Eagles RB says divide between front office, locker room led to team's collapse

Running back Kenneth Gainwell.

There’s likely not one singular reason as to why the Philadelphia Eagles lost six of their last seven games last season, including their Super Wild Card Weekend matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But running back Kenneth Gainwell recently stated if he had to pinpoint one particular issue that facilitated the team’s late-season collapse it would be the division between the front office and the players in the locker room.

“I think it was a connection piece. Teams like the Chiefs are well-connected, upstairs and downstairs, front office and locker room — everybody’s connected,” Gainwell told the “Javien University Podcast.” “When you got guys that’s not talking to each other, then you never know what’s going on.”

There were several reported rifts between Eagles coaches and players, and coaches and front-office personnel, and there were several dust-ups recorded on the sideline during some of Philly’s games in Weeks 13-18 and leading into the playoffs.

“We weren’t the only ones seeing it; fans were seeing it too,” Gainwell added. “There’s video showing guys on the sideline not talking to each other. It’s not good looks. If you arguing with coaches on the sideline, it’s not showing good looks. It all trickles down.”

The Eagles held a players-only meeting in early January, and star receiver A.J. Brown even organized a team trip to an escape room to help the team bond amid its struggles.

Former safety Kevin Byard acknowledged the toxicity of the Eagles’ locker room, hinting that some players were responsible for leaking certain things to the media that should have been kept in-house.

Despite the reports of tension between Eagles management and head coach Nick Sirianni, he kept his job, fired his coordinators and essentially hired a brand new coaching staff while keeping Philly’s roster mostly intact.

Things appear to be on the up and up now, but the Eagles are definitely a team to keep an eye on, especially if the losses start to pile up like they did last season.

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