As Jalen Hurts addressed the media from the Philadelphia Eagles’ locker clean-out last week, the quarterback expressed belief in franchise continuity.
“I believe in everyone here,” he said. “We plan on fixing everything that we’ve done and growing together — Coach Sirianni, Brian, everyone.”
A week later, the Eagles confirmed the return of head coach Nick Sirianni for a fourth year, as Sirianni and general manager Howie Roseman met with reporters Wednesday. But the franchise has released offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, whom Hurts has known since childhood, after one year of coordinating and two more as Hurts’ quarterbacks coach.
The decision was complicated. On one hand, releasing Johnson positions Hurts to work with his whopping ninth play-caller in the past 10 seasons, dating to his high school years. Perhaps not coincidentally, Hurts’ strongest, MVP-caliber campaign in that stretch was the season he did not have to adapt to a new coordinator. In Hurts’ Year 2 with Shane Steichen, the Eagles went to the Super Bowl.
On the other hand, the Eagles were clearly headed toward organizational change. They lost as many games in the last six weeks of the 2023 regular season (five) as they lost in the 24 months prior. Hurts also regressed from 2022 to 2023, his passer rating falling from 101.5 to 89.1 as he threw interceptions on 2.8% of passes (15 total), up from 1.3% (six).
After their playoff loss at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Hurts questioned the Eagles’ lack of offensive identity. Like the defense, his unit needed new direction. And so, one year after losing both their offensive and defensive coordinators to head-coaching roles, the Eagles are again in the market for both positions.
As they hunt for their third offensive coordinator in three years, it’s worth asking: What will the role of the position be under the offensive-minded Sirianni? And most importantly: How will that new coordinator help Hurts?
Eagles looking for new OC ‘to take away the staleness’
Sirianni envisions a three-part challenge for his new hire.
“A guy who has a vision, a guy who’s going to call the plays, a guy who’s going to be able to coach the quarterback in the same sense there,” he said. “I’m hiring him to do a job and to be in charge of the offense.”
Until that hire is made, it’s too soon to quantify exactly how much influence Sirianni and the coordinator will each bring to Philadelphia’s 2024 scheme. Sirianni wants to build off the ideas that worked in the passing, running and protection schemes during the Eagles’ successful run of 25 regular-season wins the past two seasons. No team surpassed that mark; the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers matched it.
But the piling losses at the end of this regular season suggest that some change is needed.
“Obviously, with the 1-6 finish, there were things that got stale,” he said. “This new person coming is meant to take away the staleness.”