Last year was miserable for the Philadelphia Eagles. They finished the 2020 COVID season with a 4-11-1 record, with only two teams in the NFL in the Jets and Jaguars having worst records.

Carson Wentz wanted out and the organization moved on from Super Bowl winning coach Doug Pederson, who announced just a few years prior on the Art Museum steps in Philadelphia that we were entering “the new norm” of Eagles football in Philadelphia.

Next thing you know, in comes Nick Sirianni who could barely put sentences together during his introductory press conference. The takes and predictions came pouring in saying that the Eagles are doomed, and it started with Nick Sirianni and one of the youngest NFL coaching staffs ever assembled, and continued with Jalen Hurts as the starting quarterback.

Hell, some people in the national and local media actually thought that Joe Flacco was going to come in and steal the starting job from Hurts. No seriously, they actually said that on national television.

Crazy, I know.

Even being able to call out the bullshit takes that came spewing out of people’s mouths before the start of the season, the city was pretty down on the Eagles, and watched them start 2-5 to open the season, with a pretty grim outlook on the future.

Nick Sirianni’s press conferences were bizarre, and the city of Philadelphia was fed up with how pretty much every aspect of the team, outside of the offensive line, was being managed.

Fast forward to now, and the Eagles have a first-year coach and a 23-year old quarterback, who everyone doubted throughout the season, punching their tickets to the 2022 NFL Playoffs with a week to spare. 

The Eagles went from a Top 5 worst record in the NFL to a Top 10 best record in the NFL. After the 2-5 start to the season, the birds have now won six of seven games. 

With all that being said, why is Nick Sirianni still such a long shot in winning Coach of the Year honors? 

Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor probably deserves the best odds. Over the past two seasons with a 6-25-1 record, Taylor has been completing a massive rebuild for the Bengals and finds his team with a 10-6 record this year and an AFC North title.

From there you have LaFleur, who had another great year with the Green Bay Packers. However, I’m under the impression that the Coach of the Year Award is given to a coach who typically exceeded all expectations. That being said, you could probably take LaFleur, Vrabel, and Belichick out of the runnings completely.

Sirianni took a team from the bottom of the league to the playoffs in half a season. The fact that he’s this far out of the running is insane. Bill Belichick’s Patriots currently have one more win than the Eagles, but his odds are still much higher than Sirianni’s. The only rookie head coach who performed as well as Sirianni was Chargers’ head coach Brandon Staley, who had a far more talented roster and the same record.

A rookie head coach who was doubted but defied all the odds should have far more consideration than an average playoff team. The votes should make this race appear closer than it does right now, but it’s still frustrating to see the disrespect towards this team continue. Luckily, Sirianni has a chance to prove the oddsmakers wrong in the upcoming postseason.

Mandatory Credit: Philadelphia Eagles