Eagles Won't Bench Jalen Hurts Or Fire Nick Sirianni - Not Yet, Anyway

Firing a coach this early in the season isn't Jeffrey Lurie's style, but let's revisit what the owner said six months ago about bringing Sirianni back as the team's coach this past offseason.

Sep 16, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris and Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni meet on the field after game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Nick Sirianni isn’t getting fired during the bye week. Jalen Hurts isn’t getting benched, either.

These are the two biggest overreactions coming out of a very bad performance by the Eagles in a 33-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Hurts, for better or worse, will continue to be the quarterback. He has flaws, yes, and maybe, after five years, they cannot be corrected. Still, he wins.

Something to consider: If Hurts had A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith on Sunday and the Bucs didn’t have Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, is the result of the game different?

As for Sirianni, firing a head coach after just four games isn’t owner Jeffrey Lurie’s style. Yes, he fired Chip Kelly with a game left in the 2015 season, but there were more reasons than wins and losses. He let Doug Pederson finish out the COVID year of 2020 with a 4-11-1 record. He let Andy Reid limp to the end with a record of 8-8 in 2011 and 4-12 in 2012 before firing him.

Even last year, when the Eagles were circling the drain, losers of six of their last seven games, Lurie brought Sirianni back for another season, this season right here.

Perhaps it’s best to remember what Lurie said on the decision to run it back with his head coach when he talked at the NFL owner’s meetings on March 26.

Oct 15, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie walks on the sideline before a game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

“I was highly encouraged by his analysis of where we’re at, no excuses, basically a fundamental understanding of what needs to be better than the last five-six weeks of (last) season. Not only a return to our championship-caliber performance and execution but improve on that, too. Not just go back to where we were, but be better than what we were in the really recent past.”

He talked than about how every team goes through rough stretches, singling out the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers and how they rebounded. He liked the pracive approach Sirinni took in bringing in coordinators with experience.

“Every coach is in a high-pressured situation,” Lurie said. “Nick has had a pretty spectacular first three seasons, and he’s shown all the ingredients to having outstanding success. So I’m just looking forward.

“There’s no coach that’s not feeling pressure to perform. That’s the way it is in the National Football League. But wow, I think Nick has got all the ingredients, and I’m just really excited about this coming season.”

Lurie asl talked about Hurts and loivng his leadership style. He has a longer leash than Sirianni, but even if the QB doesn't straighten out some of the things holding him back, the Eagles might enter the 2025 NFL draft looking for another quarterback. Or maybe they like Kenny Pickett enough to at least open the door to competition for the tarting job.

The season is only four games old, but there is a resume stretching beyond that. In their last 11, the Eagles are 3-8 with Sirianni and Hurts.

Something else to consider when it coms to parting ways with Sirianni is the instant avaioability of Bill Belichick, who could come in and give the organization a fresh set of eyes to evaulate everything.

Now, could Lurie break from tradition and make a move if things continue to spiral over the four games coming out of the bye – Browns, Giants, Bengals, and Jaguars? If the Eagles are 1-3 in that span and sit at 3-5, then maybe Lurie goes in another direction.

Maybe. Not now, though.

More NFL: Eagles Jalen Hurts Seems To Understand He Has A Turnover Problem