Nov. 4, 2026
When Nick Sirianni gave a vote of confidence to Sean Mannion and Tanner McKee on Monday, I harbored no further doubts about the current direction of the Eagles. The head coach’s plan for a rebirth is set. His intends to do nothing.
That means status quo for the worst offense in the NFL, and one of the worst in Eagles’ history. Status quo for another failed offensive-coordinator experiment. Status quo for a young quarterback with neither the arm nor the legs to succeed in the NFL. And status quo for a 2-6 team in the midst of a six-game losing streak.
Boy, I feel better. Don’t you? Our esteemed coach’s answer to the worst adversity of his career is to babble his usual nonsense into a microphone and then fix none of the problems.
Hey, maybe Mannion will suddenly figure out on his own how to do his job.
Maybe McKee will regain the confidence he had when he was beating third-string stiffs in preseason games.
Who knows? Maybe I’ll be named the next offensive coordinator.
The sad truth is, once again, Nick Sirianni has absolutely no answers for a team in freefall – except to roll out the same recipe for failure that got his team into this intolerable mess.
And that’s not even the worst part of the story. No, the worst part was Sirianni’s ardent defense of his atrocious new OL coach Chris Kuper. The line right now leads the league in allowing unmolested rushers a free shot at their quarterback. It just allowed pressures by an awful Washington defensive line on 46% of McKee’s drop-backs. Among a multitude of problems, the offensive line is easily the biggest.
But rest assured, Chris Kuper is safe. In fact, he’s worthy of a loud public endorsement.
“Chris is coaching his ass off,” Sirianni said. “He’s fighting his ass off. He’s coaching his ass off on a daily basis. You get to see that for three hours on Sunday. But he’s coaching his ass off, and he’s fighting his ass off.”
Well, if nothing else, Sirianni set a record for use of the word ass in an NFL news conference. So at least he has that going for him.
The truth is, I would bet my, err, derriere that Kuper is working hard to fix the epidemic of problems on the offensive line caused by trade, retirement, injury and woefully inept coaching. The issue is not effort, at least in Kuper’s case. The issue is, he sucks at his job. The Vikings let him go last season after his line gave up an ungodly 60 sacks. He’s here only because of his friendship with Mannion.
In Philadelphia, effort only matters if you win. This is not high school football. These NFL pros are making millions not just to try hard but to excel. If Kuper’s best efforts are resulting in this abomination, then it should be painfully obvious by now that he is a far, far cry from the legendary coach, Jeff Stoutland, whom he replaced.
As for Mannion, I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt early in the season, but this is no time for mercy. As I feared when he was hired, he is dreadful at calling plays. A kid with a dartboard would be preferable right now.
One play-call stood out among all of the duds on Sunday night. It came with 12 seconds left in the first half, first down at the Eagles’ own 31. Saquon Barkley clearly is battling significant back and hamstring injuries, and his use has been restricted because of those ailments. And yet, in that moment, Mannion called a run up the middle for Barkley, a play forcing unnecessary contact on an already injured player, with zero possible reward.
There’s one word for a play-call like that: Insane.
Like Kevin Patullo before him, Mannion never called plays before his first season, this season, as an offensive coordinator, and it shows. I won’t say he’s dumber than Patullo. After all, the newly hired passing coordinator in Miami has moved his magic 1,000 miles south. Patullo’s passing offense is ranked 32nd – dead last –in the NFL this season.
Still, Mannion needs to go, just like Sirianni’s other failed offensive coordinators, Brian Johnson and Patullo. Breaking in a novice at a key coaching spot makes sense for a young team, but not for the Eagles right now. You can chalk up Sean Mannion as another misguided decision by a team too insecure to add experience to its staff.
Finally, maybe it’s just me, but Sirianni actually sounds more lost than ever these days, spouting expletive-laced vows to work harder when the real goal should be working smarter. After six years of this mania, it should be apparent by now that the head coach is hardly a master at righting what’s wrong.
When the 2023 Eagles faltered, he couldn’t stem the torrent of last-season losses. When the 2025 Eagles began a similar descent, he was helpless again. And now, a season later, he’s still talking about how he’ll “fight like hell to do everything I can to fix it.”
I’ve seen enough. All we can do right now, is hope the decision-makers in the Eagles organization are witnessing the same thing.
Until then, we’re stuck with nine more games of this Sirianni-Mannion-Kuper clown show. Plan your weekends accordingly.
Also, please keep in mind. . . .
- When hoops hero Caitlyn Clark appeared on Kylie Kelce’s podcast this week, she was asked about the possibility of playing for the new WNBA entry here someday. “They’re crazy, but I think it’s awesome. Phillies fans and Eagles fans, Sixers fans, they all seem kind of nuts, but I love it. They want to win as much as the players do – maybe more, honestly.” If a young star can respect our passion after one visit to our city, why can’t Jalen Carter after four years here?
- It’s still very early, but this off-season is not starting out well for the Phillies. There is no indication they have any interest in bringing back Luis Arraez, the best contact hitter in baseball. And they appear to be letting Alec Bohm go, too. He’s been their most reliable RBI guy for the past two years. In other words, expect more of the same home-run-or-bust offense next season. Right now, we might be better off with a really long lockout. If they sit out long enough, maybe Dave Dombrowski will finally retire.
- Can someone – anyone – explain to me what I’m missing with the implausible ascension of Pat McAfee on ESPN? I get it with Stephen A. Smith, who’s provocative, versatile and entertaining. McAfee is none of that. The guy’s a former NFL punter with no apparent sense of humor, a fleeting knowledge of the things he talks about, and the charisma of a cinder block. And yet, he’s making $30 million a year and is on (too) many of ESPN’s programs. What a country!
- The Eagles made it to the Super Bowl in both of C.J.Gardner-Johnson’s tenures, and yet he appears to have become unemployable after his latest incident. Two weeks ago, he spit on a Vegas tight end Brock Bowers. This week, the Bills released him. Gardner-Johnson brings a swagger to every team he joins. Then he causes too much trouble and gets released. And now, at 29, he’s out of work again. Strange guy. Stranger story.
- When Eagles fans get mad, they demand change. In a recent Inquirerpoll, readers voted to get rid of every Eagle but three – Saquon Barkley, Zack Baun and Fred Johnson. Fred who? All I can say is, the backup offensive lineman must have a lot of friends who still read newspapers.