Nick Sirianni Is Validating Comparisons Between 2023 & 2025 Eagles

A loss on Monday Night Football in December on the West Coast is just the latest example.

The 2025 Philadelphia Eagles have shown eerie similarities to the 2023 team that collapsed to lose six of their final seven games.

Nick Sirianni has publicly downplayed the obvious comparisons. However, his inability to steer his team away from chaos fuels the stunningly undeniable volatility that characterizes the Eagles more than any other successful NFL franchise.

Jeffrey Lurie hired Nick Sirianni as an offensive coach. The former college wide receiver and offensive coordinator has transitioned into more of a ‘CEO’ head coaching role. Sirianni doesn’t call plays for a unit that’s drastically underperformed relative to their talent.

Kevin Patullo has struggled in his first season calling plays. The inability to replace coordinators effectively reflects poorly on Sirianni's ability to coach the assistant coaches as part of a subjectively strong culture.

Sirianni’s most obvious mistake in 2023 was exposing panic by shifting primary responsibilities on defense from the less-experienced Sean Desai to veteran assistant Matt Patricia. He passed on the opportunity to take offensive play-calling responsibilities from struggling coordinator Brian Johnson. He instead signaled blame on his defense, where he's always been less involved.

ESPN's Tim McManus reported that entering the Los Angeles Chargers game, Sirianni increased his involvement in offense gameplans as the 2025 Eagles spiral downward.

Sirianni hasn't taken play-calling responsibilities, and he waited until the offense reached a state of downright dysfunction to increase his involvement.

If Sirianni has learned from past mistakes, why wouldn’t he also mimic his most successful adjustment as Eagles head coach?

He famously used the bye week in 2024 to transition to a power rushing attack that led the Eagles to Super Bowl LIX. In 2025, he instead passed through the Thanksgiving holiday without a proactive adjustment to an offense that was showing serious weaknesses the entire season. 

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The Eagles might’ve benefitted from a change in play-calling. However, Sirianni didn’t step in as a strong offensive coach who could assume a short-term responsibility under difficult circumstances.

He instead indicated it’s not just that he doesn’t call plays. It’s that he can’t call plays.

Sirianni’s most successful offensive adjustments during his five seasons as Eagles head coach have been to simplify the offense. While a predictable unit demonstrates their glaring need for complexities to compete with opposing defenses, he hasn’t found the answers.

Nick Sirianni became a problem himself in 2023 with questionable leadership and unprofessional sideline demeanor. The lack of composure fed a bad reputation for berating NFL officials, according to Jeff McLane.

He hasn’t shown improved poise in 2025. After storming to a 21-0 lead against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 12, the Eagles stagnated on offense with eight straight scoreless drives.

The FOX broadcast, meanwhile, showed Sirianni berating officials along the sidelines. The demeanor of panic was an appropriate microcosm of an 8-2 team that somehow had no confidence in themselves to hold a 21-point lead.

Sirianni has mentioned an advantage of an offensive coordinator calling plays. He believes it allows a head coach to utilize his time with other in-game responsibilities. The concept shouldn’t include screaming at officials.

The Eagles won 16 of their final 17 games in 2024 after a slow start. Sirianni handled himself poorly after their loss to the Washington Commanders in Week 16. Moments after the only loss of the most dominant stretch in franchise history, Sirianni insulted franchise legend and Washington tight end Zach Ertz with juvenile trash talk and poor sportsmanship.

After the Eagles lost to the Chicago Bears on Black Friday, Sirianni had the opportunity to seek advice from NBA legend Steve Kerr while the Golden State Warriors visited Philadelphia. Kerr admires his former coach Phil Jackson for paving the way for a new era of professional coaches who took the emphasis off yelling at their players as a form of motivation.

Sirianni didn’t emulate Kerr’s mindset in Philadelphia’s next game against the Chargers. The ESPN broadcast showed him berating officials after a holding penalty – which was the correct call – on Jordan Mailata that took a touchdown off the board.

A coach with two Super Bowl appearances and one Lombardi Trophy on his resume won’t lose his job if the Eagles fall short of their goals in 2025. Sirianni has shown humility to absorb criticism for his players' mistakes. He's also developed a reputation for grinding to find the smallest game management advantages.

However, Nick Sirianni is overseeing a massive plummet for the second time in three seasons. His team’s obvious intangible weaknesses reflect remarkably poorly on a coach who’s supposed to manage their culture.

The characteristics mirror their head coach’s lack of composure, and his inability to add complexities to the offense only legitimize the critics who downplay his individual impact on the franchise's overall success.

Such an impressive win/loss record doesn’t happen by accident. Sirianni has contributed to some of the franchise’s most successful seasons.

However, his weaknesses impact the team drastically in their worst moments.