Nick Sirianni deserves NFL’s Coach of the Year over Daboll, Shanahan

Nick Sirianni has proven in consecutive seasons that he was the best head-coaching hire of 2021.

In 2020, the Philadelphia Eagles struggled all season long en route to an abysmal 4-11-1 campaign. It was only the fewest number of wins the Birds had earned in a regular season since 2012. There was turmoil in the quarterback room, among the coaching staff, and even in the front office. Eventually, following a postseason press conference held by both Howie Roseman and Doug Pederson, the organization and the lone man to lead them to Super Bowl glory parted ways.

Enter Nick Sirianni. He was hired after spending three seasons as the Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator. During that time, Indy made the playoffs in 2018 and 2020 and fielded a top-ten offense (total yards) each time.

As a first-year head coach, Sirianni experienced growing pains but also showed off his ability to overcome adversity. Following a 2-5 start to the season, the Eagles finished a 9-8 record, the NFL’s top rushing offense, and a berth in the postseason as a Wild Card team, and they did so not needing the final weekend to get the job done.

While the 2021 Eagles lost in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, they experienced a fantastic turnaround. Sirianni has built on that success in year two. After receiving nary a vote for the NFL’s Coach of the Year Award for the job he did in year one, his sophomore campaign has seen his quarterback Jalen Hurts bloom into an MVP-level quarterback.

His team has earned the most wins in franchise history. They own the NFC’s top seed while setting a team record for sacks and finishing first versus the pass.

They finished top three in total offense, total defense, points scored, and turnover differential, but is this enough to move him past Brian Daboll and Kyle Shanahan as the favorite to win the award? The answer to that question is yes, and here are the reasons why that’s the case.