Eagles’ offensive coordinator opening has one fatal flaw that’s scaring top candidates away from Nick Sirianni’s staff
Philadelphia needs a new offensive coordinator, but have they proven to candidates that it isn’t worth the risk to accept the job?
In the NFL, you have to prove yourself quickly. For the Philadelphia Eagles, though, is their success in recent seasons actually working against them in the process to hire a new offensive coordinator?
Head coach Nick Sirianni’s boldness and the overall stakes on an annual basis have created some massive success and failure at OC recently. Top candidates may be shying away from the risk involved in joining the Eagles staff right now.
Pressure has seemingly scared away top OC candidates for the Eagles
Without saying it out loud, the Eagles have basically told Eagles offensive coordinator candidates that instant success is a must for their team. Nick Sirianni nearly “hand-picked” Kevin Patullo as the team’s OC for this past season. The offense wasn’t good enough, and he’s already out as play caller/OC.
Whether you agree with that choice or not, it has continued a trend that Sirianni doesn’t possess a ton of leeway when it comes to his coordinators.
With the roster build of recent years, they expect a ton of production on either side of the ball and a somewhat deep playoff run.
Philly fell short of that this season, falling in the Wild Card round. Once that occurred, the writing was on the wall that a new OC would be entering the fray for them.
When the expectation for a team seems to be potentially the conference title game or bust, then it’s tough to wrangle top assistant candidates while the head coach skates by after some questionable choices.
Brian Daboll expected to land with Raiders or Titans
Daboll’s prior relationship with the Eagles was notable. He coached Jalen Hurts in college and holds a relationship with both Sirianni and the front office for the Eagles. With that in mind and a potential elite defensive unit to accompany his offense in Philadelphia, he is seemingly heading elsewhere.
This is not due to a lack of interest from the Eagles. Daboll was considered one of their top candidates, earlier in the process, alongside now Los Angeles Chargers OC Mike McDaniel. In both instances, the Eagles opening wasn’t chosen.
There’s a multitude of reasons for that if you think about it. For McDaniel, he goes to work with Justin Herbert and a long-time coaching mastermind in Jim Harbaugh. The Harbaugh brothers have never been the type to jump the gun and move on from assistants quickly. The stability simply looks clearer in LA.
As for Daboll, he may prefer working with a QB option like Cam Ward in Tennessee as their OC more than the skillset Jalen Hurts provides. Add in the immense pressure of immediate success, and you get a job opening for the Eagles that probably doesn’t align with a coach coming off being fired from his HC post.
All in all, this search has gone on for too long for Sirianni and the Eagles front office. We will see how it shakes out, but it is clear that Philadelphia’s expectations may actually be working against them in this process.
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