Eagles reportedly hire Nick Sirianni’s former replacement

The Philadelphia Eagles have hired former Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Marcus Brady as a consultant, according to a report from ESPN’s Tim McManus and Stephen Holder.

Brady was Nick Sirianni’s replacement when the Eagles hired him away from his position as Indy’s OC. He was previously the Colts’ quarterbacks coach in 2019 and 2020.

ESPN reports that Brady “is working primarily with defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon and his staff, offering perspective as an offensive coach on how he would attack the Eagles’ defense.”

The report also notes that Brady discussed a role with the Eagles last week but did not hire him until this week due to “the sensitivity around the [Colts] game.”

Brady was fired earlier this month after the Colts dropped to 3-4-1. Here’s what our associates over at Stampede Blue had to say at the time:

Some will be quick to call him a scapegoat, but it’s hard to argue with the fact that under his coordination the Colts currently boast the 30th best scoring offense in the league. The Colts offense is absolutely struggling and while it’s easy to point fingers at the most visible members of the organization, none of us can be sure what’s happening behind closed doors at Colts HQ.

Yes, Frank Reich calls the plays but many fail to understand how important the offensive coordinator is to creating a cohesive game plan, week in and week out, figuring out what plays to add to the play sheet for any given scenario, and a whole host of other responsibilities that help to add up to what we see on Sunday. It’s just that Frank Reich is the face of everyone’s effort on the offensive side of the ball- both good and bad. So while it is absolutely possible Brady is simply taking the fall for the deterioration of the offensive line, none of us can be sure of the quality of a job he was doing up until today.

While one can wonder if Brady is a good OC or not, there’s no harm in the Eagles adding him as a consultant. It seems possible that the Eagles are bringing him in with the idea that they are likely to lose some assistant coaches this offseason. Offensive coordinator Shane Steichen could very well be another team’s head coach next year. Quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson and passing game coordinator Kevin Patullo could be among the top OC candidates.

And so having Brady around gives the team an in-house replacement option if/when the Sirianni’s staff gets poached.