Despite high expectations, the Philadelphia Eagles lost in the first round of the NFL playoffs to the San Francisco 49ers.
“One of the winningest coaches to start his career, [Sirianni] is on a legendary run,” Managing Editor Glenn Erby wrote for the Eagles Wire. “But his inability to adjust has led to constant criticism.”
The Eagles finished the season 11-6, despite posting one of the best defenses in the league and having multiple offensive stars like Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith. Much of the criticism focused on the coaching staff, particularly new Offensive Coordinator Kevin Patullo.
“We’re all known for the decisions we make and Sirianni’s decision to hire [Patullo], who was clearly in over his snowboard, was probably one of the worst internal moves the franchise has made since the 44 year old head coach has been here,” Philadelphia Reporter Joe Staszak wrote for Heavy.
The season started with high hopes. Coming off a Super Bowl victory and standout seasons from Saquon Barkley, Wide Receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, Rookie Cornerbacks Quinton Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, and a Super Bowl MVP-winning performance from Quarterback Jalen Hurts, fans were eager for a repeat championship.
Despite Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore leaving to become the head coach of the New Orleans Saints, fans continued to trust Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio and Head Coach Nick Sirianni and maintained high expectations for Patullo.
“I had very high hopes this year,” LCDS Junior Luca M., a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles, told The Fourth Estate. “When you look at the depth chart and roster, we basically had all the same talent, if not better.”
After starting the season with four straight wins, fans were optimistic, but two straight losses to the Denver Broncos and New York Giants changed the opinion of many fans regarding the team this year.
Unlike the rest of the coaching, Fangio received high praise from fans. The Eagles defense ranked among the best in the league – in both passing yards and points allowed, according to FOX Sports.
“I thought that Vic Fangio did an amazing job,” Luca said. “I thought that he had it down and that we had the best defense in the league, but it was simply a matter of the offense being so lackluster that the defense ended up being on the field all time leading to them getting fatigued.”
Most criticism was directed towards the offense, particularly Patullo. Under his leadership, the offense ranked near the bottom of the league in yards per game, according to ESPN, despite containing elite players like Barkley, Hurts, and Brown. Fans also criticized the offense’s mentality, saying the drive to win a Super Bowl was lacking.
“The [offense] didn’t have the passion or drive this year to pursue [a Super Bowl], and I feel like that was brought out even more by Kevin Patullo,” Luca said. “All season from [him], we saw this half-effort play calling, or they’d get an early lead in the first half. Then they’d take this relaxed approach to approaching the game and that was just proven time and time again not to work.”
Following the Eagles loss to the 49ers, Patullo was fired. The Eagles hired 33-year old Sean Mannion as their new Offensive Coordinator on January 29; he previously served as a quarterback coach for the Green Bay Packers.
“It was pretty obvious that what was going on was not working and it was just exhausting as a fan to see them keep trying the same things over and over again with no success,” Luca said. “It just felt like watching a broken record every single week of the same thing with no improvement.”
