Jon Ritchie thinks the coaching is what bothers him most about the Eagles’ recent swoon, and later in the day, Joe Giglio said he’s ready to hit the panic button on the Birds’ season.
Could that panic button, though, lead to bringing back Frank Reich, who was the offensive coordinator for the Super Bowl run? Maybe it’s not a bad idea in Joe’s eyes.
“We know there's issues on both sides, and defense is very much a personnel issue, but offensively, there is a real discussion on how much it is on the coaching,” Joe said Tuesday. “I guess they have talent on offense and there's no reason they should have a game ever against anybody without an offensive touchdown. So, we have our questions about Brian Johnson, and about Nick Sirianni’s hand in the offense, and I do think they miss Shane Steichen. Well, there is an offensive coach available right now with a strong connection to Sirianni and the Eagles…and his name is Frank Reich.”
When Reich was fired as head coach of the Panthers last month, Sirianni was asked about the idea of bringing him in for some capacity, and the head coach gave an answer that basically said “we’re not quite there yet,” mentioning how if and when those additions are made mid-season, it’s more about familiarity with the person than making a radical change.
Well, here’s the rub of this circle of life: Reich did such a good job as OC in Philly he got a head gig in Indy, and Sirianni did such a good job as Reich’s OC in Indy that he got the job here. And, well, when Reich was fired by Indy last year, Steichen did such a good job as Sirianni’s first OC that he earned his first head coaching gig as the second straight Eagles coordinator to get the Colts’ full-time gig.
And now here we are, with Brian Johnson – who was promoted to OC after two years of being Sirianni and Steichen’s QB coach for Jalen Hurts – struggling with basically the same unit as last year, and questions abound if it’s him or not.
“That was about three weeks ago, and he said ‘not quite yet’ – but since then, they’ve lost back-to-back games and the offense is sputtering,” Giglio said, “so I’m in on the idea of bringing Frank Reich in to help out, as another set of eyes on this offense.”
Giglio understands that Reich’s offenses as a head coach “stunk,” but outside of the Super Bowl year with Carson Wentz and his one year with Andrew Luck, the common thread has been subpar quarterback play in his 10 years as an OC or HC.
But this unit has Jalen Hurts, and we’ve seen what Steichen did with him the last two years and Anthony Richardson and Gardner Minshew in Indy, so…
“I think he could come in here and help,” Giglio said. “Would it be a little weird to bring someone in late in the season? Sure, but I don’t see the downside to bringing Frank in here to see what he sees and get his opinion on what they’re doing wrong and how to fix it.”
Hugh Douglas, quite frankly, is not as sold.
“I think that you'll be taking a dump on Brian Johnson if you do that,” Hugh said bluntly. “Listen, I hear you, because this offense feels like it lacks creativity and feels disjointed from a fan's perspective.
But before the season started, we felt like Coach Johnson was on the fast track to getting a head coaching job in the NFL, and it’s all about the optics of this. I understand we're in a situation where we're trying to save the season, so I really don't give a damn about anybody's feelings, but the reality of this situation is this is the guy that you chose and it sends this message that says that you made a mistake and that Brian Johnson is not prepared to be a head coach in the NFL. That's why if you make this move, you better be prepared for what happens after that, the fallout.”
Joe is prepared for that and like Hugh is ‘done with feelings,’ but they had Vic Fangio as a senior advisor to Jonathan Gannon last year, and now Gannon is a head coach in Arizona and Fangio has an elite defense in Miami – so there is precedent, not to mention Reich’s past in Philly.
Then again, as Hugh mentioned, he’s been fired mid-season in back-to-back seasons from two different head coaching jobs, so there’s always a downside?
“I think of it as teacher-protégé; Sirianni learned offense from Frank Reich and maybe it's time to call the teacher and ask what I’m missing, with a fresh set of eyes?” Joe posited.
“If they call Frank Reich in here and all of a sudden this offense looks different or becomes innovative, what do you think is going to be said?” High asked back. “Frank fixed the offense and Brian Johnson doesn't know what he's doing and Sirianni didn't know what he's doing.”
Take a listen to the entire conversation above!