Nick Sirianni’s future is in doubt. The Eagles are at a crossroads. And Jeffrey Lurie faces the biggest choice of his tenure.
If Lurie fires Sirianni, he doesn't just have to find a new head coach. He has to make a decision about the Eagles' entire approach and philosophy as a franchise.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni at the start of the second quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, absorbing a beating.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
TAMPA, Fla. — Nick Sirianni jogged off the Eagles’ sideline late Monday night, into the Eagles’ locker room, and into a future in which he may or may not be the Eagles’ head coach next season. Or even next week. No one would have imagined such a scenario seven weeks ago. Now it’s all anyone can think about when it comes to what happened to this team and what happens next for it. It is dizzying that the Eagles have reached this point so quickly, but there promises to be nothing quick or basic about the choice that Jeffrey Lurie faces now.
In the wake of the 32-9 loss to the Buccaneers, in the aftermath of a breathtaking collapse capped in the NFC wild-card round, Lurie has to make a decision about the direction and philosophy of the Eagles’ entire approach to building another Super Bowl team. This is as big as a deal gets. This will be as significant a call as he’s ever made since purchasing the franchise in 1994. No, nothing is simple about this situation at all.
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Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter walks off the field after the game. Eagles lose 32-9 to the Buccaneers in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fl. on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Justyn Caches, center, and Mike Ott at right both from south Jersey, at Xfinity Live watching the Eagles lose to Tampa Bay.Read moreSteven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
Eagles center Jason Kelce walks off the field after the Eagles lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Wild Card playoff game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on Monday, January 15, 2024.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts walks off the field after a turnover on downs with 3:12 left in the fourth quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa , Fla. on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Wilson Fraticelli, of Philadelphia, reacts to watching the Eagles at Xfinity Live lose to Tampa Bay.Read moreSteven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is sacked by Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Greg Gaines with five minutes left in the fourth quarter.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni watches the Eagles go for it unsuccessfully on fourth down, in the fourth quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Darius Slay is in a lot of pain as he is carted off the field during the fourth quarter against the Tampa Bay BuccaneersRead moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa , Fla. on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles fan with a “Fire Sirianni” sign in the third quarter as the Philadelphia Eagles play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts talks to the officials ruling if the play was intentional grounding in the third quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Trey Palmer scores in the third quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-9 lead.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Anthony Nelson pulls down Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in the end zone in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. Hurts was flagged for intentional grounding, causing a safety giving the Tampa Bay Buccaneers two points in the third quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Diane Knuckles, from Drexel Hill, reacts to watching the Eagles lose to Tampa Bay at Xfinity Live.Read moreSteven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles running back D'Andre Swift runs with the ball against Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams sacks Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts throws the football to teammate Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert past Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Shaquil Barrett during the third quarter.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles safety Kevin Byard tackles Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Rachaad White in the third quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith during a break in the third quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert was looking for a pass interference call on Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and got it in the third quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox celebrates a quarterback sack in the third quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts sacked by Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Calijah Kancey in the third quarter.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is pressured on third down against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles running back D'Andre Swift runs in the first play of the third quarter with a loss of 1 yard.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield stiffarms Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham as he tries to tackle him in the second quarter in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa , Fla. on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox comes in to finish the tackle forcing Tampa Bay Buccaneers to punt the ball.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Rachaad White runs over Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Bradley Roby in the second quarter in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Tampa Bay Buccaneers push Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts back from a two-point conversion in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles fans Thomas Sprenger, sleeping and Cecilia Andiron both from south Jersey at Xfinity Live watching the Eagles Tampa Bay wild card playoff game during the second quarter.Read moreSteven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Julio Jones is walked after the field after a second-quarter injury while playing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert celebrates a touchdown with Philadelphia Eagles tight end Jack Stoll and Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson during the second quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert scores a second-quarter touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles running back D'Andre Swift gets taken down by Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end William Gholston (left) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (right).Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts with taped-up fingers in the second quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs. Hurts suffered a dislocated middle finger on this throwing hand during the game against the NY Giants in week 18.