From the Delaware County Daily Times: https://tinyurl.com/mrx5zr2r
A year ago, the NFL had seven head coaching openings. All were filled by Jan. 20 except one — the New Orleans Saints, who were waiting until after the Super Bowl to hire Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
This year brought 10 vacancies, tying a league record seen only four other times. As of Jan. 21, half of them are unfilled.
An average offseason features 4-6 openings for a head coach. A couple more than that is a busy cycle. The historically high number this year — and the fact so many remain open — complicates the Eagles’ search for an established offensive coordinator after Kevin Patullo was removed last week.
The Eagles are casting a wide net, but two of their top targets were former Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel and former Giants coach Brian Daboll.
Offensive wizard McDaniel interviewed for the Raiders’ head job before signing on as the Chargers’ OC to work with quarterback Justin Herbert. And Daboll has reportedly been in the running to replace Sean McDermott as the top man in Buffalo because of his past success with MVP Josh Allen.
As long as candidates are in the running for head coaching jobs, or even more premium OC opportunities, they’re not going to accept a coordinator position with the Eagles.
In other words, the Eagles have been waiting for dominoes to fall.
“You’re looking to continue to evolve as an offense, and I’m looking to bring in the guy that’s going to best help us do that,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “I think that there are many different ways to be successful on offense, and everybody has different styles. Everybody has different players, and there’s many different ways to be successful.”
Last week’s “State of the Eagles” joint press conference with Sirianni and general manager Howie Roseman was largely a performance under the lights.
Some of it was valid: The GM went out of his way to praise Sirianni, whom many fans have erroneously criticized as having no real part in the team’s success. They don’t understand the role of a head coach — to set the culture and vision (first and foremost), to coach the coaches, to step in when necessary, to put out fires, to manage personalities, and to handle big-picture issues, week-to-week strategy and in-game management.
But Sirianni emphatically repeated that it was “I” who chose to fire Patullo and it will be “I” hiring the next offensive coordinator.
It wasn’t and it won’t be. At least not Sirianni alone.
Twice the Eagles have granted him that power, twice he has promoted inexperienced men from within, and twice his choices have imploded (Patullo and Brian Johnson).
Sirianni will have a say in the hiring of the new OC — as he should — but he won’t have final say. This is an operation steered by Roseman, Lurie and now, the emerging legacy, Jeffrey’s 31-year-old son Julian (a name to get used to).
As much as Roseman publicly defended Sirianni last week, he and Jeffrey Lurie have repeatedly undercut their coach by choosing his assistants for him. (Those decisions haven’t always worked out, by the way. Exhibit A: Matt Patricia.) They’ve kneecapped Sirianni and created a public climate of second-guessing the championship head coach.
But the Eagles are a top-tier organization. Their dysfunction isn’t necessarily so different than lots of teams in the NFL, to be real, but they have a talented roster and commitment to winning. Two of their last four OCs, Moore and Shane Steichen, have gone on to head gigs.
This remains a sought-after position for any talented coordinator.
Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X at @the_defranc for the latest updates.