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Eagles' Nick Sirianni's Omission as NFL COY Finalist Slammed as 'Disgrace' by Fans
January 25, 2023
Nick Sirianni led the Philadelphia Eagles to a 14-3 record and the No. 1 seed in the NFC, but it wasn't enough to be one of three finalists for the Associated Press Coach of the Year.
Though Sirianni was initially listed as one of five finalists by the NFL, Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press clarified that there are only three finalists for the award. The New York Giants' Brian Daboll, Jacksonville Jaguars' Doug Pederson and San Francisco 49ers' Kyle Shanahan were the finalists, per Maaddi.
Unsurprisingly, Eagles fans weren't happy about the coach's exclusion among the top candidates:
Sirianni certainly had a strong claim to the award.
After leading the team to a 9-8 record in his first season with the team last year, Sirianni lifted the squad to new heights. The Eagles started 13-1 before starting quarterback Jalen Hurts suffered a shoulder injury, and the team went 14-1 overall with Hurts in the lineup.
Philadelphia will host the San Francisco 49ers in Sunday's NFC Championship Game with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
Despite Sirriani's success, the other candidates have arguably an even better claim to the award.
The Giants had five straight losing seasons before hiring Daboll, who took the team from 4-13 to 9-7-1 in his first year. Even if New York lost three games to the Eagles, few expected to see this squad in the divisional round of the playoffs this year.
The same could be said for the Jaguars, who went from 3-14 in 2021 to 9-8 in 2022 in the first year under Pederson. The former Eagles coach completely transformed the culture in just one season with Jacksonville following Urban Meyer's disastrous tenure.
Shanahan had higher expectations entering the year with the 49ers, but the coach overcame significant adversity to lead his team to a 13-4 record. After the team's top two quarterbacks, Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, suffered season-ending injuries, rookie seventh-round pick Brock Purdy took over and won seven straight games as a starter (including playoffs).
It created a difficult choice for voters, and the alternatives were enough to leave Sirianni off the list. An Eagles coach hasn't won the award since Andy Reid in 2002.