Eagles extend Nick Sirianni: Where HC ranks among Philly’s all-time greats after four seasons, Super Bowl win

PHILADELPHIA — There was never a doubt the Philadelphia Eagles were going to extend Nick Sirianni, at least after a Super Bowl championship victory. With Sirianni headed into the final year of his contract, the Eagles rewarded their head coach with a multi-year extension that will keep him in Philadelphia for years to come. 

What Sirianni has accomplished in Philadelphia in just four seasons is unlike anything the NFL has ever seen. Sirianni is the only head coach in the Super Bowl era to make four playoff appearances, reach two Super Bowls and win a Super Bowl title in his first four seasons. He’s the only head coach to take the Eagles to two Super Bowl appearances in franchise history and just the second head coach to lead the organization into two NFL championship games. 

Sirianni sports a 48-20 record after four seasons and an impressive .706 win percentage. Just five head coaches in NFL history have a .700 win percentage, a group Sirianni is a part of. This isn’t including his 6-3 postseason record, a win percentage of .667.

Overall, Sirianni is 54-23 when counting his regular season and playoff record for a win percentage of .701. 

While it was a no-brainer for the Eagles to extend Sirianni, he’s in a stratosphere of elite head coaches in NFL history after his first four seasons. Where does Sirianni rank amongst the best head coaches in Eagles history? What about NFL history? 

How Sirianni stacks up amongst Eagles greats

Sirianni has the best win percentage of any head coach in Eagles history (.706) amongst any coach who has coached a minimum of 50 games. He’s the only head coach in franchise history to even have a .600 win percentage, holding a commanding lead over second-place Greasy Neale (.596). 

Neale is in the conversation for winningest coach in Eagles history as the only head coach to win two championship for the franchise. The Eagles won back-to-back championships in 1948 and 1949 under Neale, making three straight NFL championship games in that era. They were the NFL’s dynasty during that stretch, going 28-7-1 in those three seasons with Neale (.792 win percentage). 

Andy Reid is the winningest head coach in Eagles history, winning 130 games in his 14 seasons with the franchise. Reid also has the most postseason wins in Eagles history (10) and compiled a 130-93-1 regular-season record in his tenure with Philadelphia (.583 win percentage). Reid turned the Eagles franchise around when he took over in 1999, as Philadelphia had winning seasons in nine of his 14 seasons — including five conference championship game appearances and a Super Bowl appearance (2004). 

Based on Sirianni’s resume, he’s in the conversation with Neale for the greatest head coach in franchise history. In addition to Sirianni’s .706 win percentage, he and Neale are the only two head coaches to coach the Eagles in league championship games. 

The Eagles have two 14-win regular seasons, both of which are under Sirianni. The most wins they have in a season are 18 and 17 (regular season and postseason), both of which were also under Sirianni. His six playoff wins are second in franchise history (only to Reid), and his 48 wins are the most by any Eagles coach after four seasons. 

Reid had a great career with the Eagles and is one of the greatest head coaches in NFL history, but Sirianni’s tenure in Philadelphia surpasses his because of the Super Bowl title. (Sirianni has also been to double the amount of Super Bowls with the Eagles than Reid has.) 

If Sirianni secures one more championship, there will be no debate between he and Neale on who the greatest head coach in Eagles franchise history is. Neale built and coached a dynasty, while Sirianni is in the midst of doing the same. 

Dominant run under Sirianni

The Eagles have been dominant for the majority of Sirianni’s career en route to a 2024 championship run. Sirianni coached a team that set a league record with 3,866 rushing yards (including playoffs), including the most rushing yards ever for an individual in a season as Saquon Barkley rushed for 2,504 yards (including playoffs). Philadelphia was the first Super Bowl champion with more rushing yards (3,866) than passing yards (3,820) in a season since the 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Eagles were the second team in NFL history to have the No. 1 rushing offense and No. 1 defense in yards allowed while also winning the Super Bowl — joining the 1992 Dallas Cowboys. They also set in NFL record in points scored (145) in the 2024 postseason, including the most points by any team combined in the conference championship game and Super Bowl in NFL history (95). 

Philadelphia was the first team to win the Super Bowl with a top-two rushing offense since the 1998 Denver Broncos. It was the first team to win the Super Bowl with a top-two rushing offense and a top-two total defense since the 1985 Chicago Bears. 

Sirianni was also the coach of the club who rushed for the most touchdowns in a season in NFL history (including playoffs), as the 2022 Eagles rushed for 42 touchdowns. The 2024 Eagles rushed for 40 touchdowns, second only to the 2022 team. Sirianni coached the only two teams who have rushed for 40-plus touchdowns in a season. 

Philadelphia has been dominant under Sirianni, especially when it comes to running the football. The Eagles have the most rushing touchdowns in the NFL (including playoffs) over the past four seasons (130) by a wide margin (Buffalo Bills are second with 103), showcasing the impact of Sirianni around the league. The “Tush Push” — Sirianni’s signature play — may even get banned because of how dominant the Eagles have been using that play. 

The league is trying to even change the way Sirianni’s team plays the game, as Sirianni created a play that only his team can master. Thanks to Sirianni, the Eagles have changed the way the NFL is played.

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A Hall of Fame trajectory?

There are only five head coaches in NFL history who have a .700 win percentage in their career (minimum 50 games). Sirianni is one of those five and the other four are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Guy Chamberlain has the highest win percentage of any head coach in NFL history (.784), but he last coached in 1927 — before the first NFL Championship Game was even played.

John Madden has the highest win percentage for any coach in the Super Bowl era (.759), ranking second in NFL history. Vince Lombardi is third (.738) and George Allen is fourth (.712). Sirianni sits right behind Allen in win percentage, but he’s only coached four seasons. 

There’s more to the story than win percentage when it comes to Sirianni. He has etched himself into the record books with his two Super Bowl appearances and a Super Bowl championship. He joins Joe Gibbs and Mike Tomlin as the only head coaches to make two Super Bowl appearances and win a championship within their first four seasons and is just the seventh head coach in league history to win a Super Bowl after losing in their first appearance.

Sirianni is just the fourth head coach to make the playoffs in each of his first four seasons (2021-2024) and the first since John Harbaugh (2008-2011). He’s just the fourth head coach to win 18 games in a season (including playoffs) and the first to win 18 games and a championship in the same season since Mike Ditka accomplished the feat with the 1985 Bears. Sirianni and George Seifert are the only two coaches to win 14-plus regular season games twice in their first four seasons. 

Sirianni could retire right now and have a case for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That’s the historical impact he’s had in the NFL after just four seasons. A second championship may lock down a Hall of Fame bust.