According to Ralph Vacchiano, a team source tells him that Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie could mandate HC Nick Sirianni fire both his coordinators as a condition of remaining as head coach.
Sirianni chose DC Sean Desai and OC Brian Johnson to replace former DC Jonathan Gannon and OC Shane Steichen, both of whom got head coaching jobs last year. Johnson was promoted from QB coach and Desai was an outside hire.
However, Vacchiano says Lurie has soured on Sirianni’s choices after initially being on board last year. Sirianni already replaced Desai with senior offensive assistant Matt Patricia as the Eagles skidded from a 10-1 start to an 11-6 record and loss in the first round of the playoffs.
Vacchiano notes there’s an internal belief Sirianni erred by hiring Desai instead of promoting DB coach Dennard Wilson, who then left for a lateral move with the Ravens. He adds Wilson could be a candidate for the DC job this year.
On the offensive side, Johnson was promoted in part due to his relationship with QB Jalen Hurts. However, Vacchiano writes there are signs that relationship has soured too.
A team source says Hurts audibled out of a lot of Johnson’s calls later in the year and the two often weren’t on the same page. He added there was frustration over Johnson’s tendency to abandon the running game, too.
Overall, there are a lot of questions for Sirianni and the Eagles to figure out after a promising season went off the rails.
Johnson, 36, took his first coaching job as the QBs coach at Utah in 2010. He worked his way up to offensive coordinator before departing to become the QBs coach at Mississippi State in 2014.
From there, Johnson had stints with Houston and Florida before the Eagles hired him as their QBs coach in 2021.
The Eagles then promoted Johnson to their offensive coordinator in 2023.
In 2023, the Eagles offense under Johnson finished eighth in total yards and seventh in points, placing eighth in rushing yards and 16th in passing yards.
Patricia, 48, began his NFL coaching career as an offensive assistant for the Patriots back in 2004. He held a number of positions during his 14 years in New England including assistant offensive line coach, linebackers coach, and safeties coach before he was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2012.
The Lions hired Patricia as their head coach in February of 2018. He lasted just over two years in Detroit before being fired during the 2020 season.
From there, Patricia returned to the Patriots as a senior football advisor for the 2021 season. The Eagles hired him as a senior defensive assistant this past offseason.
During his three years as Lions’ head coach, Patricia led the team to a record of 13-19-1 (31.4 percent) and no playoff appearances.
We’ll have more on Sirianni and the Eagles as the news is available.
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Please, please, I beg Yall to please work on our secondary. The last few games were a complete embarrassment for the entire organization and fan base. I’m sure they are a great bunch of guys. And I really hate seeing players lose jobs. But, just being realistic, if you’re not going to work harder for the success of the team. I’m sorry but, just beat it.I know it takes money to replace for better candidates for the job. I have no problem with the D‐line those guys are great. My main concern is our defense. The part of the team that has been said to win championships. You guys know what Yall need as far as. Contract and players negotiations. If at all possible, please find players that are ready to help us win. I don’t mean to put down any players in particular. Cause the whole secondary looked like the Harlem Globetrotters on Crack. Lol. Sorry guys. But went to a high school game, and the team was not that good. But they still played their hearts out. I didn’t see not one missed tackle. And ou players were running into each other and I lost count on the missed tackles..I went ahead and watched all the games. It was hard to watch. Like a bad train wreck, you know it’s gonna be bad, but you have to watch anyway. I hate talking about the team that I love so much. It’s just time for change, not sure exactly how or how. But it is time. Lot’s Of Love.. and Lot’s Of Luck… #Bleedgreen4life