Players offer support for Nick Sirianni as Eagles conduct exit interviews

The Eagles’ disappointing second half of 2023 came to a fitting end with a blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to close Super Wild Card Weekend.

The team’s freefall in performance has put Nick Sirianni’s job security in question. Sirianni completed exit interviews with players and was expected to meet with owner Jeffery Lurie Wednesday, which may precede some changes, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.

Sirianni was expected to present his plan for the future to Lurie during the meeting, which should include staff changes at defensive coordinator, and potentially offensive coordinator, as well, Rapoport reported. If Sirianni is open to such changes, he will likely stay as Eagles coach, but if Lurie doesn’t approve of Sirianni’s plan, a different outcome could result.

A year ago, Sirianni’s Eagles were in the midst of a run to Super Bowl LVII. The mere fact a departure is possible for Sirianni is stunning, but underscores how dramatically the Eagles devolved in their final seven weeks, squandering a 10-1 start with an 11-7 finish.

Philadelphia played like a defeated team on Monday night in Tampa, failing to find much success offensively while continuing to struggle defensively. Replacement defensive coordinator Matt Patricia watched his defense succumb to the will of Baker Mayfield and Buccaneers OC Dave Canales in the 32-9 defeat, capping a dreadful stretch in which Philadelphia lost six of their last seven games.

Eagles players voiced their support for Sirianni before departing the team facility for the offseason Wednesday.

“Come on man, what is there to talk about?” defensive tackle Fletcher Cox said Wednesday, via WPVI’s Mark Meany. “This man, he’s a winner, he’s a winning head coach. Did we have some bumps this year, yeah, but every team, every organization, everybody goes through it. But we don’t look at firing a man who obviously has won 10-plus games two years in a row, that’s took this organization to three playoff appearances three years in a row. That’s a respect.

“Coach is, he’s a good leader for this team, he does a really good job. Did we come up short? Yeah. Did things happen this year? Yeah. But I don’t discuss about firing a man, this man got a family, I don’t discuss about anything about that.”

Eagles tackle Jordan Mailata was similarly supportive of Sirianni and seemingly flabbergasted by the notion the Eagles might fire Sirianni a year after he’d led them to the game’s greatest stage.

“He took us to the Super Bowl, playoffs three straight years… that has to mean something,” Mailata said, via NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Ashlyn Sullivan. “I love that he is my coach.”

This wouldn’t be a topic if the Eagles didn’t flat out fall apart late in the season. By the time they reached the playoffs, they resembled a cellar-dweller, not a reigning conference champion. But a journey to a Super Bowl can be taxing on a team, and sometimes, an offseason reset, and some staff changes, are all that’s needed to get things right.

Eagles players are hoping that’s the solution to their problems. We’ll see if Lurie agrees.