With the NFL season complete and the newest wave of head coaching hires taking place, ESPN's Bill Barnwell listed his best coaching hires since 2021.
Out of the 37 coaching hires since 2021, currently 18 remain employed by NFL teams. In Barnwell's rankings, he has placed Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni as the second-best hire, just behind Lions head coach Dan Campbell.
"Sirianni is by far the most difficult coach to rank on this list," Barnwell said. "His résumé is comfortably the best of any coach over the past five years. He took over a 4-11-1 team and immediately coached it to the playoffs, where it has been each of the past five seasons. The Bills are the only other team to make it to the playoffs every year over that span. Sirianni has made two Super Bowls and won one. No other coach on this list has won a Super Bowl, although that will change two weeks from now."
"There's no arguing that the highs under Sirianni have been spectacular. But the lows have been wildly frustrating, including a defense that forgot how to play football in 2023 and an offense that hopelessly banged its head against the wall for most of the 2025 season. Sirianni has to own both. But his floor is nine wins and a playoff appearance (2021 season), and his ceiling has been the Lombardi Trophy (2024)."
Nick Sirianni is ranked second best hire since 2021
Sirianni has consistently been criticized by Eagles fans despite his success. Per Barnwell's list, he's the most successful coach in terms of his regular season and postseason success. Many fans will forget he took over a Doug Pederson Eagles team that was dealing with an inconsistent Carson Wentz, who had just signed a massive contract extension, which led to a 4-11-1 in 2020.
Sirianni immediately took the team and led them to a playoff berth in 2021, which was the team's first playoff berth in Sirianni's first five seasons at the helm. Sirianni has amassed a record of 59-26 (regular season), along with a 6-4 record in the playoffs that includes a Super Bowl victory in 2024.
Despite all the success, Sirianni hasn't escaped unscathed by Eagles fans. He's seen offensive coordinators consistently be cycled through due to promotion or ineptitude, which has led to up-and-down seasons with Jalen Hurts at quarterback. He's also had multiple feuds with players on the sideline, specifically A.J. Brown. While the Eagles have done a great job building their team, credit often gets given to general manager Howie Roseman or the assistants who have moved into various higher positions.
Sirianni, entering his sixth season, has found his way into the top echelon of Eagles coaches. Despite the exterior issues and criticism, he still managed to lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory.
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Hopefully, with some new coaching changes, Sirianni can stabilize the exterior noise in Philadelphia and continue his success with the franchise.