Three NFL coaches carry the first branches of Nick Sirianni's coaching tree
Sometimes, it's good to be wrong. Well, maybe 'wrong' isn't the correct word choice. We'll say this. We all had reservations about Nick Sirianni at some point.
If you claim you didn't feel this way, you may be misleading yourself. However, he has earned the trust of the Philadelphia Eagles fans—or at least he should have. When we reconsider the situation from that perspective, it seems we judged him incorrectly, and honestly, we're glad we did. Sometimes, being 'wrong' can be a satisfying experience.
It wasn't that there were significant reasons to doubt him. He proved he could win immediately. His players worked hard for him, but there were also times when he scared the bejesus out of us.
Frankly, none of us have ever seen Andy Reid or Bill Belichick mix it up with fans on the sideline, so it bothered us that Coach Sirianni did it. Plus, no one knew how the 'CEO head coach' idea would work. The collapse to conclude the 2023-24 season was downright horrifying.
As it turns out, Philadelphia knew what was best, and the rest of us didn't. Who would have thought, huh? It's amazing how things work out sometimes.
Nick Sirianni and Dan Campbell are the sole survivors of the 2021 seven-man NFL head coaching hiring cycle. Sirianni, just three years in, has won over 71% of his games. He has won in six of his nine playoff game appearances.
He has also won a Super Bowl after appearing in two. If we were talking about anyone else, we'd be screaming they were on a Pro Football Hall of Fame trajectory. Why aren't we saying that about the Eagles leader? And, has anyone noticed? Now he has a coaching tree!
Checking in on Nick Sirianni's former assistants in their current roles as NFL head coaches
That flower in bloom took root. Philadelphia hasn't lost very often since Nick confused us with one of his earlier metaphors. Now, we long for them. Flowers and roots... Cool... What else do you have, Coach? How about a warning involving 'perfume' and 'poison'?
It's hard to believe that this is already year five of the Nick Sirianni/Jalen Hurts era in the City of Brotherly Love. How about a look at what some of his former assistants are doing?
We'll never know whether Jonathan Gannon's ticket to Glendale for Super Bowl 57 was a one-way purchase, but we do know he never returned to Philadelphia after the game's ending. Some will tell the story of the 2022-23 Eagles and state he was one of the game's goats (and, we don't mean 'G.O.A.T.' in the complimentary sense).
Coach Gannon accepted the role of Arizona Cardinals head coach two days after losing the big game on February 14, 2023. He has since returned to Philadelphia and beaten his former squad in a surprise 35-31 upset during the aforementioned 2023 Eagles collapse.
It was one of the few highlights of Gannon's 4-13 debut. He is now 12-22 following two seasons and has yet to lead his team to the postseason. He enters the 2025 campaign on the hot seat, and for all intents and purposes, it doesn't seem in the cards that he'll reach the playoffs in year three. Things aren't looking good for the former Eagles defensive coordinator. Grade: D
Like Gannon, Shane Steichen was part of Coach Sirianni's inaugural coaching staff, serving as the offensive coordinator for two seasons. During that time, he helped Jalen Hurts to a near-MVP season, and had the quarterback been healthy for the entire campaign, one could have made reasonable arguments that Hurts would have won.
Steichen now leads the Indianapolis Colts, where he is .500 as their leader with an average 17-17 record. There are three issues. First, he hitched his wagon to then-rookie Anthony Richardson. Second, Richardson wasn't great when returning last season.
Third, the rest of his team isn't very good either, and they have yet to reach the postseason under his guidance. It is hard, however, to deny that the Colts seem to be improving slowly under his guidance. Grade: C
He also enters the coming season on the hot seat, but there isn't much to be excited about here, as the AFC is loaded with so many great contenders.
Kellen Moore is likely the Sirianni disciple with the best chance of succeeding. That says a lot, as he didn't inherit much from the last New Orleans Saints regime.
Moore is the most talented leader of this bunch, but he has a lot of work to do. We'll give him a vote of confidence, considering he's in a weak division with only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to worry about.
Take that how you will. Honestly, some of our opinions are slanted as the Saints voted in favor of keeping the 'Tush Push' alive, and we're thankful we haven't seen Coach Moore wear a bucket hat similar to the one Gannon wore at Cardinals minicamp. Grade: Incomplete
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