Eagle Nick Sirianni's Path From Hot Seat To Super Bowl A Blueprint For One AFC Coach

The hot seat is a nice place to be on a winter’s day, but not if you are an NFL head coach. That’s where Nick Sirianni was last fall. Already on a short leash, the Eagles' head coach stumbled out of the gate at 2-2 before a bye week.

He may have saved his job with a narrow 20-16 win over a terrible Cleveland Browns team coming out of the bye in Week 6. It was the first of 10 straight wins for the Eagles, which rewrote the franchise record book for most consecutive victories in a season.

It’s not a recommended path to take, but there’s an AFC coach who wouldn’t mind walking in Sirianni’s shoes. That would be the Miami Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel, who talked about Siriannii at the NFL Owners Meetings during the AFC coach’s breakfast on Monday morning. The NFC coach's breakfast will be on Tuesday morning.

McDaniel, who is a bit quirky to put it mildly, went 8-9 in South Florida last year. He is probably on the hot seat this year, just as Sirianni was after his team lost six of their final seven games and were bounced from the playoffs in the opening round in 2023.

“We lost more than we won…there is a bunch of variables in that,” said McDaniel told reports at the meetings in West Pam Beach, Fla. “There’s variables in success. Nick Sirianni – I want to be on that hot seat he was on last year. What else would I expect – you’re not entitled to the position and ultimately, if it’s deemed that the organization would be best served with someone else, I’m more onboard with that than people realize.

“Again, Nick Sirianni was on the hottest seat. If we (were) closer to the season that we were chasing, if we won two more games, does that make me a different coach?”

The Eagles never had to cross that bridge with Sirianni. He righted the ship. A reason why is Sirianni was able to remain flexible and he listened to those around him, specifically those coaches and players, such as right tackle Lane Johnson, to run the ball with Saquon Barkley.

“Every year to me, if you’re not feeling heat on the seat, you have the wrong urgency,” said McDaniel. “It should be that way every year, because this is not my gift. This is an incredible responsibility that I only sign up for because I think I’m the best person suited for it.”

Sirianni proved he was, and as he enters the final year of his contract, is due an extension.