Goodbye, Desai | Sports Daily Newsletter

The Eagles might be sticking with Nick Sirianni as their head coach. We can make that guess after the team fired defensive coordinator Sean Desai on Sunday. NFL sources told The Inquirer that Sirianni did the firing.

The handwriting was on the wall for Desai, who was replaced by Matt Patricia as the defensive play-caller after a Week 14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. When NFL teams struggle and opt to give their head coach one last chance, they typically dismiss coordinators and assistant coaches in an effort to shake things up.

After a seven-game, six-loss flameout, the Eagles qualify as struggling. So Desai is gone after less than one season in charge of the defense. Patricia is no longer under contract and plans to be coaching elsewhere.

Offensive coordinator Brian Johnson is interviewing for head coaching openings, so the Eagles will steer clear of addressing his situation for now. Sirianni himself? The guess here is that he stays, but we’ll find out for sure soon enough.

— Jim Swan, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

❓ Should Nick Sirianni be back? Why or why not? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

Anyone who thinks Jalen Hurts wasn’t a problem for the Eagles down the stretch should go back and cue up the tape of last year’s Super Bowl, David Murphy writes. The QB did not look like the same dynamic player this season. Hurts wasn’t the only issue. He wasn’t the most glaring issue. But he was an issue. And when the quarterback is an issue, he is, de facto, the biggest issue.

It’s never too early in the mourning period for Eagles fans to look at a mock draft, right? So here’s the first.

The NBA trade deadline is right around the corner. And while the 76ers are flush with picks and tradable assets, they’ve watched as a few of their targets came off the board. But that doesn’t mean they couldn’t have something up their sleeve as the calendar flips to February. In fact, The Inquirer’s Keith Pompey pointed to a player they could chase: Dejounte Murray. The Hawks reportedly want two first-round picks and a player of value included in a package for Murray.

Next: The Sixers take the court Monday against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs. (7 p.m., NBCSP).

John Tortorella was not a happy camper Sunday after the Flyers dropped a 5-3 decision to an Ottawa Senators team that resides near the bottom of the Eastern Conference. “There’s not many positives in my mind right now after losing a game like that,” he said. “Wasn’t a good game.”

Our Jackie Spiegel found some positives and negatives for the Flyers in the game. Egor Zamula happened to be both.

The Flyers are listing winger Owen Tippett as day to day with a lower-body injury.

Next: The Flyers host the Tampa Bay Lightning at 7 p.m. Tuesday (NBCSP).

A broken leg suffered during a pickup game sidetracked Collin Gillespie before his NBA career even began. The former Archbishop Wood and Villanova star has recovered and is trying to make an impact with the Denver Nuggets.

“I can’t say enough great things about Collin,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone says. “The journey he’s been on, to get through everything he’s gone through and to go out there and play and play the way he did … you root for kids like that.”

Jan. 22, 2006: Kobe Bryant scored 81 points, the second-highest total in NBA history, as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Toronto Raptors 122-104.

We asked you: Who is the most overrated coach or manager in Philly sports history and why? Among your responses:

The present Eagles coach who parades up and down the sideline, letting his coordinators send in dumb analytics that do not match the talent on the field and leads to blowing the 2024 season. — Thomas R.

Roy Rubin, of course. The initial optimism and ensuing stats don’t lie! — Dick S.

Gabe Kapler. He was highly touted but never delivered for our Phils. His sole reliance on analytics cost us many a game. His off putting personality made him completely unlikable as well. — Kathy T.

Doc Rivers. — Virgil K.

My pick for most overrated is Ryne Sandberg, who I thought would be an outstanding manager. As you know, he was not. Ryne’s record with the Phillies was a dismal and frustrating 119-159 over one full and two part seasons. I have to praise him though. When he left, he knew managing was not his thing and never did it again. In 1982, rookie Ryne was traded to the Cubs along with Larry Bowa for Ivan De Jesus in what, along with their previous trade of Ferguson Jenkins to the Cubs, became their two worst trades in franchise history as both Sandberg and Jenkins went on to Hall of Fame careers with the Cubs. — Everett S.

Dallas Green, Phillies 1980. The right man for a very brief time. — Bill H.

A crowded field. I like Billy Cunningham, but he had great personnel & won only 1 championship. Charlie Manuel ditto. But my pick would be Buddy Ryan. A one-trick pony. Greatest Eagles defense in history and 0 playoff wins? — Karl Z.

Gene Mauch. His bungle of the 1964 Phillies was epochal. Never duplicated here or anywhere else. Bad luck plus crazy micromanagement of game-day decisions. — Ted C.

John Chaney. Good recruiter and good defensive coach. But he never coached a minute of offense in his entire career. That includes game prep and in-game adjustments. Simply anointed a gunner each year to shoot whenever and wherever he got the ball. His ignoring the offensive side of the ball caused more than one flameout during March Madness. And then there’s his embarrassing anger issues, which generally surfaced when another team ended his Temple squad’s dominance over the Big 5 or Atlantic 10 (see Chaney and St. Joe’s center Dwayne Jones 2005 or UMass coach John Calipari, 1994). — David N.

Buddy Ryan. Players loved him, but he never won anything. He could care less about offense. With the defense the Eagles had, they should have been champions. — Joe G.

Nick: Somehow, it’s gotten worse. The layers have been peeled back, the emperor’s clothes stripped. All fingers are now pointing at Nick Sirianni. Could the Eagles’ playoff loss at Tampa become a referendum on his job? Listen here.

Listen to all episodes here or wherever you get your podcasts.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Olivia Reiner, Jeff McLane, David Murphy, Devin Jackson, Jackie Spiegel, Keith Pompey, Josh Tolentino, Jonathan Tannenwald, Jeff Neiburg, Mia Messina, and Max Dinenberg.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

See you in Tuesday’s newsletter, folks. — Jim