At this point, Nick Sirianni’s job status should boil down to one question: What has he actually done to keep his job? The Answer; almost nothing.

That’s not an exaggeration. Since the clock hit zero in the 4th quarter of Super Bowl 57, Sirianni’s team has not improved, players have not developed, and he’s melting down to boot.

Go ahead, ask yourself the question… What has Sirianni done to NOT get fired? Offense is supposed to be his speciality. Since Shane Steichen walked out the door, has the offense, ever, at any point, resembled the offense we saw in 2022? Has Jalen Hurts, ever, at any point, resembled the dual threat MVP level quarterback we saw in 2022?

The offense is currently averaging 21.2 points per game. In 2023 the unit averaged 24.6, down almost a full five points from the 29.1 it averaged in 2022. The Eagles total yards, 3rd down conversion rate and yards per play are all trending down since 2022. Most significantly, the Eagles red zone conversion rate is down a whopping 24%, from 68% in 2022 to 44% this season. Go through any stat you can think of and you will see the offense has done nothing but regress.

The Eagles receivers don’t go over the middle, and this is not a knock on the receivers at all. Look at their route trees. It’s all outside, requiring AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith to beat their coverage in order to get open. Is that part of their job? Absolutely, but scheming stars open is also a thing, and an extremely potent strategy at that. Steichen could do it. Sirianni cannot.

I know what you’re thinking… Isn’t this Kellen Moore’s offense? Yes, he’s the Offensive Coordinator, but no, this is not his offense. Moore was one of the early coordinators to introduce motion into the offense. The Eagles motion rate is up from last season but nowhere close to where Moore’s offenses typically have been. In fact, their motion rate has steadily declined since the season opener (51.2% in Week 1 to 40.7% in Week 6). Need more evidence this isn’t Moore’s offense? Let’s take a look at the route tree of Keenan Allen in 2023 or Ceedee Lamb in 2021 (both under Moore) or even Brown under Steichen in 2022. Pretty similar, yeh?

Now let’s look at Brown’s route tree from this past week against Cleveland…

There’s just no way this is Moore’s offense unless you believe one of the NFL’s better coordinators just all-of-sudden decided to change his entire philosophy for Sirianni. I don’t think so.

Let’s talk about Hurts. I don’t have to go through and detail his regression since 2022 because I’ve already done it multiple times this season, but the evidence is all there. This offense is way, way, way too talented to be grinding out victories over the hapless Browns. Even if the Eagles defense is mediocre, the offense should be scoring 27+ regardless of opponent or conditions.

Well all of that is on the field. Let’s discuss Sirianni’s bizarre behavior off it. After Sunday’s victory, Sirianni got flustered when the media questioned him about the Eagles slow starts (they haven’t scored in the 1st quarter yet this season). Here was Sirianni’s response: “Y’all are making a big deal about it. We’re gonna figure it out, we’re gonna fix it.” Uhhhh, six weeks, bud, six weeks. That’s a lot of time to fix something. What time frame are you thinking? Maybe Week 11 or 12 you’ll have this figured out? Also, there are four quarters in a game. To just casually shrug off not scoring in 25% of a competition lacks accountability or intelligence.

Sirianni is also doing this strange thing where he’s obviously taking bullets for his coaching staff. This may seem like the noble gesture of a fearless leader but with Sirianni it seems disingenuous. Almost like he’s trying too hard to prove he’s the captain of this ship even though Jeffrey Lurie essentially neutered him in the offseason. I’m not saying he should be throwing people under the bus, but let’s not pretend you’re Andy Reid here.

And finally, there’s the run-in with the fans after Sunday’s victory. I actually have no problem with this at all except for one small thing; why? You’re the head coach of a professional football team. You just won a game. You’re first reaction is to get chesty with fans… and your own fans no less? That’s what I don’t understand. And sure, several of the Eagles players encouraged Sirianni to be more of himself than he has been this season. That’s great and all, but being emotional and intense doesn’t win football games. Scheming wins. Developing wins. Improving wins. Sirianni has done none of those things in the past 20 months and that’s why instead of barking at his fanbase he should be sitting with them. The sooner the better.

Other Thoughts:

Did we really bring Saquon Barkley here to pass protect? Can we hire someone to stand next to Sirianni and just remind him after every play that Barkley is on the roster and on the field? I get the run game was constipated Sunday, but there’s more than one way to get the ball in that guy’s hands. Also, can we get Barkley a handoff with him running downfield?

I’ve said it here multiple times this season already that Grant Calcaterra cannot block, but man did he look explosive (for a tight end) in the passing game. Everyone likes to say Hurts doesn’t like to throw in the middle of the field because he can’t see, but send the 6’4 Calcaterra on a post and I’m sure he’ll be visible enough.

Getting Cooper DeJean on the field was a huge boost for the defense. Let’s double down on the youth movement and let Sydney Brown squeeze out C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Johnson wasn’t awful but his missed tackles are so bad it seems like he’s not even trying. Also, Kelee Ringo delivered more contact in one play than Darius Slay has all season. I’ll say it again, if the defense is going to be bad, let’s be bad with the future on the field instead of aging veterans.