Nick Sirianni and the Eagles were on a tear through the first 11 games of the 2023 NFL season. And then everything came crashing down in a hurry.
Philadelphia dropped three-straight games to San Francisco, Dallas and Seattle and closed the year with two-straight losses to Arizona and New York. Five losses in six games after starting 10-1 is less than ideal.
Fans and players alike started to smash the panic button. Sirianni’s job is in question, even after he led his team to the Super Bowl just last year. Jalen Hurts went from the MVP favorite to a concern.
Reported finger-pointing and in-fighting among players only made the entire situation worse.
Despite all of the issues, the Eagles held onto their playoff spot because of the early-season wins and will play the surging Buccaneers in the Wild Card round on Monday night. But who will call plays?
According to Tim McManus of ESPN that is a legitimate question today and it has been all season long. Shane Steichen left his role as offensive coordinator in Philadelphia to become the head coach in Indianapolis during the offseason. Brian Johnson was promoted to the OC role.
Although the titles are there, McManus says that the lines are blurred.
A source described Johnson as having to fit his own philosophy within an offensive structure belonging to Sirianni. And just how much autonomy Johnson has as a playcaller is unclear. Sirianni has acknowledged that he’ll step in to overrule a call on occasion, as he did on a critical third-and-long play against the Washington Commanders in Week 4 when Johnson wanted to pass and Sirianni dialed up a run, which didn’t pan out. The line is blurred enough that some offensive players don’t know for sure who is calling the plays and when, a team source said.
— Tim McManus, via ESPN
If that confusion is as true as he says, it cannot be conducive for success. Players should be completely certain in who is giving them direction on both sides of the ball— especially as a playoff team tries to repeat its run to an NFL title game.
For Johnson and Nick Sirianni to be trying to figure out balance with their control over the offense coming into a Wild Card game paints a grim picture about the dynamics on the Philadelphia sideline. The players can’t figure it out if the coaches can’t figure it out.
Hurts, of all people, is caught in the middle.