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

Nick Sirianni has already beaten out Kyle Shanahan for the NFC’s top seed. Will he leapfrog him for the Coach of the Year Award?

While the gap between Nick Sirianni and Brian Daboll is wide (for now), the distance between Sirianni and San Fransisco 49ers’ head coach Kyle Shanahan is a stone’s throw.

While the Philadelphia Eagles outpaced the Niners for the NFC’s top seed, San Fran was right on the Birds’ heels with a 13-4 mark as they won the NFC West and the second seed in the National Football Conference. Past that, the resumes are equally as impressive.

Sirianni and his staff have done a fantastic job with Jalen Hurts, elevating him to an MVP level. Shanahan has had to overcome injuries but has now had two different quarterbacks win five games or more in 2022.

Sirianni’s Eagles blew away Daboll’s Giants on the stat sheet, but they also edge Shanahan’s 49ers offensively. The Eagles have tallied more total yards, more passing yards, more rushing yards, and more points scored than San Francisco in 2022.

Defensively, the Niners and Eagles finished first and second respectively in total yards allowed; however, San Francisco only edged Philadelphia by 15 yards (5,110 yards allowed compared to 5.125).

Philly took the edge in passing yards allowed. They ranked first. The 49ers ranked 21st, but the Niners had a distinct edge in rushing yards allowed. They finished the regular season ranked second while Philly finished 17th in that category.

The 49ers’ achievements versus opposing teams’ rushing attacks were impressive, but in a passing league where 30 of its 32 teams throw the ball more than they run it, having a coaching staff that understands how to effectively shut down an opponent’s passing attack is of the utmost importance.

The 2022 Eagles are also the owners of the league’s best pass rush. Juggling first-round picks, future Hall-of-Famers, and All-Pros is no easy task.

Philadelphia’s defense recorded 70 sacks, a franchise re in 2022. That’s 15 more than the AFC’s top seed, the Chiefs. That’s 26 more than the 49ers’ mark of 44 sacks. Historically, only one team has more, the 1984 Chicago Bears who notched 72 QB takedowns in 1984.

Sirianni may have only been slightly better than Kyle Shanahan, but he has been better. The numbers prove it. When it comes to the NFL’s Coach of the Year Award, Sirianni should be running away with it. Nick has a chance at becoming the first Eagles coach to earn the honor since Andy Reid (2002). We will all know the result by February 9th on the NFL Honors. He most certainly has our vote.