The First Big Mistake of the Offseason
February 24, 2025
Well, that was fun while it lasted, wasn’t it?
The workers were still sweeping up the confetti from the spectacular Eagles parade when a sequence of event unfolded that strongly suggests there will be no repeat of the festivities next season.
First, the offensive coordinator who insulated the team from the pass-happy style of the front office and head coach Nick Sirianni left for New Orleans. Kellen Moore did a brilliant job calling plays for Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and a unit deep in talent and focus. But he was too good. The Saints anointed him their new head coach. Goodbye, Kellen.
Second, Moore then poached the quarterbacks coach who had helped Hurts maximize his skills and – above all – protect the ball on the 16-1 run that included the slaughter of Kansas City in Super Bowl 59. Doug Nussmeier took over as the New Orleans offensive coordinator. See ya, Doug.
And finally, a big mistake by all logical measures – the first of the offseason. Owner Jeff Lurie and GM Howie Roseman, fresh off a conking in the head by a beer can at the parade, approved of Sirianni’s choice of Kevin Patullo as Moore’s replacement.
This was a ridiculous move for several obvious reasons, starting with the fact that the front office gave Sirianni power to pick his own assistant just four years after it had denied the previous Super Bowl-winning coach, Doug Pederson, the same authority.
Why would Lurie and Roseman fire Pederson rather than OK the promotion of Press Taylor to offensive coordinator but endorse Sirianni’s hire of his own personal bobo? (Sirianni and Patullo have been joined at the hip since 2009, through various stops on the coaching carousel.)
Even more absurd is the fact that the Eagles are repeating some painful history here – very recent history, in fact. When offensive coordinator Shane Steichen left for Indianapolis after defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon had blown Super Bowl 57, Sirianni hired another novice, Brian Johnson, to call plays for the offense.
Need I remind anyone how that decision worked out? Johnson was awful, the offense sputtered, and a very good roster flopped to a 1-6 record to end the 2023 season. Johnson got the boot, of course, and the Eagles made a dramatic course-correction to an experienced Kellen Moore, along with Vic Fangio on defense.
The idea that the Eagles would take this championship roster and put half of it in the hands of someone who has never called plays, at any level, is unimaginable. Did they learn nothing from the Johnson debacle? (Sean Desai was equally dreadful as a novice defensive coordinator in 2023.)
Now we have to deal with the reality that Sirianni – a total bust as a play-caller himself in his rookie season here – is back in charge of the offense. We were told Moore had total authority over the offense this season. Patullo has neither the background nor the autonomy to repeat that formula in 2025.
As I said last week, embrace this moment. Savor it. With a much tougher schedule, an inevitable Super Bowl hangover and a new coach calling plays, I wouldn’t bet on another parade in 2026.
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If you want to set me off – never a very difficult challenge, I admit – just mention to me how brilliant a coach or manager is at creating a culture. This skill is now at the top of the list of Sirianni’s attributes, and it still seems almost impossible to gauge.
I know I said here last week that Sirianni’s players love to play for him – as evidenced by the affectionate Gatorade bath near the end of Super Bowl 59 – but I remain confused by this whole “culture” phenomenon.
Can a truly demanding coach create this culture at a time when many of the players are making a lot more money than he is? Is the term players’ coach just another way of saying the guy in charge is a doormat for the entitled players he oversees? And are we supposed to believe this culture exists every season, even though 20 to 30 percent of the roster changes year by year?
I realize Sirianni just won a championship with this sweet culture he supposedly created, so can we all expect the same from the Phillies and their culture-positive manager Rob Thomson? And is John Tortorella doomed with the Flyers because he suffers no fools in his clubhouse?
Let me add one more element to this culture issue. Rob Thomson blew game one of the playoff series against the Mets last season when he removed Zack Wheeler after seven innings despite the ace having allowed only one hit and was protecting a 1-0 lead. (Of course, the Phillies blew the game as soon as Wheleer left.)
How did that stupid decision affect the culture? Did all of the players nod in agreement because Wheeler had thrown 110 pitches in this analytic-crazed era? Or did they wonder if the boss just flushed a season of hard work with a move that defied the simplest eye test?
To me, culture is just another word for coddling. And coddling has its limits. Give me a coach or manager who makes smart strategic decisions at key moments every time over the nursemaid for a bunch of spoiled millionaires.
(Disclaimer: The previous seven paragraphs were written by a man who will be turning 74 in a couple of weeks. In case you couldn’t tell by the old-man words that I wrote.)
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I laughed out loud last week at a headline in the Inquirer suggesting that it may be time for the Sixers to tank this miserable season.
Hello? Less than a decade after four years of tanking (known now as The Process), it’s time to start trying to lose again?
Look, I realize the idea of losing on purpose does have a basis in logic, given the miserable (20-36) record of our underachieving basketball team this season and the delicate physical condition of the prize of our original tank, Joel Embiid. (Plus, the Sixers would get to keep their first-round pick if they finish in the bottom six this season.)
But I’m wondering right now where all of the advocates of The Process are hiding. Are they still trying to convince old-school types like me that ex-GM Sam Hinkie’s plan was brilliant, even though it has produced not a single trip to the Eastern Conference finals, or – heaven forbid – an actual berth in the NBA Finals.
And if tanking is still such a great idea, why haven’t the Celtics needed to do it? They are a contender for an NBA championship every season, and they won as recently as last year. Instead of trying to lose, Boston made wise draft picks, great trades and filled any remaining holes with an occasional free-agent signing.
More than ever, it seems to me The Process was a tactic that camouflaged bad ownership, rotten general managing and underachieving players. It was all a scam, and the victims were the fans.
If the Sixers are really serious about tanking the rest of the season, the least they could do is rehire Brett Brown as head coach. No one in NBA history was better at losing than him.
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A few more thoughts while enduring this black hole in the pro-sports schedule. . . . .
- I loved my job at WIP, but I always dreaded this time of the year. After the Super Bowl, there is really nothing to get excited about in pro sports until the NBA playoffs two months from now. I’m not a college fan, so the term March Madness had a whole different meaning to me.
- Here’s something else to worry about after that incredible Super-Bowl win by the Eagles: Are they still undervaluing the linebacker position? On March 10, the breakout star of the defense, Zack Baun, will be a free agent. He was a journeyman before Vic Fangio turned him into a star. Baun belongs here, especially now that Roseman has an extra $20 million to use under the new salary cap. If Baun leaves, the Eagles are still showing no respect to linebackers.
- The NFL is very happy with the new kickoff rules but may still tweak them a bit during the owners’ meetings next month. Huh? Did anyone other than the owners enjoy kickoffs? Every time the NFL tries to protect players, it lessens the game. At least that’s what I saw this season.
- Just when you think all-star games could not possibly get any worse, the NFL and NBA rolled out events this month that were trash-sports at their absolute worst. The flag-football Pro Bowl, with the Manning as head coaches, is not football. It is unwatchable. And yet it’s still better than that mess the NBA put on display a week or so ago. The NHL had the right idea with its 4 Nations Faceoff, but generally the idea of all-star games has reached its expiration date, don’t you think?
- Howie Roseman drew a massive crowd over the weekend during a rare public appearance at the Oxford Valley Mall, making him – in my opinion – the most popular general manager in Philadelphia history. One fan, Gennaro Borrero, told the Inquirer: “I would take a bullet for him.” That will not be necessary. But it would be really nice if, at the next parade, a fan took a beer can for Howie.