That was a fair question for Nick Sirianni, but I had a hard time not thinking about the famous scene in the 1999 film Office Space.
What would you do here?
Of course, the question was asked with more sensitivity in this week's press conference. But after finding out on Wednesday that Sirianni is ready to give up even more power on offense and knowing that his specialty certainly isn't in defense, where Vic Fangio is rumored to be taking the lead, it's fair to wonder about Sirianni's future Role to wonder.
“The head coach of the football team,” Sirianni replied.
Okay, that doesn't really answer much. So Sirianni was asked what that meant. His answer didn't necessarily inspire much confidence.
Sirianni, 42, initially said he might attend more defensive sessions. But the real answer came when he talked about the team's culture, its core values and the connection with the players.
It sounds like the Eagles will complete Sirianni's transition to full-time CEO coach in 2024.
Which could work. But maybe not.
While Sirianni has already been pretty much a CEO-coach for the past two and a half years since he relinquished offensive control in the 2021 season, he certainly made it seem like he would be relinquishing even more offensive control in 2024 on Wednesday He talked about the next offensive coordinator bringing his own plan with fresh ideas and said that person will be in charge of the offense. It's hard to imagine that this was his idea.
Because that's quite a concession for Sirianni, who just over a month ago explained why any criticism of the offense should fall to him and not the now-fired Brian Johnson.
“I was hired to do a job here and was hired because of my success as an offensive coordinator with our schemes and the different things we did to coach players and help them win,” Sirianni said on December 20th. “I’m obligated to do that.”
Sirianni may have been committed to his offense — which he finally admitted this week was stale — but the Eagles certainly weren't. And when push came to shove, Sirianni was determined to keep his job, and there's no shame in that.
We'll see who the Eagles hire as their next offensive coordinator, as the level of Sirianni's involvement in the offense will likely depend on that person. If it's a long-time NFL player who may even have head coaching experience, then Sirianni is probably more reserved. If it's a first-time OC with no play-calling experience, then their role is probably more important.
So we'll see how committed Sirianni ends up being on the side of the ball where his expertise is based.
Either way, it's hard to imagine Sirianni not being involved at all on this side of football. While the Eagles didn't hire him for his offensive prowess as much as he might think, he is a former offensive coordinator and game-planned for an offense that was elite just a few years ago. But after a disappointing performance in 2023, everyone should agree that new ideas are needed.
Questions about Sirianni's involvement in the offense will likely persist throughout the season. But it's not like these types of questions aren't on the heels of the NFL's other successful CEO-head coaches.
One of the league's most successful coaches is Detroit's Dan Campbell, a former NFL tight end who doesn't call offensive plays. But during his rookie season in 2021, he did the opposite of Sirianni. After a 44-6 loss to the Eagles in Week 8, Campbell took over from OC Anthony Lynn following the bye week. Since then? Campbell hired Ben Johnson as his OC and Johnson was a masterful player who could be a head coach in a few weeks.
And even Mike Tomlin, the longtime head coach in Pittsburgh, isn't immune to all of this. Here's a post from Behind the Steel Curtain from 2021 that addressed this question floating around on Steelers Twitter: “What does Mike Tomlin actually do?”
It's also worth noting that former Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler said after his retirement that Tomlin repeatedly dictated assignments on defense during Butler's years in Pittsburgh.
Baltimore's John Harbaugh is another prime example of a CEO-head coach and he was very successful during his 16-year tenure with the Ravens, which allowed him to overcome some ups and downs during that time with just one Super Bowl appearance .
When offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell left in 2014, Harbaugh explained why he wouldn't start calling plays on offense.
“I don't think my style will ever be to take one side of the ball or one particular phase, take it and then ignore the other two phases,” Harbaugh said, via the Ravens' website.
“There are coaches for whom this makes sense, guys who have been offensive coordinators their whole careers and they know that, or they've been quarterbacks coaches their whole careers and they're going to take over at quarterback. It makes sense to these guys, and this is what they're going to do and this is how they're going to do it. But that’s just not my background.”
The CEO model can definitely work.
Okay, now you're going to start laughing and tell me that Nick Sirianni isn't John Harbaugh. He's not Mike Tomlin. He may not even be Dan Campbell. Just.
But there are other qualities that can make a successful head coach beyond being a genius on offense or defense. Sometimes they are overlooked.
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Dan Campbell has never been a major player praised for his offensive genius, he's not a QB guru, and most of you laughed at him and didn't take him seriously at all after his opening press conference. But he is a great leader and teacher for both coaches and players and a motivator…
– Louis Riddick (@LRiddickESPN) January 25, 2024
During his tenure as head coach of the Eagles, Sirianni has demonstrated the ability to create a strong culture. He has shown that he has the ability to connect with his players. And these things are important.
Two of the key elements of a good CEO coach are the ability to have a strong culture and take ownership on game day. The bad news for Sirianni is that the Eagles' culture failed to prevent a disastrous decline last season. And the matchday management was anything but perfect.
But it's also easy to understand why the Eagles didn't want to get rid of Sirianni. You tried to look at this from a macroeconomic perspective. They believe they have a culture setter coach who has been successful and may be able to transform into what they need now: a CEO coach with strong coordinators who is able to delegate and lead.
What if he can't become that? Then he won't be here much longer anyway.
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