NFL
The Eagles Need a Higher Offensive Standard From Roseman and Sirianni
Three of Philadelphia’s last four offensive-coordinator appointments were first-time NFL coordinators. The repeated learning curves and current mistakes demand accountability from the people choosing and overseeing them.
Tanner McKee had the ball near midfield, a five-point deficit and more than nine minutes to put Philadelphia in front of Carolina. His next opportunity began with an aborted snap that cost the Eagles 12 yards, and two plays later, they were punting.
Sunday’s 25–14 loss was Philadelphia’s fourth consecutive defeat, and the offense again made its own job harder. I expect a higher standard from the people building and directing it. Howie Roseman deserves a substantial share of the blame, while Nick Sirianni has to answer for the offense he oversees.
The repeated choice at coordinator
Three of the Eagles’ last four offensive-coordinator appointments were first-time NFL coordinators: Brian Johnson in 2023, Kevin Patullo in 2025 and Sean Mannion this year. Johnson and Patullo were internal promotions, while Mannion arrived after two seasons coaching in Green Bay.
| Eagles seasons | Coach | Hiring route | First NFL coordinator job? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–2022 | Shane Steichen | Outside hire from Los Angeles Chargers | No |
| 2023 | Brian Johnson | Internal promotion from Eagles quarterbacks coach | Yes |
| 2024 | Kellen Moore | Outside hire from Los Angeles Chargers | No |
| 2025 | Kevin Patullo | Internal promotion from passing game coordinator/associate head coach | Yes |
| 2026 | Sean Mannion | Outside hire from Green Bay Packers | Yes |
Three of the four appointments from 2023 through 2026 were first NFL coordinator jobs. Johnson had prior college coordinator experience; Patullo had extensive NFL assistant experience. Mannion was an outside hire and a first-time NFL coordinator. Moore and Steichen arrived with NFL coordinator and play-calling experience.
Source: official team appointment records and coaching biographies, checked October 18, 2026, 8:37 PM MDT. Coordinator title and primary play-calling responsibility have distinct timelines.
Philadelphia has also hired experienced outsiders. Kellen Moore, the 2024 appointment, arrived with five previous NFL coordinator seasons, and Shane Steichen had coordinator and playcalling experience with the Chargers before joining the Eagles in 2021.
I question why Philadelphia keeps returning to first-time NFL coordinators when it expects to contend for a championship. Learning the responsibilities of the job cannot become a recurring explanation for an offense failing to get organized or making basic mistakes. The people making these appointments must ensure the coach is ready for what the team needs.
The responsibility above the coordinator
Roseman is the general manager helping assemble the roster, shape the organization and evaluate the people entrusted with it. Sirianni described consulting him and Jeffrey Lurie during this year’s coordinator search, and I do not think Roseman should be insulated from the consequences of the choices that leadership makes.
Sirianni’s responsibility is more direct because he arrived in Philadelphia after three seasons as Indianapolis’ offensive coordinator, with earlier experience coaching quarterbacks and receivers. That background should help him recognize and correct problems in an offense he is responsible for overseeing.
Asked in January about input into the coordinator search, Sirianni described using Roseman, Lurie and players as resources before saying: “At the end of the day, the coaching hires fall on my shoulders.” Changing the coordinator does not remove his obligation as head coach to make the offense work.
The offensive line requires current answers
The September 14 analysis The Eagles’ Great Offensive Line Is Showing Its Mileage examined Philadelphia’s earlier dominance, the 2024-to-2025 decline and the opening game against Washington. Its concern involved availability, accumulated wear and interior coordination, rather than simply calling the entire line old. That assessment covered the earlier personnel and a one-game sample from this season.
The official gamebooks now show four starting combinations in six games. Philadelphia opened with Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Tyler Steen and Lane Johnson. Against Carolina, Mailata and Steen were the only members still starting in their original positions, with Willie Lampkin at left guard, Jake Majors at center and Markel Bell at right tackle.
