In five seasons now under Nick Sirianni, it seems the Philadelphia Eagles operate on two settings: world beaters, or internal disaster.

After a 9-8 debut in 2021, Sirianni’s Eagles went 27-5 from the beginning of the 2022 season through Nov. 26, 2023. That included a dominant run through the NFC playoffs, a 3-point loss to the dynastic Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, and then a 10-1 start to the 2023 season. In November of that year, the Birds beat a 12-win Cowboys team, won at Arrowhead Stadium on a Monday night, and then beat the Buffalo Bills. They were the clear favorite to win the 2023 Super Bowl, and then went 1-5 down the stretch and were blown out by Tampa Bay in the Wild Card round. Afterward, Sirianni moved on from both coordinators. 

The Eagles then rebounded to win the Super Bowl in the 2024 season — capped by a 32-point win over Washington in the NFC Championship, and then a 40-22 revenge win over Kansas City in the Super Bowl that wasn’t as competitive as the score implied — and then started this past season 8-2. Playoffs included, Philadelphia was on a 26-5 run, clearly the best team in the NFL over that stretch. Until, again, they weren’t. The Eagles went 3-5 to close the ’25 season, losing at home to San Francisco in the Wild Card round. 

Now, we have a glimpse at the internal strife that explains how a team could lose as many games over an 8-game stretch as it did over its previous 31.

Tim McManus of ESPN reported that head coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo designed changes to the Eagles’ run game without consulting the club’s run game coordinator, offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland. From ESPN:

Stoutland was not consulted about the changes to what he felt was an appropriate degree, a league source said, to the point where he no longer desired the title of run game coordinator because he felt it no longer fit his job description.

Now, obviously, there are two sides to this story and we’re only getting Stoutland’s. The Eagles’ run game did not click in 2025 nearly to the degree it did in 2024 (Saquon Barkley rushed for 1,140 yards and seven touchdowns on 4.1 a carry in 2025 after going for 2,005-13-5.8 in ’24). Also, Sirianni and Patullo out-ranked Stoutland on the Eagles’ org chart. 

In the end, it doesn’t matter who owns what share of the blame, because Patullo was fired shortly after the season, and last week Sirianni appointed 33-year-old Sean Mannion as his fifth offensive coordinator in five seasons. In addition to being 33 years young and still playing in the NFL as recently as 2023, Mannion comes from the McVay/Shanahan tree, which is new to Philly.

Add it all up and Stoutland his time in Philadelphia had run its course. 

Stoutland had been in Philadelphia since 2013 — meaning he was retained by two successive head coaches after Chip Kelly’s 2015 firing — and won two national championships in two seasons at Alabama prior to joining the Eagles, meaning he’s personally won four rings in 16 seasons.

Long story short, Stoutland is regarded as perhaps the greatest active offensive line coach in all of football, and garnered a level of respect far beyond what’s normally seen in the typically-anonymous world of NFL position coaching.

Now former Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland is the only non-coordinator to receive first-place votes for the AP NFL Assistant Coach of the Year award since the voting system was changed in 2022 and voters select a top 5. Stoutland got a first-place vote in 2022 and in…

— Rob Maaddi (@RobMaaddi) February 5, 2026

“Philadelphia, I’ve decided my time coaching with the Eagles has come to an end,” Stoutland announced Wednesday. “When I arrived here in 2013, I did not know what I was signing up for. I quickly learned what this city demands. But more importantly, what it gives back. The past 13 years have been the great privilege of my coaching career. I didn’t just work here, I became one of you. Stout out.”

“The Philadelphia Eagles thank Jeff Stoutland for his legendary contributions to the game of football at the college and professional levels,” the Eagles said in their own statement, again another testament to Stoutland’s stature within the organization and the NFL. “Stout’s influence throughout football is immense, having helped countless players reach their true potential, including many who went on to earn All-Pro honors and some who developed into future Hall of Fame talents. His passion for the development of young players set the bar not only for our organization but for the entire National Football League. It is hard to fathom another coach investing more personally and professionally in their players than Jeff Stoutland.”

Stoutland will remain in coaching, and he’ll certainly only be out as long as he wants to be. 

Nothing lasts forever and change is the only constant — in life, in coaching, and especially in NFL coaching — but the end of the Stoutland era in Philadelphia was regrettable all the way around.Â