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-coaching job that started Tuesday and reportedly spilled over to the next day.
There was a sense in league circles 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 ended up hiring the less heralded name but one who continued to gain steam inside the Eagles organization the more they called around about him.
Sirianni had previously spent three seasons as an assistant with the Kansas City Chiefs and five seasons with the Chargers.
He was the Chargers’ quarterbacks coach in 2014 and 2015, when Frank Reich was offensive coordinator in San Diego. Reich hired him to be his right-hand man when he left Philadelphia to take the Colts’ head-coaching job in 2018.
Despite a rotating cast at quarterback, Indianapolis has fielded a top-10 offense in two of the past three seasons. Philip Rivers completed 68% of his passes this season for 4,169 yards with 24 touchdowns to 11 interceptions in 2020. Sirianni has worked as a quarterbacks coach and receivers coach since coming into the league with the Chiefs 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 held an extensive search after firing Super Bowl-winning coach Doug Pederson on Jan. 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 in 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 potential interview.
Pederson was fired after going 4-11-1 in his fifth season with the team. He went 46-39-1 and won the Lombardi trophy during the 2017 season — the first of three straight playoff appearances for the Eagles under Pederson.
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