The term “CEO head coach,” which is a head coach who doesn’t call plays on either side of the ball, has often been used as a backhanded slight to marginalize coaches’ accomplishments. Exhibit A: Nick Sirianni. Never mind that Sirianni has led the Eagles to the playoffs in each of the five ye ars he’s been here, including three NFC East titles, two Super Bowl appearances and a Super Bowl championship. Never mind that his .694 regular-season winning percentage (59-26) ranks fifth all time among coaches in their first five NFL seasons. Or that his 65 total wins through five years are tied for third with fellow CEO head coach Don Shula — behind only George Seifert (68) and Tony Dungy (67). Critics claim it was his assistants and talented rosters that were responsible for all the success, not Sirianni, as if his role was somehow peripheral. As if any head coach can win without talent and a good staff. Sirianni’s public persona hasn’t helped. He lacked name recognition when he arrived in Philadelphia, and his awkward early press conferences, clichéd slogans, demonstrative sideline antics — including jawing with fans — and generally emotional demeanor don’t fit the stereotype of a commanding figure. He comes across as more of a hype man than a head coach. There seems to be a disconnect between his tone and his top-tier résumé. But public perception often isn’t reality. Sirianni is highly respected in the locker room. His players want him to be himself. And former players, including Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox, regularly show up at the facility to hang with him and help out. Plus, Sirianni’s results speak for themselves. Isn’t that what matters? Eagles general manager Howie Roseman: “I feel incredibly grateful that I’m working with someone who, as a head coach, is elite at being a head coach, elite at building connections with our team, elite at talking about fundamentals, game management, situational awareness, bringing the team together, holding people accountable. When you’re looking for a head coach, those are really the job descriptions.” A pair of CEO head coaches — the Patriots’ Mike Vrabel and Seahawks’ Mike Macdonald, both of whom have defensive backgrounds — are about to meet in the Super Bowl. John Harbaugh, who was the most sought-after coach in this cycle before the Giants hired him, is also a CEO head coach. He made his bones as a special teams coordinator with the Eagles before taking over the top job in Baltimore for 18 years. New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel celebrates after the AFC Championship game against the Denver Broncos Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/John Locher) The fact is, most NFL and college head coaches — from Bill Belichick to Nick Saban — are CEO head coaches. Their most important job is to create and maintain the culture, which is the paramount difference between winning and losing. The key is to hire the right staff and empower them to do their jobs. That starts with the coordinators, an area where Sirianni and Roseman have occasionally tripped up, whether it was Brian Johnson or Kevin Patullo on offense or Sean Desai or Matt Patricia on defense. If you can land an offensive wizard, like the Rams’ Sean McVay or the 49ers’ Mike Shanahan, as your head coach, it’s a bonus. It provides continuity for the quarterback and that entire side of the ball each year. But guys who can sustain success pulling double-duty are few and far between. Even Andy Reid eventually handed off play calling in Kansas City, though he’s still the architect of the offense and a quarterback whisperer, and remains very involved. Ideally, Sirianni could take over as play caller when needed. But even with his offensive background, he didn’t have widely recognized gravitas as a coordinator or QB coach before becoming a head coach — another strike against him, according to his detractors. Can he right the ship when things go sideways? He couldn’t when the team collapsed in 2023, and he couldn’t in 2025. But he’s not the first successful head coach to have disappointing seasons. And for Sirianni, disappointment in each of those years still meant 11 wins and reaching the playoffs. Fortune 500 companies, from Berkshire Hathaway to Alphabet/Google to Nvidia, all may share some guiding principles, but their CEOs and culture don’t all succeed the same way. Some run their organizations like buttoned-up boardrooms, some with a mom-and-pop feel, and others wearing sneakers and shorts with their feet kicked up around a sofa after letting off steam playing air hockey. Philly isn’t just a tough town; people here are emotive and blunt. Annual expectations for the Eagles, both inside and outside the building, are as high as it gets. Fans are deeply invested and reactionary. The media are loud and unrelenting. Coaches and players need a thick skin. This place isn’t for everybody. But Sirianni, as a CEO with his own style, has proven he can consistently win here — and win the big one. Kasper elevated The Eagles promoted safeties coach Joe Kasper to defensive backs coach and pass-game coordinator this week. He replaces Christian Parker, who accepted the defensive coordinator job with the Cowboys. Kasper was the Eagles’ defensive quality control coach in 2021 and 2022 before joining Vic Fangio in Miami to become the Dolphins’ safeties coach in 2023. He came back to Philadelphia in 2024 when Fangio was hired as defensive coordinator. Puzzling moves in D.C. Why did the NFC East Washington Commanders part ways with offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr.? Second-year quarterback Jayden Daniels — and, in fact, much of the roster — was derailed by injuries most of the 2025 season. How is that the coordinators’ fault? A year earlier, Daniels was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year under Kingsbury and the Commanders reached the NFC Championship game. