Eagles Roundtable: Who should be the Birds' next OC?

On Jan. 13, Nick Sirianni and the Philadelphia Eagles announced that they were "making a change" at offensive coordinator. Two weeks later, the position remains vacant.

Is it because of Nick Sirianni? Is it because of A.J. Brown? Maybe even Jalen Hurts? Who knows. Either way, most top candidates are off the board at this point... so of the ones that are left, who's the best fit for the job? Here are the OnPattison staff's picks.

Bob Cooney: Nick Foles

With all that hasn't happened so far in the search for an offensive coordinator and the perceived notion that maybe this isn't as desirable a job as originally thought, I think the Eagles need to think outside the box a bit.

The overriding thought is that the offense won't change all that much as long as Nick Sirianni is the head coach and Jalen Hurts is under center. There is evidence to that under the plethora of offensive coordinators that have come and gone, or were already here and gone, or... well, you get the picture.

That's why the new coordinator should be Nick. No, not Sirianni. Nick Foles.

Yes, it's another person who hasn't called plays as a coach. But it could hit on so many levels. During his 11 seasons in the NFL, Foles played for six different organizations, numerous coordinators and no doubt soaked in so many different play designs and schemes throughout his career. If anyone could come in and have the permission from owner Jeffrey Lurie and general manager Howie Roseman, you'd figure it would be Foles. Hiring him would erase any of the bad thoughts fans, and maybe players, have about the team's inability to lock someone down for the position. Also, there is no one in the game of football who garners as much respect from Lurie and Roseman in the coaching game than Andy Reid. Foles played for Reid in his last season in Philadelphia and had a cup of coffee with the Chiefs when Reid was the head coach there.

It seems like a no-brainer, right?

Grace Del Pizzo: Nathan Scheelhaase

Allow me to draw a parallel: season 2 of Stranger Things ended at a middle school dance, and Dustin could not get a girl to slow dance with him. One group of girls turned him down flat. Another group walked away when they saw him approaching. Poor Dustin ended up sitting on the bleachers in tears.

That's the Philadelphia Eagles right now. Mike McDaniel is dancing with the Chargers, Brian Daboll with the Titans (maybe), and Zac Robinson with the Bucs. Charlie Weis Jr. and Declan Doyle walked away at the mere sight of Philly's approach. Now the Eagles are sitting on the bleachers at the middle school dance, acutely aware that no one wants them.

This OC search could not have gone much worse for the Eagles. Two weeks in, all of their initial top candidates have gone elsewhere... but maybe it's a blessing in disguise. Maybe the Eagles were meant to wait until the Los Angeles Rams were eliminated from the playoffs, so they could talk to Nathan Scheelhaase.

Scheelhaase is just 35, but the Rams' passing game coordinator has already made his mark. In 2025, Los Angeles boasted the best passing offense in the NFL, even with 37-year-old Matthew Stafford at the helm. Puka Nacua posted 1,715 yards, and Davante Adams caught a league-leading 14 touchdowns.

Unfortunately, the Eagles have not interviewed Scheelhaase yet, and other teams have already jumped at the chance. He's reportedly a finalist for the Browns' head coaching job, which makes a pivot to the Eagles' OC job unlikely. Even so, Scheelhaase is a rising star, and the Eagles would be silly to not at least give him a phone call and make their case. 

None of the other Eagles interviewees are remotely exciting to me. A Sean McVay disciple could revamp the Eagles offense as we know it, especially with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith as the bonafide one-two punch in the passing game. Scheelhaase may be an unrealistic hire, but I'm writing about who I think the Eagles should hire, not who I think they will hire. (That's probably Jim Bob Cooter or Matt Nagy... or maybe even Sean Mannion.)

Anthony SanFilippo: Mike McDaniel! No, wait. Brian Daboll! Uh... Zac Robinson? Oh, he went to... Tampa? Arthur Smith? Womp, womp. Declan Doyle? He said no, too? Charlie... Weis... Jr... Aww, man....

The big question shouldn't be, "Who should be the next offensive coordinator," but, "Why are all these guys saying thanks, but no thanks, and then taking seemingly lesser roles elsewhere?"

One would have to imagine there are varying factors, but most of them aren't great:

1. There may not be as much autonomy in the position as the Eagles have let on that there would be.
2. Jalen Hurts is a good quarterback, but does have some limitations within an offensive scheme that some coaches would rather not deal with.
3. The offensive line, when healthy, is as good as there is in the league, but health issues are becoming more the norm rather than the exception.
4. There's a lot of drama. Whether it's A.J. Brown, or Nick Sirianni being too emotional, or whatever, it exists. And because of Brown, might the Eagles move on from him, and put themselves into an undesirable salary cap situation?
5. The entry point causes far more immediate scrutiny than with other teams. The Eagles are expected to be a Super Bowl caliber team the minute the new OC enters the job. Other teams offer a bit of a runway to get there.

So who's left?

There's Jim Bob Cooter, Matt Nagy and Josh Grizzard who have all interviewed with the Birds. Of those three, Cooter is the most appealing, but not the guy I'd hire.

There's been no smoke linking them to Kliff Kingsbury yet, but that's a name that would intrigue me if all of the sudden he was called in for an interview.

Nathan Scheelhaase is on the shortlist to become head coach of the Browns, but if he doesn't get that gig, the former passing game coordinator of the Rams would get me to start posting eyeball emojis on Twitter if he pivoted to meet with the Eagles.

Frank Smith, who worked under McDaniel in Miami as his coordinator, would be interesting in that he comes from McDaniel's school, which is at least somewhat exciting.

And then there's Jerrod Johnson, whom the Eagles interviewed two years ago before going with Kellen Moore. He's been working under Bobby Slowik in Houston. Slowik also skipped the Eagles to take the same role with the Dolphins. Maybe Johnson takes that playbook, tweaks it to his liking and gets the most out of Hurts and co.

Point is, none of these names are jumping off the page screaming "hire me." If I had to make a ranking, I'd probably have Kingsbury slightly ahead of Scheelhaase, with the tiebreaker being experience calling plays in an NFL offense. Guys like Johnson and Smith are more interesting as first-time play callers, considering the coaching trees they are falling from, versus going the retread route with guys like Cooter, Nagy or Grizzard.

But any way you slice it, the Eagles are not getting the best guy that was available this offseason, and maybe not even the second- or third-best option. Heck, it could be even further down that list.

And why they had to dip so far down that list is far more interesting to me than the guy they actually hire for the role.

Tim Kelly: Frank Smith

Entering this process, I thought it was crucial for the Eagles to land someone with prior play calling experience. But as the dust is starting to settle, that may not be the best course of action.

The Eagles could hire Matt Nagy, though it's not exactly a ringing endorsement of him that the Kansas City Chiefs have already decided to bring back Eric Bieniemy over waiting to potentially renew his contract. The Chiefs seem to think a shake up is needed at their offensive coordinator position, and that's despite Andy Reid, not Nagy, having called plays.

So I'm going to take a bit of a gamble with Frank Smith – who has previously coached under Sean Payton, Jon Gruden and Mike McDaniel – and hope some proximity to great offensive minds equals success. If it does, Smith will likely be a head coaching candidate next year. If not, the Eagles may be making a change at head coach after the 2026 season.