Former Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich had very high praise for new Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni back in 2018 when Reich hired him to his own staff in Indianapolis.
Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend.
I answered the first bunch of your questions on Saturday, but there were plenty left to get to.
As we wait for the Nick Sirianni press conference this week, here’s the next bunch:
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This is true. Sirianni was the Chargers’ quarterbacks coach from 2014-15 and then coached receivers from 2016-17. But I wouldn’t necessarily call it a demotion. Because there were some big changes with the Chargers in 2016 — one of the biggest was that Frank Reich was fired and then ended up in Philly. But the Chargers also wanted to promote Shane Steichen from quality control coach (he just interviewed for the Eagles OC position) and didn’t want to lose Sirianni. And Sirianni had coached receivers in Kansas City and also helped with receivers when he arrived in San Diego.
I was able to dig up this quote on the Chargers’ website from then-Chargers head coach Mike McCoy about the decision:
"When you put a staff together, you always look at the option to move guys around if that is where they are the best fit. Nick has coached receivers in the past with other teams, and also his first year here working with Fred (Graves). Knowing what the players think of him and how he did there, he will do a great job. I think very highly of both Nick and Shane. They've done a phenomenal job the past couple years, and they have a great passion for the game. They love it, and you love what you see out of them whether it was Shane standing up to talk at a team meeting the day before a game last year. And Nick, he is so passionate out there, even at practice. Sometimes you have to tell him, 'Settle down a little bit. It's not game day yet.' But you love that. They are great, young coaches."
And the thing is, Sirianni did a pretty good job in his two years as Chargers’ receivers coach. Check it out:
- In 2016, Tyrell Williams was a second-year undrafted receiver and has a career season. He went off for 69 catches, 1,059 yards and 7 touchdowns. As a rookie, he had just two catches.
- Dontrell Inman caught 58 passes for 810 yards and 4 touchdowns in 2016. It was by far his best NFL season.
- Travis Benjamin had two of his best seasons under Sirianni in 2016-17, catching 81 passes for 1,244 yards and 8 touchdowns.
- While Keenan Allen played just one game in 2016 thanks to an ACL tear, he returned from that injury and had his best NFL season in 2017. He caught 102 passes for 1,393 yards and 6 touchdowns and made his first of four-consecutive Pro Bowls.
The Eagles have admitted they’re in a retooling phase so I think it’s fair to lower expectations for the 2021 season. But rebuilds should not take very long in the NFL. If it takes more than a couple years, you’re not doing it right.
But I never thought coaching was their biggest problem in 2020. I understand why the Eagles fired Doug Pederson, but their biggest problem in 2020 was a lack of talent on the roster. That falls on Howie Roseman and the front office to fix. Sirianni needs players.
I get what you’re saying. Tight ends are definitely important to Sirianni and he wants to utilize 12 personnel (two tight end sets) to find favorable matchups. But I still think in this scenario the Eagles would need to go Chase. While tight ends are valuable, they’re simply not as valuable as receivers. And as good as Pitts is, I think he would need to be significantly better than the rest of the players available at No. 6 for the Eagles to consider taking him. The Eagles say they draft best player available but that’s not true. They weight positions differently, which is the way most teams handle the draft. Besides, Chase is going to be a stud.
I wish I had an answer for you. Bieniemy has been one of the best candidates for a position the last two years and unless the Texans hire him, he won’t get a job. I don’t get it. He’s more than qualified. I guess there’s a fear of hiring an OC who is under an offensive head coach but that hasn’t stopped other guys from getting hired. Heck, same deal with Sirianni. And I really don’t get the Leftwich thing. He hasn’t even really gotten mentioned and I don’t understand why. He has the background as an NFL QB and he’s already built an impressive coaching resume. Maybe teams are worried about having to wait to hire him because his team is deep in the playoffs, but I don’t buy that either. I’d take either one of these guys.
I think my expectations are slightly higher than some others. Jordan Mailata showed me a lot in 2020 but I think this needs to be a true competition for the left tackle spot in training camp. Best man wins. With the experience Mailata gained in 2020, he’s the favorite in a true competition, but it’s not like Dillard is a scrub. They drafted him in the first round and he transformed his body last offseason to add some much-needed muscle. While he didn’t have a great training camp before his injury … neither did Mailata. At the very least, Dillard will be a decent depth piece in 2021. While he wasn’t a good option at right tackle as a rookie, the Eagles need to work him there and prepare the loser of the left tackle job to be a swing tackle.
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