Nick Sirianni had a worse year than Kevin Patullo, Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, or anyone on the Eagles

Nick Sirianni had a very bad year.

He hired an overmatched offensive coordinator, watched his franchise quarterback regress, and did nothing to curtail the serial insubordination of A.J. Brown, then oversaw an offense that delivered the Eagles’ worst playoff loss in 22 years.

“At the end of the day, we didn’t do a good enough job,” Sirianni said, “and that starts with me.”

Yes, it does.

» READ MORE: Kevin Patullo’s offense wastes two Quinyon Mitchell interceptions in crushing Eagles playoff loss

How impotent was Sirianni?

For the last two seasons, Brown frequently has criticized the passing game both in person and on social media. This came to a head when Brown called the offensive issues a “[expletive]-show” on Nov. 11.

Later that week, owner Jeffrey Lurie had to step in and muzzle the wide receiver. At practice. In public.

Some folks consider Sirianni to be a brilliant coach. Really? Do you think Andy Reid or Bill Belichick would have needed Clark Hunt or Robert Kraft to come to practice to muzzle Tyreek Hill or Randy Moss?

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The enduring image of the offseason surely will be Sirianni, Patullo, and Hurts on the sideline during a timeout discussing the final play of the final drive on Sunday. As Patullo spoke to what appeared to be a befuddled and reluctant Hurts, Sirianni stood there, mostly silent, looking like a cross between a deer in headlights and a dog hearing a high-pitched whistle.

You know what he didn’t look like?

A confident head coach.

More and more, Sirianni seems less a coaching savant and more a dude who happens to be in the right place at the right time to take advantage of the best rosters in Eagles history.

Since Lurie’s admonishment to Brown, and in violation of league rules, Brown has boycotted the media. That included Sunday’s game and Monday’s locker clean-out. As he did so often this season, he left his teammates to clean up his mess.

» READ MORE: ‘It’s too soon to think about that’: Jalen Hurts puts off talking about Kevin Patullo’s future

It was unprofessional — but then, unprofessionalism always has been an issue during Sirianni’s five-year tenure. He sets that tone and creates that culture.

When the Eagles won in Kansas City in 2023, he taunted Chiefs fans as he walked up the tunnel.

When the Eagles beat the Browns at home in the middle of the 2024 season, Sirianni taunted Eagles fans as he left the field, then, incredibly, brought his three young children to what was certain to be a fractious postgame news conference.

Sirianni issued an apology after that incident, but, two weeks ago, after the Eagles won in Buffalo, Sirianni taunted Bills fans as he walked up the tunnel — a taunt that drew a side-eye eye roll from Brown, who was walking beside him.

On Sunday, he charged down the sideline to hurry Brown off the field, then had a few choice words for Brown, who barked back at him, then, a few moments later, tried to get after Sirianni again.

This ended the lost season nicely, considering it began when defensive tackle Jalen Carter, having walked toward the Cowboys huddle to taunt a young lineman, then spat on Dak Prescott and was ejected.

It’s hard to blame the players. After all, why should they be expected to control themselves if their coach can’t control himself?

Left tackle Jordan Mailata, the team’s de facto spokesman and often the adult in the room, was asked both at midseason and after Sunday’s loss about the Eagles’ biggest issue. Each time, his answer was the same:

“Focus.”

Another clear measurable of a lack of discipline: penalties.

In 2024, the Eagles committed 103 penalties for 793 yards, 37 of them pre-snap penalties. In 2025, they committed 117 penalties for 1,073 yards, 42 of them pre-snap calls. Those are increases of 14%, 35%, and 14%, respectively.

This is a team that was expected to defend a Super Bowl title.

This was a disaster.

Sirianni’s disaster.

That’s why it’s amazing how little culpability has fallen at Sirianni’s feet.

» READ MORE: Nakobe Dean and Jaelan Phillips want to be back with the Eagles, but one has a greater chance than the other

Granted, Patullo didn’t take advantage of his first OC opportunity … but, after losing at home to the Bears in Game 13, Sirianni inserted himself into the game-planning process. After Sirianni’s insertion, the Eagles played three playoff teams. They averaged just 17 points.

Hurts, mired in self-preservation mode, ran the ball 33% less often this season than his previous three seasons and scored only eight rushing touchdowns after averaging 14 the three previous seasons. Patullo makes the calls, but the buck stops with Nick.

Brown dropped two passes in Sunday’s wild-card loss to the visiting 49ers and, during the regular season, too often seemed … indifferent? Disengaged?

“I have a special relationship with him,” Sirianni said after Sunday’s dustup.

If that’s true, then Sirianni needed to mobilize that connection, because Brown just had the worst of his four seasons as an Eagle.

There were other issues.

Saquon Barkley’s rushing total dropped from 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns to 1,140 yards (865 fewer yards), and seven touchdowns (six fewer scores). For context, only 21 backs gained at least 865 yards this season and/or scored more than six touchdowns.

The offensive line regressed, and while injuries to Lane Johnson, Landon Dickerson, and Cam Jurgens limited their performance and availability, the performance of their backups left much to be desired.

At any rate, now that it’s over and the distractions have faded, we can better assess Sirianni’s role in the lost season of 2025. The football world will zoom out to the “30,000-foot view,” as Sirianni likes to call his CEO style of coaching.

What they see will not be pretty.

None of this is irredeemable. Sirianni is still a newish head coach, only five years in, and, at 44, he’s a relatively young man.

It’s the first time he’s been in a situation dealing with overpaid divas who won him a Super Bowl.

Maybe, if he’s in this situation again, he’ll act the way a head coach should act.

With backbone.

And conviction.

» READ MORE: What now for Kevin Patullo, A.J. Brown after the Eagles offense went belly-up again in the playoff loss to the 49ers?

Listen to the latest episode

The Eagles have a solid stash of draft picks (8) and, for a team just one season removed from winning the Super Bowl, a lot of positions that need to be addressed. Several elite members of the offensive line could be on the verge of retirement, while the wide receiver corps appears destined to lose a dynamic member. After bolstering the defense in the early rounds of the draft in recent years, will general manager Howie Roseman pivot this spring? The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Devin Jackson combine their reporting and analysis to forecast how the Eagles might attack the 2026 NFL Draft, which gets underway Thursday in Pittsburgh. Listen here.

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