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles fan reacts after Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield runs for a big gain and picks a first down in the second quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts keeps the ball on a run with Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka giving chase.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts throws an incomplete pass by Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David in the second quarter.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith against Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Christian Izien during the second quarter.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts watches the end of the first quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa is up by 13, Eagles with 0.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat sacks Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield with 14:30 left in the second quarter.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver David Moore celebrates first quarter touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Fans at Xfinity Live watching the Eagles Tampa Bay wild card playoff game during the first quarter. Read moreSteven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton stiff arms Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nicholas Morrow as he picks up a big gain late in the first quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat sacks Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield at the start of the second quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Bradley Roby and Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry cannot bring down Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Rachaad White in the first quarter during the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs at Raymond James Stadium inTampa , Fla. on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton picked up a first down after being tackled by Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Avonte Maddox during the first quarter in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa , Fla. on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield scrambles in the first quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Be Love on the back of the helmet of Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Patrick Johnson for Martin Luther King Day seen before the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham cheers the team on as they enter the field before the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts warming up during pre-game before the Philadelphia Eagles play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa , Fla. on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith heads out to the field to warm up before facing the Buccaneers in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith warms up before facing the Buccaneers in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith warms up before facing the Buccaneers.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith meets with offensive coordinator Brian Johnson before the Eagles NFC Wild Card playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham arrives in street clothes before the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fl. Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
If you weren’t spending halftime Monday night wondering why the Eagles — with A.J. Brown out of the lineup, with Jalen Hurts playing through a dislocated finger, with a defense better suited for a flag-football league — wouldn’t run the ball more often, you might have noticed that a juicy tidbit of NFL news broke. The Atlanta Falcons confirmed that they had interviewed Bill Belichick for their vacant head coaching job. With that revelation, the clock started ticking on Lurie to weigh the crucial question here. OK, assume he fires Sirianni and commences with a complete overhaul of the coaching staff. What then?
Lurie is famous for favoring a collaborative approach to team-building; that is, he and executive vice president Howie Roseman want to make sure their head coach is in sync with their thinking. Everything has to be seamless from one level to the next, and when it isn’t, Lurie acts to smooth everything over. Chip Kelly wanted more power, got it, and managed only to annoy and infuriate everyone to the point that Lurie couldn’t wait until Kelly’s third season was finished to get rid of him. Doug Pederson won a Super Bowl and believed that victory had earned him more say-so over who would be on his coaching staff and who would not. Lurie didn’t wait all that long to disavow him of that notion.
But the resumes of the available coaching candidates this hiring cycle threaten to force Lurie to reconsider that approach, if not abandon it altogether. Belichick, Jim Harbaugh, Mike Vrabel, Pete Carroll: These are not go-along-to-get-along leaders. Given the number of big-name and high-quality candidates available, Lurie has to determine how much power he’s willing to cede to a new hire. He has long admired Belichick and Robert Kraft and tried to emulate the Patriots’ two decades of dominance. Would he be willing to bring in Belichick and have him do things his way? True, Belichick told reporters last week, before his parting from the Patriots became official, that he was open to relinquishing his player-personnel responsibilities. Let’s be honest here, though: Once Belichick becomes a head coach, anywhere he becomes a head coach, the team becomes his, and the dynamic wouldn’t be much different with Harbaugh, Carroll, or Vrabel.
For Lurie to hand one of those coaches that much control, he would likely have to demote Roseman or at least strip him of some of his authority. Such upheaval would not be unprecedented for Lurie, of course. When he promoted Kelly in 2015, he exiled Roseman, and don’t forget: Back in 2012, Lurie pushed out his best friend, Joe Banner, as team president. But neither Banner in ‘12 nor Roseman in ‘15 had constructed a roster that won a championship. Roseman has since done it. Quieting his voice within the organization to any degree would be a stunning move, and here’s the other question: Would it make the Eagles better in either the short term or the long run?
Take Belichick. He is the greatest pro coach of all, but he did not leave the Patriots voluntarily. If he had his way, he would still be coaching them. If he had been coaching them well over the last several seasons — well enough to exceed expectations, at least — he would still be coaching them. He turns 72 in April. Is it reasonable to think that starting over with the Eagles will bring the best out of him? And if Lurie wants to keep Roseman in charge and doesn’t want to change, at its core, the Eagles’ culture, if he prefers to give Sirianni another chance or hire a relatively inexperienced candidate — as he did with Pederson, as he did with Sirianni — how will he justify that course of action when so many accomplished coaches were there for the taking?
This is a hell of a conundrum for Lurie. No one will be shocked if Sirianni is gone soon. This ending — the six losses in seven games, a postseason blowout to a mediocre opponent, the incompetence and embarrassment building like a wave — was that bad. The problems were that obvious. What isn’t obvious is what comes next, what Jeffrey Lurie will do to try to fix a franchise at a crossroads.
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