Eagles Sentiment Behind Offseason Schedule: From Necessity to Status Quo
PHILADELPHIA – Last to start and first to finish.
That doesn’t quite describe the Philadelphia Eagles and OTAs but they are darn close to that description. They will be No. 31 of 32 – behind only the Cincinnati Bengals – when they reach Phase 3 of OTAs on Tuesday of next week. Meanwhile, when the Eagles finish up spring work on June 8, they will be one of two teams who don’t have a mandatory minicamp, again joining the Bengals.
The current Philadelphia philosophy was born out of necessity, coupled with some sports science, and has continued after demonstrated success.
When coach Nick Sirianni was first hired before the 2021 season as an off-the-radar candidate who was replacing the only Super Bowl-winning coach in franchise history, Doug Pederson, the new mentor didn’t exactly have a ton of cachet walking into the NovaCare Complex, especially after a bit of a struggle during his introductory press conference where Sirianni came off as nervous and perhaps a little too rehearsed.
Lost in the context of that is that the league was still in the death throes of COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions and Sirianni’s first impression came via Zoom, a mechanism that wasn’t exactly conducive to his core value of connection.
In hindsight, as soon as Sirianni was able to actually get around people he generally was able to win them over quickly, something that has served the third-year coach well en route to winning 25 games over his first two seasons as the clear pick of the litter from the 2021 coaching class. Those wins have produced two postseason berths plus an NFC Championship and Super Bowl appearance after last season.
One of Sirianni’s first major hurdles as a coach was the offseason work in advance of the 2021 season, a time when the league and the NFLPA were still hammering out protocols related to COVID and how to proceed.
When offseason work was put back on the table, Sirianni went to work to try to convince as many veteran players as possible to show up for voluntary work, an important aspect when it came to building his culture and setting a standard for the younger players.
Many of those veterans were loyal to Pederson as well, a still popular figure who many believed was shown the door far too quickly after helping the franchise secure a Super Bowl LII championship.
To accomplish the goal, Sirianni agreed to abandon the mandatory part of the process if the veterans would at least show up for significant portions of voluntary work.
While the organization never confirms participation numbers for voluntary work (doing so would draw the ire of the NFLPA and be regarded as trying to pressure players), a team source noted at the time that attendance was near 100 % and the sessions open to the media confirmed that.
When things worked out well from a performance and injury standpoint, the offseason structure became the new normal for Philadelphia and the Eagles have never had a mandatory minicamp in the Sirianni era.
It’s hard to imagine that toothpaste going back into the tube at any point now. The lighter workload continues into training camp where the Eagles have shorter practices when measured against most other teams but when they are on the field everything is done in a high-tempo fashion.
Veteran All-Pro center Jason Kelce has noted on multiple occasions that he would probably be retired by this point if the shift in practice habits had not occurred.
“The reason we do the things the way we do is [combating] soft-tissue injuries,” a team source noted.
The Eagles are not immune to the realization that there is some luck involved when it comes to the team’s health over the past two years and general manager Howie Roseman has mentioned that on multiple occasions this offseason.
“We don't take it for granted the health of our team last year,” Roseman said. “That was a unique situation. I think for us to expect the same results as last year would be naïve at a minimum.
“... I think when we look at last year, instead of thinking about it as a trend, we've got to look at it like we've got to ensure that we have enough players that are available to play at a high level to get us where we want to, playing the kind of football we want to play in December, January, and hopefully February.”
Sirianni, like most coaches, is also extremely competitive and the reporters who cover the league have yet to meet the coach that doesn’t want to practice if given the opportunity.
Where Sirianni departs from many of his peers is tempering the ego when it comes to things he’s not an expert in. And when it comes to health issues, Sirianni will typically defer to the organization’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Arsh Dhanota.
“All that goes down to player health and I'm not the expert in that,” Sirianni has said of the team's schedules.
When it comes to offseason work the Eagles are following a time-tested path: If it ain't broke, don’t fix it.
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-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
