Last September, October and November, plenty of people felt the Philadelphia Eagles were arguably the best team in the NFL and the favorites to win the Super Bowl championship.
But despite a 10-1 start, the team came apart at the seams afterward, losing five of its last six games and getting blown out by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
They had major problems on defense, and there were rumors that head coach Nick Sirianni was on the hot seat and that perhaps there was tension between himself and others.
That hot seat talk has been renewed, and Dianna Russini of The Athletic said that while the relationship between Sirianni and quarterback Jalen Hurts doesn’t have the animosity it seems to, it is still developing.
“The way I would describe it: The relationship is still a work in progress,” Russini said. “Last year there was some disconnect between them, due to their personalities.”
One possible issue Russini did point to is the fact that Sirianni “is a conservative playcaller” and that it could be something Hurts isn’t thrilled about.
At least on the surface, Philly does seem to have the talent to return to the Super Bowl and complete the job there this time — they have one of the NFL’s best wide receivers duos in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, and they added star running back Saquon Barkley this offseason.
While linebacker Haason Reddick has departed, they still have talent on defense, including newcomer Bryce Huff and rookie defensive backs Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell.
Philly is a very tough sports city to please, and if Sirianni doesn’t at least guide his men back to the Super Bowl this winter, the calls for him to be fired will grow a lot louder.
