Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

The Meeting

Posted January 18th, 2024 | Comments Off on The Meeting

The future direction of the Eagles hinges on the meeting between Nick Sirianni and Jeffrey Lurie. It was thought that would happen on Wednesday, but that was the day for exit interviews with the players.

That’s actually good timing for both sides. This is a crucial meeting. You want both Lurie and Sirianni coming in with a clear mind. Having that a day or two after the loss to the Bucs would have been a bit too soon.

I hope Sirianni used the extra time well. He needs to have strong, smart answers to both what happened and how he plans to fix it. I’m not for or against him. I want a good coach in 2024. If Sirianni can offer good thoughts and plans, sticking with him makes sense. If he throws out empty dialogue like “I have confidence that we’ll get it fixed”, give him a bus ticket back to Mount Union.

If Sirianni stays, there will be staff changes. He and Howie have been making calls and trying to find out who is interested in talking to the Eagles about a job. I expect a new defensive coordinator. There could also be new position coaches on that side of the ball. I’m not sure about a new offensive coordinator. I could see the Eagles hiring a veteran assistant and giving them some creative title. Don’t expect a brand new scheme for 2024. Expect new plays and new wrinkles on existing plays. That’s just my guess.

There are a lot of defensive coordinator candidates I’m interested in. I need to write a full post on that. I kind of  hope they go away from the Vic Fangio scheme.

On offense, the Eagles need someone who is more pass than run. Jeff Stoutland still knows how to put out a good ground game. The new offensive coach should be someone who understands the short passing game. One name who could make sense is Eric Bieniemy. He did a great job with the short passing attack against the Eagles in the Super Bowl and then with two Washington games this year.

I do hope Sirianni finds someone he hasn’t worked with. It sure feels like this offense needs someone who comes from a different background.

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Bill Belichick has had two interviews with the Atlanta Falcons and it sounds like that’s where he will end up. I like that move. It instantly makes the Falcons more interesting. Love him or hate him, Belichick is a compelling figure because of his track record.

I’m also glad he’s not coming to Philly. There was a lot of talk about him ending up here. I just didn’t get that fit. With the results from recent years, there are a ton of questions about him. I also think he’d have been frustrating to follow outside of games. The Philly media would have hated all of his non-answers and angry grumbles.

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Mike McCarthy is back in Dallas. I don’t get that. He’s proven he can win in the regular season, but his teams have underachieved in the postseason for a while. McCarthy led Green Bay to the NFC title game in 2016, but only has one win since then.

Good move, Jerry.

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We don’t know if Jason Kelce will be back or not. Whether he plays or not, he’ll always be around.

One of a kind. Such a special dude.

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Does Jimmy Bama think Sirianni will stay or go?

https://twitter.com/JimmyKempski/status/1747988493358248037

Spoiler…Jimmy says to fire him and hire Ben McAdoo. At least that’s what I’m guessing he said.

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Coaching Update

Posted January 17th, 2024 | 1 Comment »

Welcome to Day One of the offseason. We don’t have any definitive news, but there are some updates to share on players and coaches.

We’ll start with Nick Sirianni. He’s still the coach and it might stay that way.

This doesn’t make anything official, but it certainly points to Sirianni coming back. His meeting with Jeffrey Lurie will be crucial. Doug Pederson didn’t give good answers in his meeting after the 2020 season and Lurie fired him. Lurie understands there will be ups and downs. What he wants to know is if the current coach can fix the problems.

Sirianni gave generic answers in his press conferences. He will have to give detailed answers to Lurie. They will discuss changes on the staff and possible replacements. They will discuss scheme ideas. They will talk about the roster and thoughts on the 2024 team. Sirianni must articulate a plan for how to get the Eagles back to the top.

I think one of the keys will be him admitting to Lurie where he was wrong. If Sirianni says he was right to make the change at defensive coordinator, but it didn’t work due to this or that reason, Lurie should tell him to hit the bricks. Sirianni needs to say “I did what I thought was right, but it was the wrong move. I can see that now.” Coaches make mistakes. GMs make bad draft picks. Owners make bad hires. Admit the mistake and learn from it. If you can’t admit the mistake, that’s a problem.

Players came out strongly in favor of Sirianni coming back.

Player endorsements help, but aren’t a guarantee. Just because they like Sirianni doesn’t make keeping him the right decision. Again, it comes back to his answers on what went wrong and how he’s going to fix it.

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One of the reasons I’m not pushing more aggressively for a coaching change is that I understand how hard it is to find good coaches.

A few hiring cycles ago, Adam Gase was the star assistant that everyone wanted. He turned out to be a terrible coach. Go a few years back and Brandon Staley was the coveted candidate. He was fired during the season after going 24-24 with the Chargers.

Even when you think you have a good coach there are questions. See Nick Sirianni. And Brian Daboll.

Daboll led the Giants to a 9-7-1 record and a playoff berth last year. The Giants fell to 6-11 in 2023. Beyond the record, things got very ugly in NY.

The GM had to get on the coaches headset for 4 games to see if Daboll was being out of line with his assistants. If the stories are true, Daboll was definitely out of line. I don’t blame Wink Martindale for wanting out.

There was serious heat on Sean McDermott six weeks ago. His team was 6-6 and struggling. A story came out detailing how McDermott used the 9/11 attacks as an example of good teamwork and communication a few years ago. You really wondered about his future. The 9/11 thing lingers, but has slid to the background as the Bills have now won six games in a row and look like a serious SB contender.

Sirianni has proven he can win. That does mean something. If you move on from him, you better have a couple of candidates you really want. Firing Sirianni as a way to show how mad you are at the disappointing finish doesn’t accomplish anything. Focus on solutions.

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Jason Kelce might not be retiring after all.

He’s said each of the past few years that he likes to take some time and think about it. The time right after a game is one filled with strong emotions. That isn’t the time to make a life-changing decision.

You do that while sipping on a PRB and snacking on Funyuns.

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Brandon Graham does want to return. I think the key with him will be cost. BG can be a solid role player, but the price has to be right.

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This doesn’t mean Cox is gone for sure. He played well this season. He will want good money for 2024 and the Eagles need to decide if they want to invest in an older veteran or if they would rather go with a younger player.

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