The Philadelphia Eagles played five games. These are five thoughts on the team.
1) Eagles vibes are great but the season isn’t over yet.
This Eagles season is off to a terrible start.
Guilt is felt out of sorts. Lane Johnson retired. Cam Jurgens was traded. The defense has fallen hard. Coaching feels bad to the point of malpractice. The vibes haven’t been this bad since, well, since two years ago after a blowout loss to the Buccaneers.
Two weeks after being lit up by Kirk Cousins, the Eagles went to Tampa Bay and took a boat ride in the heat. People (myself included!) wanted Nick Sirianni fired and the hope fell on Jalen Hurts.
And we all know what happened after that.
Now, I’d be surprised if the Eagles repeat 2024. The pieces just aren’t there. But despite all the bad things about this team, and a lot to be disappointed about, I don’t want to throw in the towel on this season. Washington is a mess, the bottom is coming out of Jameis Winston in New York, and the Dallas Cowboys have been the same 9-8 team since the Obama administration. The NFC East is stupid every year and the Eagles can still tighten up the operation and make a run. The East is probably going to be won by 10 games and if you’d rather blow it in the middle of the season instead of pissing off Cowboys fans with a third straight division title… I don’t know what to tell you.
2) Nick Sirianni is still not the man.
Like everyone else, I have gone back and forth with Sirianni since he was hired. But I am confident (for now) that he is just not fit to lead this team. His whole schtick is supposed to be that he’s a cultured and prepared person. But the Eagles felt underprepared at the start of every season he’s been head coach and the culture has officially fallen off a cliff with the exit of Lane Johnson.
Every week it seems like the Eagles are fighting their own offensive coaching. The big plays seem to happen outside of the offensive structure and when Hurts makes audible calls at the line. That has been the trend for years. Nick’s influence on offense is felt from coordinator to coordinator.
Unless he miraculously runs this team to an NFC title appearance, you have to move on.
3) The Howie Roseman Conundrum.
Howie Roseman is the best GM in the NFL. I don’t think there’s really any debate about that. I guess you could say the last two drafts haven’t proven themselves yet, but those are two question marks on an odd track record, especially since 2021.
However…
If and when the Eagles fire Sirianni, the Eagles will have to contend with a dynamic that has followed Howie Roseman since he became GM more than 15 years ago. Howie doesn’t share much power, and people get kicked out when they try to usurp his power. Now, he believes very well in his abilities as a GM: He’s very good at it. However, the Eagles clearly need a head coach who can build a sustainable offensive ecosystem. Having an entire operation that relies on young offensive coordinators that can be taken outside every year is not a good way to move. However, the archetype of the offensive architect head coach usually means someone who wants to have a lot of say in the development of the roster.
When the Eagles first took Sirianni, I said Howie got a guy he could push around and never push back. I still believe. He didn’t play well with Andy Reid, or Chip Kelly, or Doug Pederson.
Now it clearly worked for Nick over the course of his tenure. There is no disputing that. But if (when) the Eagles move on to a new head coach, will Howie’s imminent presence keep some of the personality out of the team?
4) The youth movement is rarely beautiful.
The Eagles have been really good for a few years, in large part due to some fantastic veteran players on both sides of the ball who serve as a great influence on the talented youngsters.
Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Lane Johnson, Jason Kelce, and Darius Slay are now gone.
A new era must begin.
As I mentioned above, the jury is still out on the last two drafts, but so far it’s not looking good. However, this year will really show one way or another if the Eagles have anything in Jihaad Campbell, Makai Lemon, Andrew Mukuba, Markel Bell, Willie Lampkin, Eli Stowers, and Micah Morris. All flashed well and may just need more snaps to be more consistent.
But these kinds of transition periods rarely go smoothly even for the best teams. We saw it last year with the Chiefs. Ultimately, getting these kids snaps now could be really good for the team in the long run.
5) Howie knows the team is in transition.
Howie is a smart guy. He knew he had to prepare for the next season. Even if the Eagles make the playoffs this year, Howie will be aggressive in the 2027 offseason to reload the roster. The team has seven picks in what should be a very good 2027 draft, and seven picks in the 2028 draft, including two picks in the first round and two in the second.
Howie is smart enough to remember what happened after the 2018 Super Bowl win where bad drafting and an aging roster led to the team collapsing in 2020. I think he’s doing his best to avoid that.
We’ll see how it works out.