The Philadelphia Eagles knew going into the 2026 offseason that they needed to address their offense and could use all the help they could get.
The Athletic's Dan Pompei wrote a piece about former Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich and his reemergence into the NFL after spending the last year as the interim head coach of the Stanford Cardinal. Pompei mentions that Reich came close to returning to the place where he won a Super Bowl before taking the New York Jets' offensive coordinator job.
"After the season at Stanford, Reich, at 64, could have lived the good life and cashed his checks. He could have been an adviser to one of his coaching friends, such as Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, with whom he discussed the possibility a couple of months ago. But the Jets presented an opportunity for a comeback. And Reich is all about the comeback."
Frank Reich almost was back with the Eagles
Reich spent only two years as the Eagles' offensive coordinator in 2016 and 2017, but he was instrumental in developing former quarterback Carson Wentz and helped the offense navigate with Nick Foles at quarterback through late in the 2017 season and the playoffs. During that season, the Eagles made a run and reached the Super Bowl, winning the first in franchise history.
While the offense was only ranked 22nd in yards and 16th in points in 2016, the Eagles improved dramatically, ranking seventh in yards and third in points. Reich's success with Philly helped him land the head coaching job with the Indianapolis Colts.
That's where Reich and Sirianni got together, as Sirianni was named the Colts' offensive coordinator under Reich in 2018. Sirianni would stay there through the 2020 season, when he landed the Eagles' head coach job.
Towards the end of the 2025 season, there were some Eagles fans who wanted Reich to come in and help the offense in some capacity, with former offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo struggling on the job. Philly ended up hiring Sean Mannion as the offensive coordinator, and Reich went to the Jets to run their offense.
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While Eagles fans would have loved to have Reich back with the franchise, they can at least appreciate what he did for them and hope that he does well with the Jets, who could really use him.