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Jalen Hurts, Shane Steichen Finalists for AP Awards
The Eagles players and coaches will tell you it’s all about the championship ring, not the individual awards.
It’s always nice to be recognized, though, and for Jalen Hurts and Shane Steichen that recognition came when The Associated Press announced its 2022 NFL Awards on Wednesday morning.
Hurts was one of five finalists nominated for the AP Most Valuable Player along with Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, Buffalo’s Josh Allen, Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow, and Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson.
The Eagles QB was also one of three players nominated for AP Offensive Player of the Year along with Mahomes and Jefferson.
Eagles offensive coordinator Steichen was one of the finalists for AP Assistant Coach of the Year along with Lions OC Ben Johnson and 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans.
This was the first year for the AP’s new voting system, where voters chose a top five for MVP and a top three for the other awards.
For MVP, first place was worth 10 points while second through fifth were worth 5, 3, 2, and 1 points. For the other awards, the value was 5-3-1.
The winners will be announced at the 12th annual NFL Honors ceremony on Feb. 9.
There’s always a lot of hand-wringing with a subjective election process like the AP awards and other awards, and certainly, there is some regarding a few Eagles.
My take on the biggest snubs for the Eagles:
BRANDON GRAHAM
The veteran tore his Achilles in Week 2 against this week’s NFC Championship Game opponent, the San Francisco 49ers. He rehabbed, returned at the age of 34, and collected a career-high 11 sacks.
How coming back from that and doing what he did this year doesn’t put him in the final three is stunning, especially when one of the finalists - New York RB Saquon Barkley - played 13 games a season ago.
NICK SIRIANNI
The head coach improved the team’s win total by five games for a second straight year, going from four wins the year before he took over to nine last year and 14 this year.
The Eagles were picked by most to finish second in the NFC East behind the Cowboys, yet they won the division and earned the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
Now, some will say – and many already have on social media – that Sirianni had the roster to accomplish all he did, but a coach should not be penalized for that. It could have quickly gone the other way, too, where a collection of talent underachieves. It didn’t happen like that.
You need scheme and culture to win 14 games no matter what the roster looks like, and Sirianni provided both.
The salt in the wound was that Giants head coach Brian Daboll was named as a finalist. That’s the same Daboll who went 0-3 against Sirianni’s team.
Of course, there is precedent for such a slight regarding an Eagles head coach. In 2017, Doug Pederson took the Eagles to the top seed, beating the Rams in the process, yet Los Angeles head coach Sean McVay won the coach of the year award.
At least the Maxwell Club voters got it right – Sirianni was named the winner of the 34th Greasy Neale Professional Coach of the Year winner on Wednesday morning.
HAASON REDDICK
The league’s second-leading sack artist with 16 couldn’t find a spot among the final three for AP Defensive Player of the Year of Nick Bosa, Chris Jones, and Micah Parsons.
All three are excellent players, so perhaps Reddick’s omission isn't as egregious as Graham and Sirianni, but he doesn’t get the hype that those three get, either.
Here are the nominations in all the AP categories:
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Jalen Hurts, Eagles, QB
Josh Allen, Bills, QB
Joe Burrow, Bengals, QB
Justin Jefferson, Vikings WR
Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs, QB
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Nick Bosa, 49ers, DE
Chris Jones, Chiefs, DT
Micah Parsons, Cowboys, LB
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jalen Hurts, Eagles, QB
Justin Jefferson, Vikings, WR
Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs, QB
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Brock Purdy, 49ers, QB
Kenneth Walker, Seahawks, RB
Garrett Wilson, Jets, WR
DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Sauce Gardner, Jets, CB
Aidan Hutchinson, Lions, DE
Tariq Woolen, Seahawks, CB
COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Saquon Barkley, Giants, RB
Christian McCaffrey, 49ers, RB
Geno Smith, Seahawks, QB
COACH OF THE YEAR
Brian Daboll, Giants
Kyle Shanahan, 49ers
Doug Pederson, Jaguars
ASSISTANT COACH OF THE YEAR
Shane Steichen, Eagles OC
Ben Johnson, Lions OC
DeMeco Ryans, 49ers DC
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
