Eagles officially name Sirianni as new head coach

The Philadelphia Eagles officially named former Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni as their new head coach, the team announced Sunday.

Sirianni, 39, served as the offensive coordinator with the Colts for the last three seasons. He spent five seasons as an assistant with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers (2013-17) and four with the Kansas City Chiefs (2009-12).

Reports initially broke the story of the Eagles hiring Sirianni on Thursday, three days before the Eagles made it official.

Sirianni apparently isn’t coming alone, as the NFL Network reported that former Colts defensive backs coach Jonathan Gannon and Indianapolis assistant Kevin Patullo will head to Philadelphia. Gannon will serve as the defensive coordinator for the Eagles while Patullo will be their offensive pass game coordinator.

Gannon reportedly interviewed with the Los Angeles Chargers and Chicago Bears for the defensive coordinator position with those teams.

Gannon and Sirianni’s former boss, head coach Frank Reich, is a former offensive coordinator of the Eagles had high praise for Philadelphia’s new head coach.

“He’s naturally a relational guy. It comes natural to him,” he told the Eagles’ official website. “He cares about people. He’s the guy who knows everybody’s name in the building because he cares. He’s just great at connecting with people like that.

“Second, I know the organizational support he’ll get from the Eagles to make that transition and that will help as well. He’s ready for all of it. This is the right person at the right time for the Eagles.”

Indianapolis went 11-5 during the 2020 regular season and lost 27-24 to the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round. Sirianni’s offense ranked ninth in the NFL in scoring and 10th in total offense (11th in passing, 11th in rushing).

“He’s been preparing for this his whole life,” Reich said of Sirianni. “He’s a young guy in many respects, but I’m just telling you: This guy is brilliant. Football smart. To his core, he’s a football coach.

“He comes from a football family. He’s a natural leader. He’s got a lot of presence. He’s a great coach on the field. He holds guys accountable. Strong leadership. Good communicator. Phenomenal teacher. All the qualities you need to be a head coach.”

The Eagles fired head coach Doug Pederson earlier this month after a five-year run that included a 42-37-1 record and Philadelphia’s first Super Bowl championship. Since the win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, however, the Eagles are 22-25-1.

Philadelphia’s offense ranked 24th in the NFL in yards per game (334.6), 26th in scoring (20.9 points) and 28th in passing yards (207.9). Pederson removed Carson Wentz as the starting quarterback after 12 games and replaced him with rookie Jalen Hurts.

The Eagles are looking for a coach who can help Wentz bounce back from a disappointing season.

Sirianni was the Chargers’ quarterbacks coach from 2014-15 and the Chiefs’ assistant QBs coach in 2010.