Change of scenery lands a former Eagles assistant in the power rankings basement
There's a peculiar aspect to the NFL and winning. The teams that do so are never short of onlookers and admirers. Losing teams grab the free agents that the winning teams don't retain, but that's only after poaching them for their front office personnel and assistant coaches. That kind of sounds like every Philadelphia Eagles offseason.
In his first four seasons at the helm, head coach Nick Sirianni led his team to the doorstep of Super Bowl glory twice. The first time around, a slippery playing surface was their downfall. There was also an untimely holding call, which was the equivalent of changing the strike zone in the bottom of the ninth inning of the World Series with two called strikes.
The following offseason, Jonathan Gannon (Arizona Cardinals) and Shane Steichen (Indianapolis Colts) were hired as head coaches to lead their teams.
Philadelphia's last appearance in the big game was more enjoyable. Birds fans got the result they wanted. Then, as you might expect, they were raided again. Among the losses were starting outside cornerbacks and edge rushers, their starting right guard, and their offensive coordinator.
Much was made about the roster turnover, but truth be told, Philadelphia will survive and press on. Many of the starters return. Much of the core is in place, and Kellen Moore's new squad, the New Orleans Saints, did the Eagles a solid by voting to keep the tush push alive for at least one more season.
Keep those fingers crossed for Moore in the Big Easy. He's in for a nightmarish start. He has a ton of work to do down in Louisiana.
Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport tried his hand at piecing an NFL Power Ranking together before rookies report to training camp. Philadelphia lands on top. The Saints... Well, that's another story... They rank 32nd... Here's what Davenport had to say about the former and the latter.
"To say that expectations are low for the New Orleans Saints this year is an understatement. The team has one of the lowest projected win totals in the NFC. There are questions galore on both sides of the ball, and a new head coach in Kellen Moore...
There are just far too many issues facing the Saints. The starting quarterback will either be a retread who struggled last year or a 26-year-old rookie with a lengthy history of injuries... The Saints have needed a ground-up rebuild for several years now. It looks like it's coming in 2025".
Ouch... Well, how is Philadelphia doing?
"The Eagles have to do something that is often more difficult than reaching the NFL's summit. Stay there. Every team in the league is now gunning for Philadelphia, and the team suffered more than a bit of roster turnover, especially on defense...
Philadelphia was the league's best team by the end of the 2024-25 postseason, and it never seemed particularly close. While I think the Eagles took a slight step backward during the offseason—keeping championship teams together is both complex and expensive—I still view them as the top team in the NFL. Nothing that has transpired since the draft has changed my opinion of the Eagles."
Credit the first half of that to Davenport. Credit the second half to Kristopher Knox. Oh, and just in case you're interested, Steichen's Colts and Gannon's Cardinals finished with rankings of 25 and 20, respectively. It's wild, isn't it? Nick Sirianni now has a coaching tree!
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