Eagles hire Nick Sirianni as next head coach

Nick Sirianni will be the new head coach of the Eagles.

The Philadelphia Eagles are hiring Nick Sirianni as their next head coach, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Thursday afternoon.

The 39-year-old spent three seasons as a Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach, five seasons with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, and the last three with the Indianapolis Colts where he most recently performed as offensive coordinator.

While he didn’t call the plays in Indianapolis — those duties fell to head coach Frank Reich — he worked with both the quarterbacks and wide receivers within an offense that finished in the top-10 in total yards gained in two of the last three years (fifth in 2018, ninth in 2020).

That track record set him above the rest when it comes to joining an Eagles organization that is amidst the throes of uncertainty at the quarterback position.

Carson Wentz is coming off his worst season as a pro, a major factor why the team finished 4-11-1, and his days in Philadelphia were seemingly numbered after former head coach Doug Pederson benched him in Week 13 for Jalen Hurts — who finished the rest of the year as the No. 1 man under center.

Wentz threatened to force a trade out of Philadelphia if Hurts continued to be the starting quarterback, but those shouts have softened since Pederson was fired two weeks ago.

Sirianni will be looked upon to provide stability at the quarterback position and, likely, get Wentz back on track to be the franchise quarterback he was always expected to be.

Per Eagles beat reporter Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, though, the decision is a vanilla hire.

“Good guy, solid candidate,” a source told him. “Fairly smart but not super smart. The concern is he is likely to top out at a B-level coach for a team that is in the mix to make the playoffs, but not a real Super Bowl chance. Low drama, even keel.”

Regardless of reputation, the Eagles and general manager Howie Roseman have a ton of work to do in order to put the legitimate pieces around Sirianni to ensure he’ll find success in Philadelphia.

Joe Pantorno