Nick Sirianni's inability to call plays has doomed Eagles to having musical chairs at OC

Nick Sirianni isn't going to be fired a year after winning a Super Bowl, regardless of whether it feels like half the head coaches in the NFL probably could have won it all with last year's roster. 

In five years on the job, he's posted a 59-26 (.694) regular season record, guiding the Eagles to the postseason every year, two NFC Championships and a Super Bowl title. The Eagles aren't going to dismiss him, even if it was clear how much of a gap there is between him and Kyle Shanahan as an undermanned San Francisco 49ers team ended the Eagles' season at home Sunday. 

Still, it's fair to say this: having a head coach that doesn't call plays on either side of the ball is really not ideal. And it may mean that as long as Sirianni is the head coach, the offensive coordinator job — which includes calling plays — is a year-to-year proposition. 

The Eagles are fortunate that Vic Fangio — a Hall of Fame-caliber defensive coordinator who has local ties and is probably not going to get another chance to be a head coach — fell into their laps after the 2023 collapse. As long as the 67-year-old wants to continue coaching, the Eagles are going to have one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL. 

But things are much more complicated in trying to find an offensive coordinator, which the Eagles will almost certainly be doing in the coming days and weeks as it would be shocking if Kevin Patullo is retained in his current role for a second season. 

First of all, offensive coordinators get plucked as head coaches way more often. There's one guy in the league right now that's the equivalent of Fangio on the offensive side of the ball, and that's Josh McDaniels, who is thriving in his third go-round as New England Patriots offensive coordinator. His two stints as a head coach — one with the Denver Broncos, and the other with the Las Vegas Raiders — were so disastrous that he may never get another shot to lead a team again. At the very least, it's going to take years of success calling plays for Drake Maye to get some of the shine back on McDaniels. 

But the thing about McDaniels is he gets to basically be the king of the offense in New England, because he's working under a head coach in Mike Vrabel who has a defensive background and obviously has built up a ton of cache over his first two stints in Foxborough. 

Even if McDaniels was available right now, it's hard to think he would be especially interested in being the offensive coordinator of the Eagles, who are led by Sirianni, someone who doesn't call plays but still has an offensive background. 

It's why someone like Mike McDaniel — assuming he doesn't get hired as a head coach this offseason — will likely opt to go elsewhere as an offensive coordinator. Think about it, would you rather go to Detroit and have autonomy over what's an incredibly talented offense, or come to Philadelphia, admittedly also a very gifted group, and have to adjust your system to Sirianni's liking? 

The Eagles will probably still land a decent candidate to be offensive coordinator, given that both Shane Steichen and Kellen Moore have parlayed the job into becoming head coaches. But if the next coordinator has success in the role, they'll be in the job for a year or two and then get hired as a head coach elsewhere, again plunging the Eagles into uncertainty. 

What was most disheartening about this past Eagles season is it never appeared like Sirianni taking over playcalling when it was clear Patullo was in over his head was a consideration. Dan Campbell did that in Detroit, and while the Lions missed the playoffs, they at least went down swinging as opposed to riding things out with John Morton all year. Sirianni hasn't called plays since the middle of 2021, his first season on the job. Things immediately picked up when he handed things off to Steichen in 2021, and it appears he and/or the Eagles aren't interested in going back to that setup. 

All this will create an interesting dynamic. Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman surely won't allow Sirianni to keep Patullo, and the next offensive coordinator will likely have the fingerprints of the two most powerful people in the organization on it. Still, Sirianni is going to remain the head coach. 

Where this will get compelling is if a year from now that offensive coordinator appears poised to get a head coaching job after reigniting a group that will include Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith. Will the Eagles just allow that OC to go out the door, or could they decide that Sirianni not calling plays on either side of the ball isn't sustainable?