On Tuesday morning, there was a flurry of condemnation in Philadelphia. The Eagles go to Tampa Bay, play the worst team in the playoffs, and after trying to get Baker Mayfield to walk the dog, they can only continue to lick their wounds and wonder what the heck happened.
Despite finishing the season 11-7, the Eagles never looked competitive in their 32-9 loss to the Buccaneers. We watched a preseason Super Bowl favorite crumble before our eyes, and found a way to look even worse than the Panthers did a week ago. In Week 18, Carolina lost 9-0 to Tampa Bay, and it was a competitive game for most of the afternoon.
A combination of factors contributed to this downfall. Losing both the offensive and defensive coordinators from their head coaching jobs after the Super Bowl, the hangover from the big game itself, and dealing with the weight of expectations all contributed to Philadelphia not reaching its potential this season. It has become.
Nick Sirianni also removed defensive coordinator Sean Desai from play-calling duties and replaced him with senior defensive assistant Matt Patricia, making for one of the stupidest and most mind-boggling seasons we've ever seen. He has a great deal of responsibility for the coaching decisions made by the club.
Why did the Eagles make this change?
After losing to the Cowboys in Week 14, the Eagles were in a bit of a free fall. The team still had a good record of 10 wins and 3 losses, but anxiety crept in after consecutive losses and they lost a total of 75 points. 2 matches.
Frankly, Desai's defense wasn't great. The Eagles allowed five more points than they did the year before under Jonathan Gannon, and they plummeted from second to 26th in the NFL in yards allowed. The offense also took a step back, but not nearly as much. When you put both factors together, Philadelphia didn't seem built to compete with the best teams in the NFL.
There were reports that Mr. Desai “doesn't have confidence in himself.” It prompted Sirianni to make the change. In short, he wanted to stop the bleeding.
But here's the problem…
Changing managers mid-season like this is not necessarily a bad thing. Both the Steelers and Bills made adjustments on offense that helped them improve. However, there are two important differences between how these teams execute the switch and how the Eagles execute it.
- The Eagles' change came much later in the season.
- There was no support staff in place in Philadelphia to take over.
It was an organization that was recovering after losing two coordinators. It took a year to grow, even if there were pains along the way. If Sirianni trusted Desai enough to name him defensive coordinator, he needed to trust him to get the job done.
Instead of letting this progress, Sirianni became furious. His sudden decision to transfer play-calling duties to Matt Patricia made things even worse.
Desai's team wasn't great, but the players looked completely lost under Patricia. The team went from allowing over 30 points to the best teams in the NFL to now allowing over 25 points against the likes of the Giants and Cardinals.
In four regular season games under Coach Patricia, it was clear he had no idea what he was doing.
- 26.75 goals conceded per game (2 more goals than Desai)
- 363.25 yards per game (33 yards more than Desai)
The Eagles failed the empirical test, with players looking lost on defense and pass rushers lacking effort. It was clear that Patricia wasn't the answer either defensively, but Sirianni had crossed the Rubicon at this point.
To switch return Desai would show weakness when the Eagles needed to steady the ship, and Sirianni knew that. The switch was a mistake, but he had no choice but to roll to Tampa Bay, hoping Patricia's defense could hold up against Baker Mayfield.
We know what happened next. The defense completely collapsed, giving up 426 yards and allowing Mayfield to do whatever he wanted through the air. There was no resistance, and combined with desperate defensive struggles, the Eagles had no chance.
What does this mean for Sirianni?
Let's be real. No matter how angry Eagles fans are right now, there's no way Sirianni will lose his job. He wasn't ruled out of the Super Bowl for a year. But there are some very real concerns about what lies ahead.
Sirianni's decisions under pressure were terrible. He lacked foresight in managing his team. Shane Steichen in particular was the genius behind Philadelphia's success, and there's considerable concern that his talents are now in Indianapolis. Let's not forget that the Falcons stuck with Dan Quinn, which resulted in Kyle Shanahan going to San Francisco.
There really is a need for some soul searching before the 2024 regular season begins. In addition to deciding what to do as coordinator, Sirianni needs to understand that switching to defense made a bad situation worse and was a major factor in their playoff loss.
If that doesn't happen and Sirianni doesn't learn his lessons, this whole situation could become a long-term problem for the Eagles.
