{"id":767162,"date":"2026-02-21T17:21:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T17:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/767162\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T17:21:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T17:21:26","slug":"frank-reich-nearly-returned-to-the-eagles-before-taking-jets-oc-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/767162\/","title":{"rendered":"Frank Reich nearly returned to the Eagles before taking Jets OC job"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is in no way a dig or backhanded compliment towards Sean Mannion. As more is learned about the new Philadelphia Eagles<\/a> offensive coordinator, the more likable he becomes, and the more fitting he seems for the role, but aren’t you just a tad curious about what might have happened had the OC search led to another candidate?<\/p>\n

Maybe they could have gone with someone younger, a Declan Dolyle-clone after the prototype withdrew his name from consideration<\/a>. Maybe they could have gone with some football equivalent of Yoda, or an offensive comp to Vic Fangio<\/a>. Who would have complained had a wise old savant joined the nest?<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

It seemed a match. We’re all aware of head coach Nick Sirianni’s connection to his mentor and the respect he still has for him. The move made sense to us, but as the list of known interviewees kept expanding, Reich’s name wasn’t one that we heard<\/a>, at least not publicly.<\/p>\n

Eventually, the former Eagles OC landed in Florham Park, New Jersey, as the New York Jets<\/a>‘ offensive coordinator, but as it turns out, Philadelphia did speak to their old friend after all. There was a brief moment this offseason when a familiar face almost walked back through the doors at the Jefferson Health Training Complex, formerly the NovaCare Complex.<\/p>\n

Before ultimately accepting the Jets’ OC job, Sirianni and Reich reportedly spoke to one another.<\/p>\n

Nick Sirianni and Frank Reich considered a reunion.<\/p>\n

The idea made plenty of sense on multiple levels. Reich and Sirianni share a long history dating back to their time together in Indianapolis, and Reich remains one of the most respected offensive minds in league circles despite recent head-coaching stops that did not produce the results he hoped.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Here’s something interesting. A recent story by Dan Pompei for The Athletic<\/a>, which discussed the challenge awaiting Reich in New York, mentioned that he was considered for a role on Nick Sirianni’s coaching staff.<\/p>\n

“He\u2019s still getting paid by the Panthers because, the year before the Colts<\/a> fired him, he signed an extension that the Panthers picked up. They owe him through 2026. After the season at Stanford, Reich, at 64, could have lived the good life and cashed his checks. He could have been an adviser to one of his coaching friends, such as Philadelphia Eagles<\/a> coach Nick Sirianni, with whom he discussed the possibility a couple of months ago. But the Jets presented an opportunity for a comeback. And Reich is all about the comeback.”<\/p>\n

Interesting. So, we weren’t crazy! Our thoughts about Reich’s return to Philadelphia being a decent idea were mirrored by, at minimum, the head coach. No one knows for sure, but we’d assume that Howie Roseman and Jeffrey Lurie wouldn’t have objected.<\/p>\n

From Reich’s perspective, the advisory role also offered an appealing opportunity: a chance to influence an organization he knows well without the weekly grind of play-calling.<\/p>\n

There’s something to be said about competitive fire, though. That doesn’t fade easily in coaches who are wired the way he is. The Jets’ offer provided something the advisory role could not: control of an offense and the ability to shape a unit in his vision again.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

In the end, that pull toward direct impact won out.<\/p>\n

Still, the fact that Reich even entertained the possibility speaks volumes about the respect that remains between him and the Eagles organization. Relationships matter in the NFL, and bridges weren’t burned when he left Philadelphia years ago.<\/p>\n

He’ll now be designing game plans elsewhere, but it’s not hard to imagine paths crossing again down the road, maybe. In the NFL, reunions have a funny way of happening when you least expect them.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Frank Reich nearly returned to the Eagles’ staff under Nick Sirianni<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This is in no way a dig or backhanded compliment towards Sean Mannion. As more is learned about…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":767163,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2068],"tags":[2005,25,7,6494,2004,255,6,5351,12611,236,242,109,2476,8149,11052,796],"class_list":{"0":"post-767162","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-eagles","8":"tag-colts","9":"tag-eagles","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-frank-reich","12":"tag-indianapolis","13":"tag-new-york-jets","14":"tag-nfl","15":"tag-nick-sirianni","16":"tag-offensive-coordinator","17":"tag-panthers","18":"tag-philadelphia","19":"tag-philadelphia-eagles","20":"tag-philadelphiaeagles","21":"tag-reich","22":"tag-sean-mannion","23":"tag-the-jets"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116109776720406279","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/767162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=767162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/767162\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/767163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=767162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=767162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=767162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}