The Philadelphia Eagles are hiring Nick Sirianni as their head coach, according to sources

PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles are recruiting Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni as their next head coach, ESPN sources Adam Schefter said Thursday.

Sirianni, 39, had an extensive interview for the head coach job, which started on Tuesday and reportedly carried over to the next day.

In league circles, it was felt that the race had been limited to two candidates – the offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, Josh McDaniels, and Sirianni, who has been the Colts coordinator for three seasons.

Philadelphia eventually dropped the less advertised name, but one that kept gaining traction within the Eagles organization the more they cared about it.

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 as his right-hand man when he left Philadelphia to take the Colts head coach in 2018.

Despite a changing line-up at quarterback, Indianapolis has put up a top 10 offensive in two of the last three seasons. Philip Rivers completed 68% of his passes for 4,169 yards this season with 24 touchdowns to 11 interceptions in 2020. Sirianni has been a quarterbacks coach and receiver coach since joining the league with the Chiefs in 2009.

The Colts (11-5) were ranked ninth in the NFL (28.2 PPG) and tenth in yards per game (378.1) in 2020.

The Eagles conducted an extensive search after firing Super Bowl 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 to speak to Buffalo Bills’ offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, sources said, but there was an agreement to wait for a possible interview until after Sunday’s AFC championship game.

Pederson was fired after playing 4-11-1 with the team in his fifth season. He went 46-39-1 and won the Lombardi Trophy during the 2017 season – the first of three direct playoff appearances for the Eagles under Pederson.