Should Nick Sirianni Be in Consideration for Coach of the Year?

It seems so long ago but when Nick Sirianni gave his awkward introductory press conference as Eagles head coach it seemed like things were not going to go well. It was hard enough for him to fill in the shoes of Doug Pederson, the first head coach to deliver a Lombardi trophy to Philadelphia, but his youth and lack of experience in high NFL leadership roles made him vulnerable to be shredded by the Philly wolves.

His debut season itself didn’t start out well as the team was frustratingly inconsistent and full of question marks. Sirianni’s stubborn will to stick to the pass brought back negative memories of past Eagles coaches and it seemed like he’d be out within two seasons.

But here we are now and Sirianni has massively improved as a coach just as the team themselves have. They run the ball in ways very few Eagle teams ever have and are stacking more wins over the past couple of months. The Birds have doubled their win total from last year’s miserable campaign and people are starting to believe in Sirianni as a coach and Jalen Hurts as a quarterback. Howie Roseman has even gained some credibility back for finding decent replacements for Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz.

Now the Birds have their playoff destiny in their own hands and have two games left to prove it. With this massive improvement in the team, the question now arises: Should Sirianni be in consideration for NFL coach of the year?

In a season where there hasn’t been a clear cut best team and NFL MVP, there’s also no clear cut NFL coach of the year. The award will either go to a coach of a team who has the Number 1 seed in the conference, or the coach of the most impressive team turnaround.

Packers coach Matt LeFleur has had three consecutive brilliant regular seasons, but its hard to get more credit when Aaron Rodgers is the quarterback of your team. The long-tenured Hall of Fame coaches Bill Belichick and Andy Reid have been taken for granted and a great team performance is standard for them. Titans coach Mike Vrabel has forged the team onto the playoffs despite losing their MVP Derrick Henry in the middle of the season. And even Bengals coach Zac Taylor has quietly saved his job in an impressive turnaround season.

But out of all the first-year head coaches, only Brandon Staley of the Los Angeles can say he’s had just as a good a rookie season as Sirianni. But as of today the Chargers are outside of the playoff picture and the Birds are in. Being the breakout first year head coach is big for the Coach of the Year award. And the world has witnessed Sirianni slowly take a team coming off a dumpster fire 2020 season into a competent and well-run machine just as they were in the late 2010s.

Obviously in order for him to get the award, he has to finish the job and lead the Eagles to the playoffs. If they take advantage of this opportunity, Sirianni will have a good chance at getting the prize.