Eagles News: Nick Sirianni “can’t answer” whether Carson Wentz will be on the team in 2021

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New coach Nick Sirianni noncommittal on future of Carson Wentz, Eagles QB questions - ESPN
New Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said he “can’t answer” whether quarterback Carson Wentz will be on the team in 2021, as he is in the process of “evaluating everything.” “What we need to do is evaluate the entire roster,” Sirianni said at his introductory news conference Friday. “We have two quarterbacks in Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts that are top-notch quarterbacks. A lot of teams don’t have any. So just really excited to work with both of them.” Sirianni added that he is not ready to say whether there will be an open competition at quarterback this offseason, and hasn’t established a timeline for when he needs to choose his starter. [BLG Note: The new head coach can’t say if the $128 million quarterback he was supposedly hired to fix will at least be on the roster?]

Highlights from Nick Sirianni’s first press conference as Eagles head coach - BGN
Sirianni said that he took the job because of the organization and its reputation, but they still have a lot to do in terms of getting the staff in place and then evaluating the entire roster, including the quarterback position. He emphasized that they have two top-notch quarterbacks in Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts, and he’s excited to work with both of them. The new head coach also confirmed that he’s spoken with both QBs, but he’s making an effort to communicate with all the players. Sirianni didn’t want to go into detail about his conversations with either QB, electing to keep those private, but did say that he’s trying to get to know all the guys outside of football at the moment — they’ll have plenty of time for the football stuff once he and the staff start diving into film. He did note that Wentz has also been in touch with the new offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, as well.

Nick Sirianni’s non-answers on Carson Wentz say plenty about the quarterback’s uncertain Eagles future - Inquirer
That Nick Sirianni wouldn’t endorse Carson Wentz as his starter, or even that he would return next season, didn’t come as a surprise. But it did further emphasize that the Eagles aren’t 100 percent committed to the 28-year-old quarterback. That isn’t exactly hard news, and it’s hard to blame the team for a cautious message during Sirianni’s introductory news conference, but the new Eagles coach’s non-answer answers about Wentz said plenty about his uncertain future. If Wentz was as attached to the Eagles as general manager Howie Roseman said they were earlier this month — “Like fingers on your hand,” he described him — there would be no hesitation about publicly stating that he would return, and as the starter. “I can’t answer that,” Sirianni said Friday when asked if Wentz would be back in 2021.

Don’t rush to judge Nick Sirianni after one bad press conference - PhillyVoice
It’s easy to see why some, specifically fans of other NFL teams, are using this clip as a reason to bash the Eagles new coach. And you know, what, that’s fine. Philly fans have done that and worse to other fanbases. I mean, you guys haven’t forgotten about Dan Campbell and his hunger for human kneecaps already, have you? The joy some media members seem to be taking while reveling in his poor first impression, however, feels like a bit much. But that’s a story for a different day. I’m not going to lie and sugar-coat it. I’ve witnessed countless press conferences in my decade-plus working in Philly sports, and Sirianni’s performance, particularly in the early, opening-statement portion of his presser seen above, is up there with the worst moments I’ve covered. But, please, I beg you not to judge the Eagles new coach based on one clip from his first press conference as a head coach.

Meet the New Boss - Iggles Blitz
When asked about his offensive philosophy, Sirianni said he wanted to be multiple and to focus on calling plays that fit the players. He talked about how the Colts had different starting QBs in 2018, 2019 and 2020. They adjusted the offense for each one. Sirianni did say there would be core plays, but he wants to find ways to utilize his players more than show off a specific scheme. He didn’t get into this today, but it sure seems like the coaches will focus on creating matchups. That’s what he did in Indy and what Johnson did when he was at Florida. Scheme up things so players are in a good situation and can get open. That was a real weakness of the Eagles last year. Sirianni will be calling plays for the first time in the NFL. He was asked about that and gave a good answer. The gameplan is put together Monday through Saturday. Multiple coaches and the QBs all have input. A play sheet is put together with all kinds of plays for situations. When it is 3rd-and-3, he just looks at the sheet to see what his options are. It isn’t like he’s out there with the playbook, thumbing over to the “Let’s Get A 1st Down” section.

New head coach, same power dynamic with the Eagles - NBCSP
Nick Sirianni confirmed at the tail end of his nearly 54-minute press conference on Friday that general manager Howie Roseman will remain in charge of the Eagles’ 53-man roster. Sirianni will have say over game day rosters. This isn’t exactly earth-shattering news — it’s the same setup the Eagles had with Doug Pederson as their head coach — but it is certainly notable. Roseman, 45, has been in control of the Eagles’ 53-man roster since he was reinstated as the Eagles’ personnel czar in 2016 after Chip Kelly was ousted. He kept that power throughout Pederson’s tenure as head coach. That doesn’t mean the coaches and GM won’t work together. They will. But it seems like it’ll be in a similar fashion to how it worked with the previous coaching staff. “As far as picking the players and helping pick the players, I really look forward to working with Howie and his staff to help get the players that we feel like fit what we want to do offensively and defensively,” Sirianni said.

