PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles are hiring Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni as their next head coach, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Thursday.
Sirianni, 39, had an extensive interview for the head coach job that started Tuesday and reportedly progressed to the next day.
In the competition circles, the feeling was that the race had narrowed to two candidates: New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Sirianni, who has been the Colts’ coordinator for three seasons.
Philadelphia eventually hired the less acclaimed name, but one who continued to gain steam within the Eagles organization as they shouted more about him.
Sirianni previously worked as an assistant with the Kansas City Chiefs for three seasons and with the Chargers for five seasons.
He was the Chargers’ quarterback coach in 2014 and 2015, when Frank Reich was offensive coordinator in San Diego. Reich hired him as his right-hand man when he left Philadelphia in 2018 to take the job as head coach with the Colts.
Despite a varying cast as a quarterback with Andrew Luck, Jacoby Brissett, and Philip Rivers, Indianapolis carried out a top-10 attack in two of the past three seasons. Rivers completed 68% of his passes for 4,169 yards this season with 24 touchdowns to 11 interceptions in 2020.
Sirianni has worked as a quarterbacks coach and receivers coach since joining the Chiefs in the league in 2009.
The Colts (11-5) finished ninth in the NFL in scoring (28.2 PPG) and 10th in yards per game (378.1) in 2020.
The Eagles conducted an extensive search after firing Super Bowl-winning coach Doug Pederson on January 11. They interviewed Arthur Smith, Robert Saleh, Jerod Mayo, Joe Brady, Kellen Moore, Duce Staley, Todd Bowles, Dennis Allen, McDaniels and Sirianni. They also had a request to speak with Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, sources said, but there was an agreement to wait until after Sunday’s AFC Championship Game for a possible interview.
Pederson was fired after joining the team 4-11-1 in his fifth season. He went 46-39-1 to win the Lombardi trophy during the 2017 season – the first of three consecutive playoff appearances for the Eagles under Pederson.