NFL head coach rankings place Nick Sirianni in the top 10

When he was hired as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021, there were definitely some questions about Nick Sirianni and what he would bring to the table. It is safe to say that, as we enter his third year in charge, he has satisfactorily answered all of them. In fact, according to Patrick Daugherty of NBC Sports, Sirianni is the eighth best coach in the entire NFL.

One of the things that Eagles fans have grown to love about him is his willingness to trust his players and go for it on fourth downs. Daugherty notes:

Sirianni finished No. 1 in Football Outsiders’ “critical call index,” a complicated metric that measures fourth down decision-making. Trusting his personnel, Sirianni ordered the fourth most fourth down attempts and converted the second most. Sirianni “takes what the defense gives him” and then beats them over the head with it.

With a career record of 23-11 (.676), Sirianni has the highest winning percentage of any coach in Daugherty’s top-10, although it is surely worth noting he has the fewest amount of games coached in the top-10 as well.

Both of Sirianni’s 2022 coordinators received head coaching jobs this offseason so his coaching tree is off to a great start and he has helped turn QB Jalen Hurts into an MVP and All-Pro candidate in just two years.

Last year, Sirianni was ranked No. 15 in this poll and he is the only coach, who coached last season, to jump into the top-10 from last season. Friend of all Philadelphians Doug Pederson made his reappearance on this list at No. 10 after not coaching the year prior. The rest of the top-10 looks as you’d probably expect with Andy Reid, Bill Belichick, Sean McVay, John Harbaugh, and Kyle Shanahan rounding out the top-five. Mike Tomlin and Sean McDermott are directly ahead of Sirianni, while Mike Vrabel slots in right behind him.

Will this new ranking go to his head and cause him to botch throwing out the first pitch at the Phillies home opener on Thursday? Hopefully he is able to keep it together as the defending NL Champs play at Citizen’s Bank Park for the first time this season.