Philadelphia Eagles’ Answer to Adversity is Business as Usual
PHILADELPHIA - An outhouse might seem like a cozy concept for embattled Philadelphia Eagles’ first-year coordinators Brian Johnson and Sean Desai.
A 10-1 penthouse was fun while it lasted but adversity hit over the past two weeks in the form of the Eagles’ top two peers on the NFC side, the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys.
Consecutive losses by a combined 75-32 margin to the conference's elite have turned one of the most passionate fan bases in sports into one of the most irrational, although some would argue the latter part of that is more of a constant that peeks out its head in tough times.
On Monday morning, hours after a 33-13 loss to the Cowboys in prime time, one fan showed up at the NovaCare Complex with a sign imploring the organization to fire Desai.
“That's part of the job,” head coach Nick Sirianni said when asked about the malcontent on Tuesday. “We know what we signed up for and we're big boys and we can handle it.”
Eagles OC Brian Johnson is doubling down on the team's process.
John McMullen/Eagles Today
The man himself was asked by SI.com’s Eagles Today about the angst surrounding his job performance on Wednesday and the echo was notable.
“That's part of the job,” said Desai.
No use poking the bear so Desai took the high road before getting back to the work that could potentially turn his narrative back in a positive direction.
“There is always going to be criticism,” Desai said. “Go back every week of this season there was criticism based on different things that happened in the game. When you play a couple games the way we have, not the performance or the standard we want to, that's going to magnify and amplify. I get it. That's okay.
“Everybody, fans, you guys, everybody is entitled to their opinions. What we have to do is just lean into each other and really focus on our process and getting better.”
Offensively, the usually verbose Sirianni brushed off any intimation of taking the play-calling back from Johnson with a one-word declaration.
“No,” the head coach said before leaving open air for the follow-up.
“What’s behind that thinking?” a reporter pressed.
“I feel good with the people that we have in this building,” said Sirianni. “We're 10-3. We're in control of our own destiny [in the division], and we're going to keep rolling and finding answers with the people that we have.”
The context to all of this is that even after the two ugly losses, the Eagles are tied for the best record in the NFL for the 33rd consecutive regular-season week but the expectations around this team have risen far past those heights.
Style points and wire-to-wire dominance don’t quite reach Jalen Hurts’ much-discussed standard of perfection but it’s just as daunting.
Johnson pointed back to Sirianni's 2-5 start as a head coach in 2021 when the coach doubled down on his core coaching philosophies.
"I think Nick gave a great message at that point in 2021. We were 2-5 and he talked about doubling down on our process and sticking true to what we believe," Johnson said. "I think that's very, very important and important lesson to take when you're in a process-driven profession but it's really ultimately results-based."
In the end, the only thing that can wipe away the current adversity and the anger it has spawned is the eraser of a Lombardi Trophy.
To accomplish that goal, it’s business as usual in South Philadelphia.
“To single somebody out, one person out, is not the right move here,” Sirianni said. “It's how do we get better as a team? And we have to get better as a team. Make no mistake about it. But that's where we are.”
