It may be unfair but Jeffrey Lurie’s handling of the Philadelphia Eagles coaching situation has the rest of the industry talking, and the reality of that landscape is setting up a watered-down Nick Sirianni to fail in 2024.
Reporter Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal dropped the latest nugget on a Boston-area radio station when asked about rumblings from the Senior Bowl.
“Probably the most interesting thing that I’ve heard — and this is just Senior Bowl rumor mill — is that the Eagles were very interested in [Bill] Belichick if things didn’t work out with Nick Sirianni and they could be at the front of the line if things again go poorly for next year,” Bedard told “Felger & Mazz” on 98.5 The Sports Hub.
A long-time reporter with Sports Illustrated and the Boston Globe on his resume, Bedard is no run-of-the-mill talking head throwing things at the wall on a wacky morning show. He’s as plugged into the Patriots as anyone.
When pressed on what he meant about “things not working out” with a head coach with a franchise-best .667 winning percentage and three consecutive playoff berths, Bedard turned toward Lurie's reputation in the wake of the Doug Pederson blowup after the 2020 season and the similarities to Sirianni’s current plight.
“Similar to Doug Pederson,” Bedard said. “Doug Pederson was coming back until he had that postseason meeting with Howie [Roseman] and Jeffrey Lurie. And they wanted Doug Pederson to do certain things, fire certain people, and he wouldn’t do it, so he got fired.
“Apparently, Nick Sirianni was amenable to all that stuff so they decided for one more year to keep him.”
The connection between Lurie, a Boston native, and the Patriots is well-known. The long-time Eagles owner tried to buy the Pats before he was able to gain control of the Eagles and has long been a fan of the New England organization and its one-time status as the gold standard around the NFL.
“Remember, I told you guys that, before the end of the season, teams had already reached out to Bill, back-channeled on Bill,” Bedard said. “I thought the Falcons were definitely one of them. I’m now pretty convinced that the Eagles were the other one. When things were going south, they thought this might end poorly with Sirianni, and I wouldn’t be surprised given the relationship that [Eagles GM] Howie [Roseman] and Bill have that the Eagles were one of those teams to back channel through Bill.”
Roseman is close to several people with Patriots ties, not only Belichick but also former de facto Pats GM Dave Ziegler, who was in the New England organization for nine years before getting the GM job in Las Vegas (since fired) prior to the 2022 season.
Roseman also recommended former Pats offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels for the Eagles’ head-coaching position in 2021 before Lurie wisely steered away from that and toward Sirianni. Roseman put Matt Patricia, a long-time Belichick consigliere, on Sirianni’s radar for a coaching position last season.
Those who dismissed the idea of Belichick to Philadelphia (including this reporter) pointed toward Belichick the GM ruining it for Belichick the coach.
Had the legendary mentor, who has always been a bit of a control freak, agreed to cede some of the personnel stuff in Atlanta, he’d likely already be the coach for the Falcons but Arthur Blank failed to get that feeling from Belichick and turned to the far-less accomplished Raheem Morris.
Many forget, however, Belichick did share his vision with the reclusive Ernie Adams in New England, his long-time football research director, so Belichick has shown the ability to trust others at a very high level.
Whether Roseman reaches that standard can be debated and only becomes relevant if the Senior Bowl embers Bedard spoke of turn to smoke and eventually fire down the road.
The real issue for the current incarnation of the Eagles is the spot Lurie has put Sirianni in.
Perception is greater than reality and to the rest of the NFL and Lurie’s own fan base, Sirianni is set up to fail as a lame duck coaching for his job alongside mercenaries who’ve filled a power vacuum created by the owner vs. the loyal lieutenants the head coach trusted.
By loss No. 1 in 2024 for the Eagles, sports-talk radio in Philadelphia will be inundated with Belichick and Ben Johnson truthers polluting the airwaves.
And fair or not, Lurie will have only himself to blame for a self-fulfilling prophecy fueled by the owner’s over-reactionary nature in times of turmoil.
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