Nick Sirianni Officially Named Eagles Head Coach, Staff Hires Coming into Focus
It is official now, the Eagles announced on Sunday morning that they have hired Nick Sirianni has the 21st full-time head coach in their history.
Sirianni agreed to become the head coach on Thursday, but he and the Eagles were still working on contract details, items that were hammered out during the weekend. An introductory news conference is expected to happen later this week.
Sirianni, 39, replaces Doug Pederson, who was fired after a 4-11-1 season and just three years after leading the Eagles to their first Super Bowl championship.
The new coaching staff has begun to be assembled as well, with Jonathan Gannon expected to be hired as the defensive coordinator and Kevin Patullo as the passing game coordinator.
Gannon and Patullo were both with Sirianni on head coach Frank Reich’s staff in Indianapolis.
READ MORE ON GANNON: Jonathan Gannon Emerging as Favorite to be Eagles ...
Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland is also expected to return, but Duce Staley will not, and it is likely Dave Fipp will not be back as well.
After being passed over twice for the head coaching position – first in 2016 when the Eagles hired Pederson and now with the hiring of Sirianni – Staley will reportedly ask out of his contract to explore other options.
As for Fipp, their special team coordinator since 2013, the Eagles will now allow him to interview with the Detroit Lions, just days after denying the Lions’ request to do so.
Stoutland will work under his third different head coach since coming on board in 2013 with Chip Kelly. Clearly, the offensive line coach is a valued piece to the staff, especially after a season in which injuries struck that position group in unprecedented fashion, with the Eagles having to use 14 different starting line combinations in 16 games, which is an NFL record.
Gannon has been an assistant coach for 14 years in the NFL, with seven of those spent coaching defensive backs. This will be his first job as a coordinator.
Patullo was the receiver coach in 2018 and 2019 before Indy brought on former Eagles OC and WR coach Mike Groh, at which time Patullo was given the role of pass-game specialist. He has 16 years of coaching experience.
Sirianni still has some vital roles on his staff to full including offensive coordinator and quarterback coach.
Two candidates for the OC position are Shane Steichen and Curtis Modkins.
Steichen, 35, and Sirianni’s relationship dates back to when they were together with the then-San Diego Chargers. Steichen has been with the Chargers since 2014, with four of those years as the QB coach. He was the interim OC in 2019 then named the full-time OC last season.
Modkins, 50, has more experience. He was the Buffalo Bills’ OC from 2010-12 then was Kelly’s OC in San Francisco in 2016. Primarily, his experience has come as a running backs coach.
Ed Kracz is the publisher of EagleMaven. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
