January 24, 2024
Kate Frese/for PhillyVoice
PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 14: A photo of Nick Sirianni from the Philadelphia Eagles game against the Minnesota Vikings on September 14, 2023 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. (Photo by Kate Frese/PhillyVoice)
Here come the Philadelphia Eagles — banging their head against the wall and expecting different results.
The decision to fire Brian Johnson and both defensive coordinators was imminent, the real shock would come if any of them were actually retained. The problem is once again, we are failing to heed the warnings of prior years of failure. In this case, all the way back to 2009. Last week Jason Kelce traveled back to the future to warn this year’s Eagles team about quitting and misrepresenting their effort.
This week it’s Joe Banner.
Back in 2009, after another failed bid to make and win the Super Bowl, Banner famously blurted out how “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
It applied then; it applies now.
While the faces and names may have changed, one name has not – the owner of this football team. As the Philadelphia Eagles continue to do their version of navigating the coaching carousel, it’s becoming painfully obvious the team was incredibly lucky in 2017. Not the defense, or Nick Foles, or either Doug Pederson or Jim Schwartz — rather Howie Roseman and Jeff Lurie.
They got lucky and clearly learned nothing from the experience.
The ripples repeat every couple of years where it’s just more and more evident that the ruling hand(s) at the NovaCare do more damage than good. How else are we here watching a team once again ask their head coach to deliver a job saving PowerPoint presentation, except this time Nick Sirianni bit. Makes sense, Pederson just bolted and took another job – so did Schwartz.
Successful people here don’t seem to want to remain successful here. This place has become a steppingstone for coordinators to cut their chops, only to get a head coaching gig. The latest rumors swirling around Kliff Kingsbury are just another example. Maybe it’s not upper management, but the chances successful coordinators move on shouldn’t be lost on you as we watch another hiring session go down.
What exactly are the Eagles doing to trap themselves in a circle of failure?
It’s what’s happening now with the job search and specifically not looking to replace Sirianni. Brian Johnson’s firing reportedly ruffled some feathers inside the staff, I get it. While Johnson was atrocious in calling plays, someone put him there, and nobody helped him. It was almost like halfway through the season, Sirianni just threw his hands up and stopped caring about the offense. Almost like it was a built-in excuse.
Someone put Johnson in that position and gave him no tools to succeed. This is major stakes playing and coaching football in Philadelphia, yet a team that just made the Super Bowl started the following season with an experiment. Sirianni was stripped of his two helpers – boy, was I wrong about that last year – and subsequently lost the team.
It’s going to happen again. Why? Because the team has talent, and anyone with experience, a clue, and some help is going to figure this thing out – much like Shane Steichen did. Speaking of which, what the hell, man?
Did nobody pay attention in those meetings last year when – apparently – the lone voice of offense in Steichen was planning for opponents? With the benefit of hindsight, the past two years look like the Eagles just rode coattails of two dudes – Steichen and Jonathan Gannon – who they thought would be here for a while.
Sirianni had two study buddies that helped him ace the final exam. The following year after both transferred, he was left to do all the work on his own. Unfortunately, that work was delegated to a new study buddy, and we know how that ended – mass failure.
The Eagles will be right back in this situation in a year or so, mainly because the quick fix doesn’t last. The Birds brass wanted a head coach they could push around and dictate commands, from hires to fires, knowing they can always tag Sirianni’s name on it, especially on his way out.
The Eagles want to give this one more go, even though what just happened over the past two years is bound to happen again.
Don’t worry. Much like the new nonsense coming out about Hurts, that stuff will come out about Sirianni too. Nobody is immune to this garbage; it’s just how they play the game. But we aren’t there yet. The Eagles want to give this one more go, even though what just happened over the past two years is bound to happen again.
Sirianni was propped up by two coordinators, one – Gannon – riding a historic season that most likely will never be duplicated again. Hard to think any team will boast four guys each with double digit sacks. The offense clicked and evolved as defenses tried to catch up.
This year was different. Neither coordinator worked and the guy who oversaw the team, saw his squad quit – in a playoff game. For all the people who buy the garbage surrounding Hurts, pushing some weird narrative that Hurts didn’t show up as a leader in times of crisis, that is exactly what happened with the head coach.
So, they put new people around him, the team does great this year, then those guys leave – for better jobs, more control, or simply stability in management. The following year, we are back to this – the team goes off the rails and nobody inside the building has any clue how to fix it.
Back to the well, back to what they know. Even if Kingsbury or Wink Martindale help this team win the Super Bowl, it’s not going to last, and ultimately the coaches most responsible will bolt soon after, leaving the team to continue doing the same thing while expecting different results.
Eytan Shander is a long time radio and TV personality in Philadelphia. In addition to his weekly column, you can currently listen and watch him on Fox29’s Good Day and other sports shows. He’s giving betting advice on OddsShopper. A lifetime Eagles fan, Eytan lives just outside the city with his wife.
Follow Eytan on Twitter: @shandershow
