The Eagles are set to play the Buccaneers on Monday night in their bid to return to the Super Bowl. Given last year’s success, head coach Nick Sirianni entered the campaign on firm footing, but his stock appears to have taken a hit in 2023.

Philadelphia enjoyed a successful run to begin the season, posting a 10-1 record. Things have not gone according to plan since then, however, and last year’s NFC champions lost five of their final six games to close out the regular season. A major change to the team’s defensive staff has already been made – with Matt Patricia taking over play-calling duties from Sean Desai – but more could be on the horizon.

Josina Anderson of CBS Sports reports the outcome of the upcoming wild-card round could be critical to the members of Philadelphia’s staff. The Eagles are already contemplating changes mainly the defensive side of the ball, Anderson notes, something which comes as little surprise given the continued struggles since Patricia took on a larger workload. Few staffers would likely be considered locks to return in 2024 if Philadelphia lost to a Tamp Bay team which went 9-8 to win the lowly NFC South.

Indeed, the Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora notes that “plenty” of people around the NFL believe Sirianni’s job could be on the line if the Eagles were to go one-and-done in the postseason after a disappointing run in December. The Eagles’ defensive shortcomings were masked in part by top-10 showings in a number of offensive categories, but quarterback Jalen Hurts regressed statistically compared to last season. Pressure on the players and coaching staff could thus be elevated to a higher point than their collective success in 2022 suggested would otherwise be the case.

Both offensive coordinator Shane Steichen (Colts) and DC Jonathan Gannon (Cardinals) departed the Eagles for head coaching gigs last offseason. Current OC Brian Johnson has also received interest for this year’s hiring cycle, so his post could need filling in the near future. Especially in the wake of postseason failure, though, the possibility of more drastic moves could be a storyline to follow.

As both Anderson and La Canfora note, the Cowboys and Mike McCarthy could find themselves in a similar situation should they fall short of playoff expectations. The latter is believed to be safe for 2024 as things currently stand, but the door could be open to a quick change in job security. In the case of the Eagles, that appears to also hold true to a large extent.

Second-year Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni is continuing a trend he started in his first year at the helm in Philadelphia. According to Zach Berman of The Athletic, out of the three allowable mandatory practices each team is permitted for annual minicamps, the Eagles will use zero. 

Last year, Philadelphia also had an abbreviated in-person offseason program, as COVID-19 led the team to move most of their activities to a virtual space. Sirianni modified the in-person activities they did end up having, as well, managing the practice load on many of the athletes. This trend continued late in the year. In the back-half of the season, the Eagles moved to walk-throughs on Wednesdays to manage player workloads. This led to a healthier team that, after a 3-6 start to the season, would peak late, going on a 6-2 run to end the year and make the playoffs.

So far this year, Philadelphia has taken it easy in voluntary organized team activities (OTAs). The NFL permits 10 practice sessions for OTAs. The Eagles will hold six total practice sessions; three were held last week and three will happen this upcoming week.

The sessions in the OTAs won’t even utilize 11-on-11 play, which the league allows during the period. Sirianni explained, “We’re definitely doing seven-on-sevens. We’re transitioning away from 11-on-11s. We’re not going to do those this year.”

There are a couple of reasons for Philadelphia to function this way. The obvious reason is health. Sirianni claimed that they modified their offseason program “with the players’ health and safety in mind.” While health is important, the Eagles also use it as a chance to cultivate competition and connection, holding basketball shooting competitions and bowling outings with all of the players and coaches last week.

While it remains to be seen how this method of offseason preparation can affect a team’s in-season performance consistently over time, the results in Philadelphia last year are promising. If the Eagles prove that success can be obtained while emphasizing player health and safety, it could forever change how teams, especially teams who have seen entire seasons lost due to a litany of injures, approach the offseason.