Colin Cowherd delivers blunt message on Eagles HC Nick Sirianni: 'He’s not good at it'

On a recent episode of "The Herd," Colin Cowherd made a strong claim that NFL head coaches should not be responsible for calling plays. 

He argued that running both sides of the team is already overwhelming, and that adding play-calling to those responsibilities becomes an unnecessary burden.

Colin Cowherd responds to Eagles HC Nick Sirianni

Co-host Jason McIntyre referenced comments from Philadelphia Eagles HC Nick Sirianni at the NFL Scouting Combine, where the coach stated he didn't want to call plays since he was not an OC. Cowherd responded bluntly to that.

"Well, he’s not good at it," Cowherd said about Sirianni. "Sean Payton is relinquishing the play calling this year because Davis Webb, the young, sharp former player — and Sean Payton didn’t believe Lombardi could be that guy. So it’s Davis Webb who’s going to take it over. I don’t think coaches should be play callers."

While Cowherd is not wrong that play-calling can be daunting, making the blanket statement that head coaches should not call plays ignores decades of NFL history. Some of the greatest head coaches in league history have served as play-callers during championship seasons:

• Andy Reid – Called plays while winning multiple Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs
• Sean McVay – Called plays during the Los Angeles Rams' Super Bowl LVI championship season
• Bill Walsh – Designed and called plays in three Super Bowl victories while building the West Coast offense
• Jon Gruden – Called plays during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Super Bowl XXXVII title run
• Mike Holmgren – Served as the primary play-caller in the Green Bay Packers' Super Bowl XXXI championship season
• Joe Gibbs – Called plays while winning three Super Bowls with three different starting quarterbacks

Team struggles are not singular

Just because Sirianni struggled while calling plays does not mean play-calling was the reason. There are always multiple factors at work in the NFL. Roster talent, injuries, player execution, quarterback development, and in-game decisions all matter. 

When a team is not performing well, it is rarely because of one single responsibility. Just because two things happen at the same time does not mean one caused the other.

There are also risks when a head coach hands off play-calling entirely. When an offensive coordinator succeeds and becomes part of a playoff run, he quickly emerges as a head-coaching candidate the following offseason. 

Once he leaves, the system changes, terminology shifts and the offense must adjust. That adjustment can impact efficiency and continuity. In some cases, keeping play-calling in-house with the head coach actually protects stability rather than hurting it.

Cowherd’s argument that the job is too overwhelming may apply to some new head coaches. But elite coaches typically build strong staffs that allow them to delegate other responsibilities and share workloads effectively. Blanket statements rarely work in the NFL. There is no universal template. Every head coach brings a different skill set to the table.

In the NFL, the role of a head coach cannot be minimized to a one-size-fits-all blueprint, especially when history shows that many of the game’s greatest leaders were at their best when they held the play sheet in their hands.