Nick Sirianni isn’t the popular choice but is the best one for the Eagles’ future

If the Philadelphia Eagles are serious about turning things around, they need to call Nick Sirianni from Indianapolis.

Jeff Lurie and Howie Roseman will only have one question when interviewing candidates for the Philadelphia Eagles‘ job.

“Can you fix Carson Wentz to make him the starter again?”

One losing season was all it took for the Eagles to part ways with Doug Pederson. In five years, Pederson took Philadelphia to the playoffs three times, bringing the lone Super Bowl title to the city in 2017.

Roseman and Lurie sided with Wentz in the divorce. Here’s hoping it’s not buyer’s remorse.

The search is spread far and wide for the Eagles’ coach in waiting, and multiple names come to mind. Josh McDaniels and Kellen Moore seem to be the front-runners for the role. That doesn’t mean they’ll fix the problem at hand.

If the Eagles are serious about building Wentz back up, their next phone call needs to be at Indianapolis’ Nick Sirianni. He might not be the expected choice, but he’s the right one far and away now.

Sirianni is more than just a Frank Reich protege

The biggest ties for Sirianni to Philadelphia are the ones that brought him to Indianapolis. Starting his coaching career as an offensive assistant, he and Frank Reich built a strong connection during their days with the Chargers.

Sirianni, 39, played an essential role in the development of Keenan Allen early on. In his Sirianni’s final year with Los Angeles, the former injury-prone receiver tallied his first 1,000-yard season. Since 2017, Allen’s passed the mark twice, falling short by eight yards in 2020.

There’s also the work as the offensive coordinator in Indianapolis. Twice the Colts have finished with a top-10 offense in points scored and total yards, making the playoffs in both seasons. And while Reich is the architect behind the play-calling, Sirianni’s voice is influential in the design.

More than any of that, it’s his work with quarterbacks that’s the selling point. Andrew Luck was coming off multiple shoulder surgeries and saw his career come into jeopardy. Sirianni helped him throw for a career-best 67.3 percent along with 39 touchdowns on the year.

Philip Rivers was coming off a subpar season in 2012, throwing for under 4,000 yards and 26 touchdowns for the first time since 2007. With Sirianni in the room, he never threw for less than 4,200 yards and 26 scores on the year. He also threw a career-best 69.5 completion percentage their first season together.

After an abysmal campaign in Los Angeles, Rivers regained the quality playing on an 11-5 roster. Guess who led the charge in adding back his numbers?

Wentz needs a coach to not only fix the mechanics but his confidence as well. Twice Sirianni has played a role in going back to the basics and building his pocket-passer from middle-tier to Pro Bowl-caliber.

Teams live or die by their quarterback’s play, and Philadelphia is stuck with Wentz for at least another season. If they want to get the best out of their quarterback, they need to start from the ground up.

So sure, there are other names worthy of consideration, but how many have the patience to start over with Wentz? The Eagles need a coach willing to take a risk and fix the franchise in their image.

Sirianni’s doubled down on a quarterback’s confidence before. Why not go all-in with the biggest wild card in the NFL?