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza dives across the goal line for a touchdown during the Hoosiers’ 27-21 victory over the Miami Hurricanes for the college football national championship on Jan. 19, 2026. (Carmen Mandato / Getty Images) CFP expansion absurdity Indiana University — a storied basketball school representing a legendary basketball state — has become a football school in the span of two years after toiling as the losingest football program in college history. Under coach Curt Cignetti, with lovable Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza — 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, humble yet confident, who can make all the throws and process all the smart reads, who can run and also lower his shoulder, who’s willing to bloody himself, with a business degree from Berkeley and an ongoing MBA from IU — the undefeated Hoosiers were one of the most remarkable stories in sports history. In the playoffs, they trampled Alabama and Oregon before hanging on to beat Miami in the national title game. This after capping a phenomenal regular season by defeating No. 1 Ohio State. Indiana finished a historic 16-0. Now, the playoff committee and other greedy slobs who run college football — perpetually incapable of getting their act together or considering the integrity of the sport — are discussing expanding the field from 16 teams to 24. Why should the regular season matter at all? Hell, why not make it 68 teams? As if basketball and football are the same sport. As if James Madison and Tulane could actually be Cinderellas in football (which everyone just saw they can’t). In fact, why not make football a 128-team playoff? At least that way it would come full-circle, with college football’s regular season being the de-facto playoff, because every game would once again matter every week. Philadelphia Phillies starter Ranger Suárez pitches in the first inning Sunday, June 29, 2025, against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park in Atlanta. (Edward M. Pio Roda/Getty Images) Serious Phillies questions First of all, why did the Phillies let 30-year-old lefthander and big-game starter Ranger Suárez walk away to Boston (five years, $130 million) in free agency, like he was nothing? Suárez was 4-1 in 11 postseason appearances with a 1.48 earned run average. In 4 1/2 years as a regular-season starter, he was 46-34 with a 3.25 ERA. Second, why didn’t they come back with a decent counteroffer for spark plug outfielder Harrison Bader, a gritty and dynamic presence who clearly wanted to be here long-term and cited his two months in Philly as his best experience as a professional baseball player? Bader — whom the Phillies acquired at last year’s trade deadline to play center field — declined a $10 million, one-year option in the offseason, and the Phillies immediately decided to move on. He eventually signed with San Francisco for two years, $20.5 million plus incentives. The Phillies couldn’t afford that price after offering him one for 10? Really? Dave Dombrowski, president of baseball operations, said he expects highly touted prospect Justin Crawford to at some point compete for the starting job in center field. OK. Yet Dombrowski also mentioned continuing to platoon Brandon Marsh and Otto Kemp in left — with Johan Rojas somehow still having a role in the outfield — in 2026. What? Third, why was re-signing catcher J.T. Realmuto — whom this pitching staff implicitly trusts and who also provides some pop on offense — contingent upon whether the team landed All-Star infielder Bo Bichette? The Phils inked Realmuto, 34, for three years at $15 million per, within hours of the Bichette sweepstakes falling through. Are fans expected to believe the organization couldn’t afford both players? The division-rival Mets gave opt-outs to Bichette after year one and year two on a three-year, $126 million contract. The Phillies declined offering such opt-outs, which is definitely arguable. Yet they also declined to officialize a seven-year, $200 million deal with the 27-year-old Bichette. Where is the creativity by the front office? And is majority owner John Middleton truly committed to another World Series championship? As of today, the Phillies’ projected payroll is fourth-highest in Major League Baseball, between $280 million and $311 million. That’s a lot. But their projected revenue is between $519 and $528 million, comfortably in the top five. The Phillies aren’t all-in on winning. Why should fans be all-in on the Phillies? — Christiaan DeFranco covers the Eagles, Phillies and other sports for MediaNews Group. Follow him on X at @the_defranc for the latest updates. ...read more read less