Per Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, the Eagles are expected to hire Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni as their next head coach, replacing Doug Pederson. The Eagles had interviewed several candidates, including Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, but Sirianni is the guy.
The obvious connection here is Sirianni’s connection with Colts head coach Frank Reich, who had a great deal to do with Carson Wentz’s advancement when Reich was the Eagles’ offensive coordinator in 2016 and 2017. Of course, Wentz fell off a cliff from a performance perspective in the 2020 season, setting career lows in completion percentage (57.4%), yards (2,620), yards per attempt (6.0), Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt (3.98), and DYAR, where he was the NFL’s worst starting quarterback in 2020. The only career highs Wentz set in 2020 were in sacks (50) and interceptions (15).
The Eagles have made clear their intentions of trying to fix Wentz, which has a lot to do with the four year, $128 million extension Wentz signed in 2019. There’s no real way to get out of the contract until at least 2022, and the combination of Wentz’s cap hits and his recent performance make him virtually untradeable. The blame for Wentz’s decline has been blamed on everything from injuries to every part of the offense to Wentz’s alleged distaste for hard coaching, so there’s a lot for Sirianni to unpack here.
So, with all that in mind, and with Sirianni clearly given the charge to do whatever he can to fix his new franchise quarterback, here’s how Wentz’s new coach can make that happen.