Nick Sirianni Explains His Evolution from Play-Caller to CEO
PHILADELPHIA - Whether you knew it or not, Shane Steichen took over the play-calling duties for the Eagles last season, basically for the second half of the campaign when Philadelphia made its run to an unlikely playoff berth.
The status quo will remain in 2022 but not because of any perceived bump in play by a greater devotion to the running game or an easier schedule but because Nick Sirianni considers his offensive coordinator an extension of himself and his offense.
Sirianni also considers Steichen a valuable tool that allows the second-year head coach a better chance to oversee his entire team.
Whether it was Las Vegas, Detroit, or against the LA Chargers - Sirianni doesn't even remember - the shift was about everything other than the offense.
"As we're going through games, and there are obviously a lot of things that go on during the game, and I was just noticing Shane was already calling the two-minute drills, and like I said, it's a collaborative event," Sirianni said when discussing the shift.
"You can't just go out and call a game without putting the plan together. You put the plan together all week."
In fact, that planning is perhaps Sirianni's favorite thing to do as a coach.
"One of my favorite things to do in the world is help put the plan together and put the plays in you think are going to work against the defense," the coach said. "That's one of my favorite things to do in the world. We're continuing to do that."
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The offense remains Sirianni's and the coach is self-admittedly bullheaded when it comes to how everything is done, right down to the technique and fundamentals on any given play installation.
Sirianni insists everything is done his way so while the order of the plays on the call sheet might change in-game or be flipped occasionally the calls from the first 15 (or the openers as the Eagles call them), to third downs, two-minute, four-minute, etc. are clear as day come game day, so much so that Sirianni has confidence that things will be run the way he wants with his other assistants as well.
He does, however, admit to a very strong like-mindedness with Steichen, dating back to their days together with the Chargers.
"I just really trusted Shane. Shane and I spend so much time throughout the week together, again, coming up with a plan amongst the coaches, and Shane and I are doing most of the heavy lifting," Sirianni said.
The impetus for the change, though, was everything else and the desire to become the CEO of his team, not just a super-charged offensive coordinator.
"What I noticed was, well, I wasn't communicating enough with [defensive coordinator Jonathan] Gannon about something, or I wasn't communicating enough about the defense about something that they needed to be pumped up or Coach Clay [Special Teams Coordinator Michael Clay] or the special teams," said Sirianni.
"I love doing that, to go over into the kickoff return and say, ‘Let's go, let's get a play going.’ There are a lot of things that have to happen on the offense before a drive starts."
Eagles OC Shane Steichen
Ed Kracz/SI Fan Nation Eagles Today
When Sirianni made the change, a light bulb went off.
"... We shifted to it during one of the games, and I felt comfortable with being able to talk to everybody," he said. "There are things that come up with the referees that I need to do. There are things that come up with the guys upstairs that I need to talk through a situation and how we might need to handle it.
"There are just so many things that came up, and you know what, I wanted to trust the guys on the staff that I had because I have good coaches."
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Make no mistake, though, the offense remains Sirianni's baby.
"You have to communicate to all the offensive players, ‘Here are the next string of plays.’ You have to put together the next string of plays of what you're talking about," he said. "... I'll be in every meeting. I'm sitting in every meeting. Nothing more that I like to do than to put plays together. There's nothing more I like to do than correct plays after practice, to go in there after practice and tell the guys, ‘This is exactly how I want this to look,’ or, ‘We have to fix this.’
"The only thing that's going to be different of me not being the, what you would say offensive coordinator is just the play-calling aspect of it."
Another positive sign of the change is ego or lack thereof from Sirianni.
"That's where a lot of problems happen in the NFL is from an ego standpoint," Sirianni said. "It’s what is the best thing to do. If I said I'm going to stand on a table and run these plays that we ran with Philip Rivers, because that's what we do, that's an ego thing to me.
"So, it's the same thing here. I felt like I needed to make a change in the sense of how to free me up to be a better head coach, and I had a good assistant to call the plays, and so that's what I went with."
And things always remain subject to change.
"Shane has done a great job," said Sirianni, "and imagining we do what we're supposed to do and win games, do what we were paid to do to come here, Shane will get an opportunity to be a head coach and then we rediscuss it again."
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Sports. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talker Jody McDonald, every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com and JAKIBSports.com. You can reach John at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
