Former NFL GM Randy Mueller Likes Nick Sirianni's Ability to Adjust
Through his first 13 games, Nick Sirianni continues to show significant potential as a head coach in the NFL and that thesis boils down to something rather simple: the willingness to adapt.
Like any coach, Sirianni has his beliefs and would ultimately like to build the Eagles offense into an 11 personnel-heavy group with the balance to run the ball or throw it at will.
With four 200-yard rushing games over Philadelphia’s past six contests, part of that equation has been accomplished due to the strength of the offensive line, an impressive powerful group that can seemingly open holes at will.
During the 2021 season, Sirianni’s offense has already morphed from an RPO-heavy default setting that was probably putting too much on the plate of a first-time starter in Jalen Hurts to the run-driven unit that is No. 1 in the NFL when it comes to the ground game.
And neither of those offensive personalities is Sirianni’s end game, a destination he may never even reach.
But that doesn’t mean he can’t be a very successful head coach.
“That's coaching, right?” former NFL Executive of the Year Randy Mueller told SI.com’s EagleMaven via JAKIB Media's BIRDS 365 show when discussing the head coach this week. "That's coaching 101. … You'd like to have an ideal team that you build on paper that this is exactly what [you] want. It fits our criteria perfectly. We know that's not possible. That's not real.”
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That sentiment may seem obvious but you can turn on the television each Sunday and you will see numerous coaches trying to pound square pegs into round holes.
Sirianni is trying to win football games by any means necessary.
Take last Sunday’s 33-18 win over the Jets.
Sirianni and his offensive brain trust, which includes offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, passing game coordinator Kevin Patullo, run game coordinator Jeff Stoutland and quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson, came up with a curveball for Robert Saleh and the Jets.
The “Uncle Charlie” unleashed wasn’t the default setting Saleh was expecting, it was a heavy dose of 12 (two tight ends) and 13 (three TEs) personnel.
The Eagles used 12 or 13P on 37 of 68 offensive plays (54.4 percent) in the win, a callback to their 44-6 rout of Detroit in which the number was 56.4 percent but heavily driven by the blowout nature of the game.
Against the Jets, Sirianni sensed that the junk was better than the fastball, and pulling the string had Saleh swinging at air.
“You gotta deal, you have to move. You gotta be able to find alternatives to develop players [and schemes] in different ways and I think Nick has done a pretty good job of that,” said Muller, the former GM in New Orleans and Miami. “He's willing to adjust. I don't think he's a guy that sits inside a box and says 'this is the way we're gonna do it.'”
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
