The Eagles weren’t trying to reinvent the coaching-search wheel in January 2021. If they’re being honest about it, more than anything, they were just scrambling to catch up.
Doug Pederson was fired on Jan. 11, a full week after the regular season ended. Three days after that, the Jaguars announced the arrival of Urban Meyer, the Jets officially took Robert Saleh off the market, and the Lions and Falcons were moving on Dan Campbell and Arthur Smith, respectively. Quietly, the Chargers, too, were readying to quickly hire Brandon Staley, as soon as the crosstown Rams’ ouster from the playoffs would allow it.
And because of all of that—and that the Eagles didn’t plan on a coaching search in the first place—Philly’s brass had to resolve to do things a little differently. So was hatched a simple premise that would guide the next few weeks for the team. They looked to approach their position not as the last team to the market in 2021, but the first team looking at diving into the ’22 candidate pool.
That, in a nutshell, is how Philly wound up with Nick Sirianni.
The then Colts offensive coordinator hadn’t so much as interviewed for a head coaching job (the Browns requested one with him in 2019; it never happened) before the Eagles put in for him shortly after Pederson was let go. And Philly went into the interview itself with an open mind—in large part because a team in the Eagles’ position, with all the ’21 cycle’s hot candidates already plucked off the market, didn’t have any other choice.
Eagles GM Howie Roseman called Sirianni from owner Jeffrey Lurie’s place in Florida, and Sirianni told Roseman he was in the state, too, and could drive over, but needed to buy a suit because he didn’t bring one on his family vacation. “Do buy a suit,” Roseman said. So, everyone dressed casual for the interview, and a few Sirianni quarterback tutorials later (he actually got up and physically demonstrated drills), the ball was rolling.
A year later, with the Eagles set to play the defending champion Buccaneers on Sunday, Sirianni is the only 2021 coaching hire in the postseason. And to be clear, no one in the Philly organization is throwing a party for themselves over the hire—Pederson’s fall from grace is a good example of how quickly things can turn. But with seven teams and counting looking for head coaches now, there are good lessons to be taken here.
Take it from the players.
“For me, it wouldn’t have mattered who came into the head coach position, just because of where I was at in my career last year,” left tackle Jordan Mailata told me after practice Wednesday. “But, man, am I glad we picked him up. He’s been awesome. Just everything that he coaches and preaches, we all buy into it.”
And remember, there was a time when few on the outside did.
