February 27, 2024
Kim Klement Neitzel/USA Today Sports
More details are emerging about Nick Sirianni and the 2023 Eagles' late-season collapse.
When the Eagles limped to a 1-6 finish during the 2023 season and were obliterated in the playoffs, it was only time until some offseason bombshell reports trickled in about what went wrong. A fresh one is here from Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes, who reports that Nick Sirianni and the team's coaches 'played favorites' last season, allowing star players to go unscathed during that collapse while targeting lower-level ones.
Hayes says that Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown and "legacy stars" could do no wrong in coaches' eyes, with mistakes "unmentioned or excused." Hayes continues on and says that younger offensive lineman like Jordan Mailata and Landon Dickerson were treated differently than franchise stalwarts Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson. The same applied to the opposite side of the ball when it came to Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter and then Super Bowl winners Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham.
As Brown refused to talk to the media during the season, discussion swirled about his status in the locker room, leading him to even call into 94.1 WIP last week. Hayes details one conversation with a veteran player about Brown:
When asked if Brown’s on-field conniptions and his two-week media blackout were affecting the team, an accomplished veteran player replied:
“I don’t know about that. But I will say it doesn’t help when they treat guys two different ways.”
With that, he nodded at Hurts’ empty locker.
What about Brown?
“Yeah. I guess some guys can’t do anything wrong.” [Inquirer]
Hayes later writes:
After Brown’s second postgame blow-off [during 2023 regular season], another accomplished veteran also told me that Brown’s body language was setting an unacceptable example for younger players. [Inquirer]
Hayes provides other examples as well, writing that this whole ordeal is an indictment of Sirianni and former coordinators Brian Johnson and Sean Desai. He is certainly not wrong in that assessment.
Sirianni and Eagles GM Howie Roseman will speak to the media Tuesday afternoon.
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