The Philadelphia Eagles have had a nice run of success over the last several seasons under Head Coach Nick Sirianni.
The Eagles have won games in different ways with different coaches over the years.
Coaches like Greasy Neale (1941-1950), who won two Championships in 48′ & 49′. Dick Vermeil (1976-1982), who took the Eagles to the Super Bowl in 1980 and went on to win it with the Rams in 1999.
Andy Reid (1999-2012) took the Eagles to four consecutive NFC Championships in 01′, 02′, 03′, & 04′ (getting to the Super Bowl in 04′) and 08′. Andy went on to win three Super Bowls (to date) with the Chiefs. Doug Pederson (2016-2020), who brought the very first Lombardi Trophy to Philadelphia in 2017.
And now Nick Sirianni (2021-Present), who has taken the Eagles to two Super Bowls (winning one) in his first five years with the team.
Nick’s winning percentage so far is one of the highest all-time, not just of the above-mentioned coaches, but of any coach who has ever coached in the NFL.
Greasy Neale
During his time with the Philadelphia Eagles way back in the 1940’s, Greasy Neale called plays for his offense. Neale was considered innovative for his time because he pioneered play-action passes, especially in short-yardage situations.
Greasy was recognized for his unique play-calling designs. His installation of fake handoffs and long passes was definitely ahead of its time.
Dick Vermeil
Throughout Dick Vermeil’s coaching career, he was known for being very hands-on with his offenses and directly calling plays.
Vermeil ran what were referred to as “perimeter-friendly” schemes, creating in-depth playbooks featuring hundreds of plays that incorporated specialized personnel groups.
Andy Reid
Andy Reid has always been the primary play-caller during his years of success in Philly and now in Kansas City. Andy is known for being well-prepared and for his creativity in designing ways to get the ball to his top playmakers, commonly referred to as the “first 15”.
Reid is widely recognized for his offensive expertise from decades of coaching in the NFL.
Doug Pederson
Doug Pederson played under Coach Reid in Green Bay and in Philadelphia as a backup quarterback. Coach Reid then hired Doug in 2009 as an offensive quality control coach, later promoting him to quarterbacks coach in 2011. In 2013, Coach Reid became the head coach in KC and brought Doug with him as his offensive coordinator, a role Doug held until 2015. Pederson then became the head coach in Philadelphia, where he called plays (including the infamous “Philly Special” in SB 52), just as his mentor (Reid) had done. Doug gives a lot of credit for molding him as a coach over the years they spent together.
Nick Sirianni
Nick Sirianni is a breed of his own and has had a different approach to his head coaching.
Nick tried to call plays when he first took over the Eagles in 2021. However, he stopped calling plays in the middle of the 2021 season and hasn’t since. Sirianni is involved in offensive game planning, but he prefers to let his offensive coordinators call the plays during games, taking on a more “CEO”-style of coaching. Nick has had some really good and really bad offensive coordinators in his tenure in Philadelphia. From 2021 (mid-season) to 2022, Shane Steichen was the OC in Philly, when he helped the Eagles win 14 games and reach the Super Bowl. Steichen has gone on to become the Colts’ head coach, and during this last season, had his team at the top of the AFC until they lost their starting QB for the year. In 2023, Brian Johnson was promoted from within to OC in Philly. Johnson’s only season as OC in Philly started off looking promising, but the team collapsed down the stretch, and he was fired in the offseason. Sirianni decided to go a different route in 2024, hiring Kellen Moore from outside the organization.
This would ultimately turn out to be the best hire of Nick Sirianni’s coaching career because Moore would be instrumental not only in getting the Eagles back to the big game but also in blowing out Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59.
Moore moved on to become the Saints’ head coach this past season, and once again, Sirianni promoted from within, a decision that ultimately proved disastrous for the team in 2025. Kevin Patullo was made the OC, and yes, the Eagles made the playoffs; however, that was more a result of the NFC East being a weak division, with the Cowboys (the next-best team) only winning 7 games.
The Eagles were bounced from the playoffs in the first round at home by an injury-riddled 49ers team that would go on to get destroyed the following week in Seattle.
During his tenure with the Eagles, Coach Sirianni has made the playoffs every year, granted some years have looked more like “playoofs” with early exits in 21′, 23′, & 25′. However, Nick has shown great resilience and resolve, leading his teams to the NFC Championship in 22′ and the Super Bowl in 24′.
So, with the Eagles once again being one-and-done, the real question shouldn’t be “what does he do?” but “what will he do?”
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