left, speaks with Eagles' defensive tackle Fletcher Cox during an Eagles practice held at the NovaCare Complex in Philadelphia on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023. The Philadelphia Eagles will play the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII in Arizona on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023. Philadelphia Eagles Prepare For The Super Bowl 12

Players endorse Eagles coach Nick Sirianni

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Super Bowl runner-up last season and 11 victories in 2023 are enough for Fletcher Cox to passionately endorse the Eagles bringing back head coach Nick Sirianni.

Cox, who said he hadn’t decided whether to play another season, didn’t hesitate when asked whether Sirianni should be back in 2024.

“What is there to talk about? This man is a winner,” Cox said Wednesday. “He’s a winner head coach. Did we have some bumps this year? Yeah. But every team … goes through it.

“But we don’t look at firing a man who has won 10-plus games two years in a row … (made the playoffs) three years in a row. Have some respect. He’s a good leader for this team, and he does a really good job. Did we come up short? Yeah. Did things happen this year? Yeah.”

The Eagles lost five of their final six regular-season games and then dropped a 32-9 decision in the NFC wild-card round Monday at Tampa Bay.

Siranni said after the game he wasn’t thinking about his future, in question despite a 34-17 regular-season record, because of the end-of-season nosedive and poor showing against the Buccaneers.

Players in the locker room were speaking out on his behalf two days later.

“Think Nick’s a great coach, great head coach,” center Jason Kelce said. “Obviously nobody was good enough this year. I wasn’t, none of the players, none of the coaches were good enough down the stretch. That’s the reality of this business. It’s a collective thing.

“He does a lot of things structurally and organizationally that I think are really well done. Obviously we’ve got a lot of things to fix to improve the outlook of the offense in general, from my perspective, for next year, but I think very, very highly of Nick Sirianni.”

Kelce said reports of his retirement are premature, and he remains undecided about his NFL future.

–Field Level Media

Feb 12, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, US; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni walks on the field before Super Bowl LVII against the Kansas City Chiefs at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Reports: Eagles expected to promote Brian Johnson to OC

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The Philadelphia Eagles are expected to promote quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson to offensive coordinator to replace Shane Steichen, according to multiple reports.

Steichen was named head coach of the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday.

The Eagles also are considering passing game coordinator Kevin Patullo, who could also follow Steichen to the Colts. Former Colts OC Marcus Brady, fired before head coach Frank Reich this past season, is also on Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni’s staff.

But Johnson, who has received multiple requests to interview for OC positions with other teams, seems to be the natural heir apparent to Steichen. ESPN called Johnson one of the most sought-after assistants in the NFL.

“He’s going to be a star one day,” Eagles QB Jalen Hurts said of Johnson ahead of the Super Bowl. “I have no doubt in my mind.”

Johnson, 35, has known Hurts and his family since he was 4 years old.

Johnson completed his second season with the Eagles after a stint at OC with the Florida Gators in 2020. Johnson has also been QBs coach/OC collegiately at Houston (2018) and Utah (2012-13).

–Field Level Media