Eagles news: Landon Dickerson expects to play; Super Bowl jerseys revealed; Birds coach gets second interview

Jalen Hurts had this to say after the game Sunday about Sirianni: “I guess he let me out of my straitjacket a little bit today.”

Hurts was asked to follow up on that comment but elected to answer a different question rather than go down that path.

Asked about it Tuesday, Sirianni smiled and said: “I think he was having fun after the game. We’ve been winning a couple different ways this year. I think he was just having fun after the game.”

Shawn Hochuli raised a few eyebrows Sunday when he turned his microphone on and announced to the football-watching world that he was on the verge of awarding the Eagles points due to repeated offsides fouls from the Washington Commanders.

In Washington’s defense, the Tush Push has become virtually unstoppable, but the game has to go on at some point, right?

Right.

Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham has hinted at a possible Super Bowl return after suffering what was thought to be a season-ending injury earlier in the season.

So will he be able to play?

“We’ll see how that goes and plays out,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters Tuesday. “I can’t answer that question right now.”

The Eagles' win in the NFC championship game drew a massive TV audience. It just wasn’t quite as massive as last year.

Eagles-Commanders drew an average audience of 44.2 million viewers, according to Sports Business Journal’s Austin Karp. That’s a big number, but down over 28% from the 56.7 million viewers who tuned into last year’s NFC championship game on Fox between the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions.

It was the least-watched NFC championship game since 2019, when the Super Bowl between the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints drew 44.1 million viewers. Karp also notes that's before Nielsen began adding out-of-home numbers to its ratings.

The Eagles are heading back to the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons, bolstered by the acquisition of Saquon Barkley and a strong 2024 draft class led by defensive backs Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell. In fact, players over their last three draft classes have been significant difference makers for one of the most successful stretches in franchise history.

Although the Eagles are Super Bowl-bound, there are three positions that they could target in April’s NFL draft: defensive end, defensive tackle, and tight end, while possibly considering a replacement for 34-year-old right tackle Lane Johnson, even as he continues playing at an All-Pro level.

Tight end Dallas Goedert has been banged up over the last two seasons, but the Eagles might be out of range for the two top tight ends in this class: Penn State’s Tyler Warren and Michigan’s Colston Loveland. Meanwhile, the Eagles could lose defensive linemen Josh Sweat and Milton Williams to free agency, and the future of Brandon Graham looms as he nears retirement.

As Eagles Super Bowl frenzy continues to build across the region, a South Jersey school district is getting into the action by giving students a two-hour sleep in after the big game.

The Gloucester City school district has announced plans for a two-hour delayed opening on Feb. 10. The district says the game "is a rare and special time" for families to watch their hometown team compete against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.

"We feel that it's important to give students and staff the opportunity to enjoy the game with their families and still attend school and work the next day safely and well-rested," the district said in the announcement. "Go Birds."

Super Bowl host New Orleans is no stranger to thousands of out-of-town revelers descending upon the city and authorities there did not balk when asked if they’d be greasing their poles. They pointed out that an annual pole-greasing party hosted by a hotel in the French Quarter is how the city kicks off Mardi Gras.

Still, the Vaseline bucket is specific to the Royal Sonesta New Orleans on Bourbon Street and requires the public’s assistance — it’s treated as a competition to see who can do it best.

A New Orleans Police Department spokesperson did not say whether the city would go ahead and grease the city’s poles. The city is in the final stages of making a guide for Super Bowl visitors and more security details are scheduled to be made public Wednesday. Already, the NFL and federal law enforcement have vowed to ramp up security measures following a New Year’s Day attack on Bourbon Street that left 14 dead and dozens more injured.

With the Eagles headed to the Super Bowl, every Philly team is getting in on the action (except for the Sixers…).

Cooper DeJean and Sydney Brown were at the Wells Fargo Center for Monday’s Flyers win vs. the Devils, surely twisting the knife for Josh Harris. DeJean rode the Zamboni in between periods, to the delight of the crowd.

DeJean and Brown also got to meet Gritty.

Every time I think we’ve run out of words to describe Saquon Barkley, someone pulls another one out of the hat. This time, it was Darius Slay.

“We call him Black Jesus around here,” Slay said on The Richard Sherman Podcast.

Barkley’s looked elite every week of the playoffs, becoming the first Eagles running back to rush for 100 yards in three consecutive playoff games. He scored three rushing touchdowns against the Commanders, including a 60-yarder on the first offensive play of the game.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones introduced Brian Schottenheimer Monday and immediately threw his new head coach under the bus.

During a lengthy news conference, Jones fought back against critics questioning the decision to elevate Schottenheimer, who was on now-former head coach Mike McCarthy’s staff, to take over the franchise.

“This is as big a risk as you can take,” Jones said, apparently unaware of the pressure he was placing on Schottenheimer. “No head coaching experience.”

One thing about Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, he knows how to dial up a blitz. Spagnuolo started his NFL coaching career with the Eagles in 1999 and spent eight seasons learning under the late Jim Johnson. He adopted Johnson’s penchant for aggressive blitzes and continues to use a range of exotic pressure looks in his role with the Chiefs.

That approach has been a successful one for the Chiefs this season. In 2024, Kansas City blitzed at the fifth-highest rate in the league (35.6%) and excelled at creating free rushers, according to Next Gen Stats. The Chiefs generated a league-high 49 unblocked pressures on blitzes. In the AFC championship game against the Buffalo Bills, the Chiefs blitzed Josh Allen on 37.8% of his dropbacks, leading him to complete just eight of 16 attempts for 108 yards with a touchdown. He went 19-of-24 for 154 yards against four or fewer rushers.

All eyes are going to be on Jalen Hurts to see how he fares when Spagnuolo sends extra rushers in the Super Bowl. This isn’t Hurts’ first experience with Spagnuolo. The quarterback excelled against the blitz in Super Bowl LVII, going 13-of-18 for 101 yards, according to Pro Football Focus. But in his next meeting with the Chiefs in the 2023 regular season, Hurts faltered against extra rushers, completing 5 of 12 passing attempts for 83 yards and an interception.

As the Eagles prepare for their third Super Bowl appearance since 2018, Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, and the rest of the team will head to New Orleans for a 2023 Super Bowl rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs. Could Brandon Graham be among the players preparing for action?

On Sunday, a source told Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes that Graham, one of the heroes of the Eagles' lone Super Bowl win, was likely to come off injured reserve this week. On Monday, Graham talked a little more about whether or not he would make a return in time for the Super Bowl on his WIP show.

“Let me tell you this. We’re working one game at a time and one day at a time,” Graham said. “I ain’t heard nothing, man. All I know is I’m just excited to be here, excited for this team, excited for this moment. Because yesterday Broad Street was crazy and everybody is ready.”

Jonathan Gannon, part two?

The New Orleans Saints completed an in-person interview with Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore Monday night, the team announced.

The Super Bowl is being held in New Orleans, which could lead to a repeat of what happened in 2023.

Nick Sirianni is already arguably one of the best head coaches in Eagles franchise history. He has the Birds playing in their second Super Bowl in three years, and the Eagles have made the playoffs in each of the four years Sirianni has been the team's head coach.

So it's funny to think he was once fired by the coach he'll be opposing in New Orleans on Feb. 9.

Following the 2012 season, the Chiefs hired Andy Reid when he was fired by the Eagles. Once Reid got settled in with Kansas City, he cut Sirianni from his staff, replacing him with former Eagles wide receivers coach David Culley.