ClutchPoints
When the Philadelphia Eagles hired Nick Sirianni as their head coach, the expectation was that the former Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator would get to call plays for the first time in his NFL coaching career.
And yet, during his second season in Philadelphia, something unusual happened: Sirianni handed over play-calling duties to his then-offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, and has been filling more of a “CEO” role with the team ever since, helping with key decision-making, managing the clock, and guaranteeing that everything is going on-schedule the way he wants it to be run.
At the time, this decision was controversial, but it’s hard to argue that it didn’t work, as the Eagles made it to the Super Bowl later that season, won 11 games in an ugly 2023 season, and made it back to the big game again at the end of the 2024 NFL season, where they will again play the Kansas City Chiefs for a shot at the Lombardi Trophy.
Discussing how the decision to stop calling plays came about and why it remains a good decision to this day, with Kellen Moore calling the shots on offense now, with reporters at Super Bowl media week, Sirianni noted that it’s given him a more macro look at the football team, which, in turn, has helped him to establish a culture in the City of Brotherly Love.
“There’s a lot, obviously, to do during the game as far as managing a football game and all the things that go into that with the decisions that go into that and two-minute football, four-minute football, fourth down decisions. Everything that goes there. And so, on game day, that’s what I’m focused on. As far as during the week and things like that, still go to a lot of different meetings and talk through a lot of the game planning with the offense,” Siriani told reporters.
“It’s about setting the culture. It’s about being able to go to different things, being able to if a player needs you, to be able to step out of a meeting to be able to meet with that player. There are a lot of different things that go into it. Calling plays is one portion of it that some coaches do and some coaches don’t. So, that’s just the mode that I have.”
Would the Eagles be equally successful if Sirianni was running the offense as his primary objective, helping with special teams and defensive strategies between drives as he dialed up the next great play? No, he probably wouldn’t be, as calling the offense is a full-time job, as is running the defense, coordinating special teams, and being a head coach, for that matter, too. When Sirianni figured that out, the Eagles started having success borderline unprecedented in franchise history, and even when Moore moves on for one opportunity or another – New Orleans Saints, here he comes – it’s safe to say that won’t change.
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