Nick Sirianni isn’t paying any attention to speculation that he could be fired after the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2023 implosion was capped off with a 32-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round.
“I’m not thinking about that,” Sirianni said postgame Monday, according to NFL Network’s Andrew Siciliano. “I’m thinking about the guys. I’m not worried about me.”
After jumping out to a 10-1 start, the Eagles appeared on track for another playoff run before dropping six of their final seven games, including Monday’s wild-card loss. In the process, Philadelphia also lost the right to host a playoff game, surrendering the NFC East lead to the Dallas Cowboys.
Sirianni pointed the finger at himself when asked about the team’s collapse down the stretch.
“I always look at myself first,” Sirianni said. “I didn’t do a good enough job.”
He added: “We couldn’t get out of the rut we were in.”
Sirianni’s disappointing 2023 campaign comes only one season after he led the Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance. The team’s collapse, coupled with rumors of a disconnect on offense between star quarterback Jalen Hurts, offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, and the head coach, has led to chatter over whether the franchise could fire Sirianni despite his recent postseason success.
Philadelphia hasn’t been shy to fire Super Bowl coaches before. Doug Pederson was dismissed three seasons removed from bringing the franchise its first and only Lombardi Trophy.
Issues within the Eagles reportedly include players being confused over who is calling offensive plays and when, as Sirianni sometimes overrides Johnson’s play calls. Hurts was also apparently not happy with the direction of the Eagles’ offense in 2023.
The Eagles’ boss also made the decision to demote Sean Desai from defensive play-calling duties and promote Matt Patricia in his place. The move was heavily criticized and the team’s defense failed to make any significant improvements.
Sirianni, who has made the playoffs in each of his three seasons in Philadelphia, has accumulated a record of 34-17.