The 2021 NFL Quarterback Commitment Index - The Ringer
Philadelphia Eagles: Carson Wentz was so bad in 2020 that it seemed like the Eagles would do anything possible to offload his massive four-year, $128 million deal. That is over now. The Eagles fired head coach Doug Pederson earlier this month and hired former Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni as his replacement. That move seems to show that owner Jeffrey Lurie chose Wentz over Pederson. Wentz’s relationship with Pederson was reportedly “unsalvageable.” And Sirianni recently worked under Frank Reich, who was the Eagles offensive coordinator in 2017 when Wentz had his near-MVP season. Philly firing Pederson and replacing him with one of Reich’s guys is entirely about the team trying to get Wentz back on track. The Sirianni hire is Philly’s version of marriage counseling.

Ranking the NFL’s most productive 2020 rookie draft classes from 1 to 32 - ESPN
22. Philadelphia Eagles. Why they’re ranked here: Philly had 16 rookies record a snap, but none made a major impact for the 4-11-1 Eagles. Second-round quarterback Jalen Hurts did lead a more efficient passing offense than Carson Wentz, but he still had his fair share of struggles with a 57.5 passing grade. How their top pick fared: Wide receiver Jalen Reagor battled through some bad quarterback play in his final season at TCU and went through the same in Year 1 as a rookie. At the same time, though, he didn’t do much on his end, producing just a 64.2 receiving grade and 1.30 yards per route run.

Providing some early impressions of Nick Sirianni - PE.com
There are no answers – not yet – on the Eagles’ 2021 roster for Head Coach Nick Sirianni, who met the Philadelphia media on Friday and was asked, repeatedly, about the quarterback position. Digging into the roster is something Sirianni and his coming-together coaching staff will do over the next few weeks. For the last five days, he’s been hiring coaches, reaching out to his players, and starting the foundation build for his tenure in Philadelphia. Sirianni is a genuine article – that much has come through in the nearly 30 minutes we talked on Wednesday and throughout the press conference he held on Friday – and that is one of the many reasons Jeffrey Lurie went through 25 initial considerations for the head coaching job, interviewed 10 men, and ultimately decided on Sirianni, the 39-year-old former offensive coordinator from the Colts who has coached in the NFL for the last dozen seasons. He is earnest, he is a football lifer, and he impressed Lurie and the Eagles’ interviewing contingent in Florida with his football intelligence and his vision, both for the short term and for the future.

New coaches, General Managers should ditch the prepared remarks - PFT
Friday entailed a couple of virtual press conferences during which new head coaches were introduced. Each one included a key figure who opted to read from prepared remarks. For the Texans, G.M. Nick Caserio read a statement introducing coach David Culley. In Philadelphia, new Eagles coach Nick Sirianni read from prepared notes. It didn’t work. It never works. It seems stiff and rigid and robotic and unnatural. It’s no replacement for speaking from the heart, with the words that come to the G.M. or the coach in the moment.

Report: Former Eagles Pass Game Coordinator Press Taylor Joining Colts Coaching Staff - Stampede Blue
At age 33, Taylor just completed his sole season as pass game coordinator for the Eagles, having previously served as the franchise’s quarterbacks coach (2018-20) and assistant quarterbacks coach/offensive quality control (2016-17), and offensive quality control coach (2013-2015) respectively. He was also a quarterbacks coach and graduate assistant for Tulsa (2011-12). Taylor won consecutive NJCAA championships starting at Butler Community College at quarterback—before transferring and playing at Marshall University and lettering his last two seasons. Of course, Colts head coach Frank Reich has familiarity and a comfort zone with Taylor already, as the two previously both served on the Eagles offensive coaching staff from 2016-17 and were Super Bowl Champions together.

49ers hire former Lions DC Cory Undlin as pass game specialist - Niners Nation
ESPN’s Field Yates reported that the San Francisco 49ers hired former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Cory Undlin as a pass-game specialist/secondary coach. Undlin was on the Eagles staff in 2015 when Ryans played for Philadelphia. Undlin is a defensive backs coach by trade. He’s coached in the NFL since 2004, where he started as a defensive assistant with the Patriots. Since then, he’s worked for the Browns, Jaguars, Broncos, Eagles and served as the Lions defensive coordinator this past season.

Every podcast from The SB Nation NFL Show during Super Bowl week - SB Nation
As an event, the Super Bowl will be very different this year for obvious reasons. For example, the yearly “radio row” is on hiatus, but here at The SB Nation NFL Show we’re putting our own 2021 spin on it. To kick off our Super Bowl coverage, we’ve created a “digital row” with big guests filling out our lineup. Here are the guests you’ll hear from throughout the digital row special: Gregg Rosenthal of Around the NFL, Ross Tucker of The Ross Tucker Podcast, Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus, Mike Renner of Pro Football Focus, Warren Sharp of Sharp Football, Charles McDonald of USA Today’s For the Win, Evan Silva of Establish the Run. You’ll hear in-depth discussions on the Super Bowl matchup, the biggest headlines from the NFL, the NFL Draft, and even our favorites to win a head coaching battle royale. You can hear those discussions and much more by listening to the newest episode of The SB Nation NFL Show! Check it out on the media player below and subscribe on your favorite podcast app!

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