Sirianni’s job lies in the hands of Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio. Thoughts and prayers, Nick.

From left, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, quarterback Jalen Hurts, owner Jeffrey Lurie, and GM Howie Roseman in April.

The men tasked with rebuilding Jalen Hurts have arrived in Philadelphia, even though they weren’t able to save more accomplished talents Dak Prescott and Justin Herbert.

Meanwhile, the man tasked with rebuilding the Eagles defense has been welcomed to leave the last two full-time employers he’s had.

In these men’s hands lies Nick Sirianni’s job.

The Eagles last week hired Kellen Moore to replace one-and-done offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, the scapegoat who spent the two previous seasons transforming Hurts from long-term project to MVP candidate. Moore then hired Doug Nussmeier, his trusted lieutenant and quarterbacks coach at the sites of Moore’s two most recent failures, Dallas and Los Angeles. Nussmeier is Hurts’ new nursemaid.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni (right) speaking at a Jan. 24 press conference with general manager Howie Roseman.

In their four years together, Moore and Nussmeier combined to win one of three playoff games, all with the Cowboys, and before you blame the Cowboys’ shaky defense, they scored 17 and 12 points in the playoff losses.

Moore, 34, is a young man and a young coach, so maybe his best days are ahead of him.

Vic Fangio, 65, is neither.

He’s been either an NFL defensive coordinator or head coach for 19 years, and now he’s the Eagles‘ DC, more because of reputation than accomplishment. He’s won six playoff games in that span, and he’s won zero playoff games in his last nine seasons in those roles.

These are big NFL names with small NFL results.

These are Sirianni’s anointed saviors.

Thought and prayers, folks.

League sources say the Eagles aren’t even bothering to pretend that Sirianni had much say in these hires. This comes after a year in which several of the same league sources swore that, after Sirianni lost his coordinators to head coaching jobs following the Super Bowl, he didn’t have much choice as far as their replacements.

The sources said that hiring 2023 defensive coordinator Sean Desai, a Fangio disciple, was general manager Howie Roseman’s idea. Other sources said that hiring Matt Patricia, a product of the Patriots dynasty, to be a “senior assistant” was owner Jeffrey Lurie’s idea. Sirianni, Roseman, and Lurie have consistently contended that hiring both was Sirianni’s idea. At any rate, hiring either of them was a bad idea, and if hiring them was, in fact, Sirianni’s idea, maybe it’s a good idea to not let him hire their replacements.

It is a hell of a thing for Sirianni, though. Three coaches with limited success will spell his short-term fate in the NFL. For that matter, considering Sirianni’s antics and affectations, another bad season in Philly might seal his fate as a college wide receivers coach for the rest of his life.

Until Lurie speaks next month, we won’t know how close he came to firing Sirianni after the Eagles plummeted from 10-1 to 11-6, then got destroyed in Tampa by Baker Mayfield in the playoffs, and none of the aforementioned sources had any inkling about Lurie’s thinking. Of course, Lurie probably won’t be entirely forthcoming about almost firing a coach he ultimately retained, so we’ll probably never know.

Look, I get it. The Eagles had to hire somebody. All the obviously best candidates either have jobs as coordinators, like Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson; were interviewing for head coaching vacancies, like former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel; or are plotting their revenge, like Bill Belichick.

Also, historically, when Roseman and Lurie meddle, things don’t always go badly. Three years ago, Roseman wanted to hire Colts defensive backs coach Jonathan Gannon as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator even before Lurie decided to hire Sirianni, who was the Colts’ offensive coordinator, and two years later that duo went to the Super Bowl. Similarly, in 2016, Roseman and Lurie actually hired Jim Schwartz as their defensive coordinator before they settled on Doug Pederson as their head coach, and two years later that duo won the Super Bowl.

Eagles receivers would ‘love’ Kellen Moore’s scheme, Cowboys star CeeDee Lamb says. He would know.

All of the newcomers come with bona fides, to a degree. The Cowboys ranked first, 14th, first, and 11th in yards under Moore and Nussmeier, and did so as Prescott battled varying injuries. Moore even helped Cooper Rush go 4-1 in 2022 as Prescott’s understudy. Moore puts his quarterbacks under center, uses the middle of the field, and sends players in motion, all tactics that Sirianni and Hurts are loath to use.

Still, the Chargers and their toothless offense won just five games in 2023, and star quarterback Herbert regressed before a broken finger ended his season after 13 games. Prescott never really progressed under Moore, either.

By 2018, Fangio’s fourth and final season with the Bears, he had built a defense that was No. 1 against the run, No. 1 in opponents’ scoring, and No. 1 in forced turnovers.

Vic Fangio’s job: Make sure Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, and Nolan Smith aren’t the latest Eagles DL busts

Significantly, the Broncos were top-10 in scoring defense in two of his three seasons as head coach. Then again, the Dolphins were nothing special with him as coordinator last season, and players in a good-time town like Miami reportedly bristled under Fangio’s hard-nosed approach. And Juan Castillo could have schemed a dominant defense if he’d had Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks on his line, like Fangio did in Chicago in 2018.

If Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis rebound in 2024 with years like Mack’s and Hicks’ in 2018, Sirianni’s future is assured.

Thoughts and prayers, people. Thoughts and prayers.

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