Why Eagles HC Nick Sirianni wasn’t a finalist for Coach of the Year

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has led his team to the NFC playoffs in his first two seasons.

Last year, they got to the Wild Card game, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This year, the Eagles claimed the number one seed. They will play the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC title this weekend.

So, when the AP announced their three finalists for Coach of the Year and Sirianni wasn't one of the finalists, there were some questions asked.

49ers HC Kyle Shanahan, New York Giants HC Brian Daboll and Jacksonville Jaguars HC Doug Pederson are the three finalists for the AP award.

Daboll and Pederson are the clear choices for their nominations, seeing as they turned their teams around so markedly. From top five draft picks to the playoffs in just their first season.

Shanahan is receiving recognition for bringing his team back to the playoffs despite starting three different quarterbacks this season due to injury. Rookie Brock Purdy, who was the last draft pick in the 2023 NFL draft, is leading the team to the NFC title game.

Sirianni's accomplishments with the Philadelphia Eagles these last two seasons are worthy of recognition. However, the AP apparently felt that the other three coaches were in tougher situations.

The announcement caught many off guard as the NFL's official Twitter page announced five finalists for "Coach of the Year." This included Sirianni and Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott. So it was confusing for many NFL fans as they saw the news on Wednesday morning.

What is Nick Sirianni's record as Eagles HC?

The Philadelphia Eagles hired Nick Sirianni as their new head coach in January 2021 after Doug Pederson was fired. Sirianni was previously the offensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts from 2018-2020.

In his first season with the Eagles, they went on to have a 9-8 record, which landed them in second place in the NFC East and a Wild Card spot in the playoffs. As mentioned above, they lost to the Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round.

In the 2022 season (just Nick Sirianni's second season as head coach), Philadelphia went 14-3. The Eagles are 23-11 under his leadership. This campaign, they won the NFC East and were the number one seed in the NFC playoffs.

They will host the 49ers this weekend in what should be an epic clash, with one side going home and the other to the Super Bowl.