On Wednesday night, the Cowboys announced that coach Mike McCarthy will return for 2024. As many continue to wait for a similar (or different) announcement from the Eagles, keep the following in mind.
If Sirianni stays, the Eagles may not say yes.
As an executive from another team noted Thursday, “Did Cleveland announce that Kevin Stefanski would be back?”
They obviously didn't, even if the Browns suffered an embarrassing loss at the end of their special season. Of course, the news that other assistant coaches were leaving suggested Stefanski wasn't. Still, the Browns felt no need to declare that Stefanski was safe, even after a loss that was as depressing and unexpected as the losses of the Cowboys and Eagles.
“Why make a statement that he's coming back?” the source said regarding the Eagles and Sirianni. “That just makes it seem like you've been thinking about the fact that he might not come back. That's what Jerry Jones does. I don’t think the Eagles are that type of organization.”
The statement from Dallas that McCarthy will be back for the final year of his contract, apparently without an extension, makes it clear that he is both a lame duck and in the hot seat for 2024. (Really, if the Cowboys think so highly of McCarthy, as evidenced by Jones' statement, why wouldn't they extend his contract?)
The Eagles may act completely differently. Saying that Sirianni will be back shows the world that a change was seriously considered (even if it actually was). That, in turn, would make things more difficult for Sirianni in 2024, as it will seem like he's on the hot seat right from the start.
All we could ever get from the Eagles is an announcement that defensive coordinator Sean Desai and/or offensive coordinator Brian Johnson are leaving, followed by an interview process and hiring of the replacement(s).
So while many are understandably waiting for something from the Eagles regarding Sirianni — especially after ten days of seismic and in many ways unprecedented upheaval in the coaching world — the simple reality is that we may not get anything. No announcement. There isn't even a leak from the team that Sirianni will return.
Instead, the actions send the message. Once any changes to the coaching staff are announced, it will be clear that Sirianni will not be among those changes.
That doesn't mean Sirianni is 100 percent safe. His predecessor, Doug Pederson, left just three years after winning a Super Bowl because Pederson and the owner disagreed about personnel changes. If Sirianni and owner Jeffrey Lurie reach an agreement on the changes to be made, there is a possibility that the changes will be implemented without any comment on whether Sirianni will return.
He just comes back. When he is back. The further we get from Monday night's debacle in Tampa Bay, the more likely it becomes that he will be. Even if the Eagles never actually say it.