No Head Start for Nick Sirianni and Eagles Staff

There will be no head start for the Eagles and new head coach Nick Sirianni and his staff.

Typically, teams with new head coaches are able to gather their team ahead of phase one of the offseason program. Not so this year.

Of course, that wasn’t the case last year, either, due to the pandemic, and such is the case again this year.

The NFL informed clubs on Tuesday that it can begin phase one on April 19.

Unlike last year, however, teams can be together at a team facility in small groups to work out, and some players have been doing that.

The Eagles tweeted out a photo of running back Boston Scott and linebacker Genard Avery weight training at the NovaCare Complex.

Per NFL Media, the league and the players’ union continue to discuss virtual vs. in-person meetings and on-field workouts.

May is usually the time for OTAs with a rookie/tryout camp held shortly after the NFL draft, which this year runs from April 29-May 1. The OTAs are typically then followed by a three-day mandatory June minicamp.

Last year, all on-field work was canceled because of COVID-19, and it wasn’t until late July that training camps opened. All preseason games were canceled, though.

One of the perceived advantages the Eagles were supposed to have heading into the 2020 season was that Doug Pederson was the only returning coach within the NFC East. Obviously, it turned out to be no advantage at all as the Eagles went 4-11-1 and finished last in the division behind the other three teams with first-year head coaches.

The NFL also made it official as far as its regular-season schedule goes, increasing the number of games to 17 with three preseason games, down from four. Again, the preseason schedule is subject to change with the pandemic.

The new 18-week schedule will begin Thursday, Sept. 9, and end Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022, with Super Bowl LVI in LA being played on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022.

It is the first change to the NFL schedule since the 1978 campaign when the number of games rose from 14 to 16 and four preseason games.

The 17th game will feature teams from opposing conferences that finished in the same place within their division the previous season. The AFC was determined to be the home conference for the 17th game in 2021.

The NFC East will match up this year against the AFC East, which means, based on their order of finish in 2020, the Jets will host the Eagles.

Other matchups in the NFC East include the Washington Football Team at the Bills, the Giants at the Dolphins, and the Cowboys at the Patriots.

The Eagles could be facing rookie quarterback Zach Wilson, who many expect to be taken second overall by the Jets, who will also be coached by rookie head coach Robert Saleh.

Last year, the Eagles played No. 1 overall pick, Joe Burrow of the Bengals in a game that ended in a tie.

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s EagleMaven. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.