Johnson announced his retirement October 6, the Eagles announced the Jurgens trade agreement October 7, and Dickerson remained on injured reserve for Carolina. The five who started Sunday had also started against Jacksonville a week earlier. Drew Kendall was active for Carolina, but Sirianni said afterward that he was available as an emergency option.
Those circumstances require coordination between roster decisions and staff preparation. The offense needs a clear plan for the line it has now, rather than depending on the reputation of the line Philadelphia used to have.
The decline began before McKee’s start
Through five games, Philadelphia produced 1,311 net yards on 289 offensive plays, or 4.54 yards per play. Against Carolina, it had 222 on 61, or 3.64. Across the three losses immediately before Sunday, the Eagles averaged 3.98. These are unadjusted team figures from the final statistics in the six official gamebooks, including sacks, quarterback rushing plays and kneel-downs.
| Week | Opponent | Net yards | Offensive plays | Yards per play |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | 318 | 53 | 6.00 |
| 2 | at Tennessee | 341 | 72 | 4.74 |
| 3 | at Chicago | 248 | 47 | 5.28 |
| 4 | Los Angeles Rams | 172 | 58 | 2.97 |
| 5 | Jacksonville in London | 232 | 59 | 3.93 |
| 6 | Carolina | 222 | 61 | 3.64 |
The offense was already struggling before McKee replaced Jalen Hurts. The Eagles placed Hurts on injured reserve October 17 because of what the team described as a superficial blood clot in his calf. His medical availability remains a separate issue from the leadership’s responsibility to produce a functional offense with McKee now.
Communication and lost possessions
McKee took responsibility after Sunday’s game for communication problems on the opening two possessions, including getting players in the right positions and correcting missed calls. Asked about handling the blitz, he also acknowledged that he needed to limit the damage when a play broke down.
“I need to get the ball out and live to see another day,” he said.
Mannion and Sirianni have to prepare an offense that understands the calls, the responses and what happens when the first answer is unavailable. A 20-yard completion to Darius Cooper at the start of the second quarter was erased by a holding penalty on tight end Johnny Mundt, leaving Philadelphia with first-and-20 instead of a gain into Carolina territory. The possession eventually ended with a punt.
Philadelphia also finished with 35 rushing yards on 13 attempts, compared with 458 on 121 across the previous five games. The available backs had changed, with Saquon Barkley inactive and Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley unavailable, making preparation with the remaining players more urgent.
DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert combined for 13 catches and 136 yards, with Smith’s 19-yard touchdown reception bringing Philadelphia within 19–14. Those connections gave the offense something to sustain, but it continued losing possessions before they could develop.
Dallas visits Philadelphia October 26 at 6:15 p.m. MDT.
Source notes
The coordinator chronology uses the Eagles’ official appointment reports for Brian Johnson, Kellen Moore, Kevin Patullo and Sean Mannion. Steichen’s earlier Chargers coordinator roles are documented in his official Eagles coaching biography, and the Chargers’ October 2019 announcement establishes his earlier playcalling responsibility. First-time means first NFL offensive-coordinator appointment. It does not mean no earlier coaching or college coordinator experience.
Sirianni’s hiring responsibility quotation is from the official January 15, 2026 Roseman–Sirianni transcript. His background is documented in the January 24, 2021 hiring announcement.
Game statistics and starting lineups come from the six official gamebooks linked on the Eagles’ schedule, including the Carolina gamebook. Yards per play are calculated from summed net yards divided by summed offensive plays, rather than averaging the rounded per-game figures. Different opponents and personnel are included; these are unadjusted team totals.
Current comments were checked against the official October 18 postgame transcripts for Tanner McKee and Nick Sirianni. The team’s inactive report and Hurts IR announcement establish the reported availability context.
The earlier offensive-line article remains historical context. Current transaction dates use the team’s Johnson retirement announcement and Jurgens trade announcement. No old ranking or player grade is presented as a current measurement.
