After winning 10 of their first 11 games and looking like the best team in the NFL, Nick Sirianni and the Philadelphia Eagles ended their season in catastrophic fashion. They lost five of their last six regular season games, then culminated their epic collapse with a 32-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
While the Eagles have one of the most talented rosters in the NFL, they played as if something was seriously off down the stretch. Many are pointing the finger at head coach Nick Sirianni and wondering if he lost the locker room.
On “The Herd with Colin Cowherd,” commentator Colin Cowherd didn’t hold back on his criticism of Sirianni. Cowherd argued Sirianni only seemed to be a good coach last season because he had offensive coordinator Shane Steichen and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. He even said Philly “quit” in its loss to Tampa Bay.
Last season, the Eagles were a profound powerhouse. They finished third in both points and total yards while giving up fewer total yards than any team besides the San Francisco 49ers, and they were just minutes away from winning the Super Bowl against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Steichen left to become the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, a team he guided to the brink of a playoff spot despite a big hole at the quarterback spot, while Gannon got hired as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.
This year, Philly looked strong, at times, on offense, but its defense plunged to near the bottom of the league.
Cowherd also pointed out how QB Jalen Hurts, who was last season’s runner-up in the MVP balloting, regressed this year, and how Hall of Famer Troy Aikman noted during the telecast of Monday’s game that the body language of Philly’s players was poor.
Perhaps the only good news is that if the team fired Sirianni soon, perhaps it could get into the sweepstakes for a big-name coach such as Jim Harbaugh or even Bill Belichick. But there’s no question that the Eagles have the look of a team that was just hit by a major nor’easter.
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