A year ago, the NFL had seven head coaching openings. All were filled by Jan. 20 except one — the New Orleans Saints, who were waiting until after the Super Bowl to hire Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. This year brought 10 vacancies, tying a league record seen only four other times. As of Jan. 22, half of them are unfilled. An average offseason features 4-6 openings for a head coach. A couple more than that is a busy cycle. The historically high number this year — and the fact so many remain open — complicates the Eagles’ search for an established offensive coordinator after Kevin Patullo was removed last week. The Eagles are casting a wide net, but two of their top targets are former Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel and former Giants coach Brian Daboll. Offensive wizard McDaniel just interviewed for the Raiders’ head job, perhaps salivating at the prospect of Las Vegas drafting Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick (if they don’t screw it up). And Daboll — somehow, despite his embarrassing flameout in North Jersey — is reportedly in the running to replace Sean McDermott as the top man in Buffalo because of his past success as an OC with MVP quarterback Josh Allen. As long as candidates are in the running for head coaching jobs, they’re not going to accept a coordinator position with the Eagles. Also, even if some of the names on the Birds’ list aren’t hired as head coaches, they’re likely to join coaches in their circles who are. “You’re looking to continue to evolve as an offense, and I’m looking to bring in the guy that’s going to best help us do that,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “I think that there are many different ways to be successful on offense, and everybody has different styles. Everybody has different players, and there’s many different ways to be successful.” It’s awards season for the entertainment industry. Last week’s “State of the Eagles” joint press conference with Sirianni and general manager Howie Roseman was a performance under the lights. Some of it was valid: The GM went out of his way to praise Sirianni, whom many fans have erroneously criticized as having no real part in the team’s success. They don’t understand the role of a head coach — to set the culture and vision (first and foremost), to coach the coaches, to step in when necessary, and to handle big-picture issues, week-to-week strategy and in-game management. Like the big boss at many jobs. If it were a newspaper, Jeffrey Lurie would be the owner and publisher, Roseman would be the editor-in-chief, and Sirianni would be the managing editor and face of the publication. But Sirianni emphatically repeated that it was “I” who chose to fire Patullo and it will be “I” hiring the next offensive coordinator. It wasn’t and it won’t be. At least not Sirianni alone. Twice the Eagles have granted him that power, twice he has promoted inexperienced men from within, and twice his choices have crashed and burned (Patullo and Brian Johnson). Sirianni will have a say in the hiring of the new OC — as he should — but he won’t have final say. This is an operation steered by Roseman, Lurie and now, the emerging legacy, Jeffrey’s 31-year-old son Julian (a name to get used to). As much as Roseman publicly defended Sirianni last week, he and Jeffrey Lurie have repeatedly undercut their head coach by choosing his assistant coaches for him. (Those decisions haven’t always worked out, by the way. Exhibit A: Matt Patricia.) They’ve kneecapped Sirianni and manufactured this environment of second-guessing for the Eagles’ championship head coach. Sirianni hasn’t helped himself with a couple of his own hiring choices, either, but that’s when the front office should have stepped in — especially after investing so much of the roster in the offense. The Eagles are a top-tier organization. Their dysfunction isn’t necessarily so different than lots of teams in the NFL, to be real, but they consistently win. A new offensive coordinator may not want to stick around long-term, but this is a sought-after position for any talented coach who doesn’t land a head job this year. — Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X at @the_defranc for the latest updates. ...read more read less