Eagles rank 4th in NFL players survey. Why Sirianni got an A despite late-season collapse
The Eagles disappointing 1-6 finish to the season did nothing to damage head coach Nick Sirianni's reputation among his players, according to the NFL players association survey released Wednesday.
The Eagles ranked fourth overall among NFL teams in a summation of grades from several categories dealing with how teams treat their players and their families. The survey is used as a tool for free agents.
The only teams ahead of the Eagles are the Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers.
GOING FOR SAQUON? How Eagles can wind up with Saquon Barkley and revamp the defense in a crucial offseason
BIG CHANGES: Did Eagles give away plans for Haason Reddick, D'Andre Swift? Could Bradberry really return?
The categories are travel, home-field accommodations, treatment of families, weight room, nutrition, training room, head coach and owner.
Both Sirianni and Eagles chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie got A's from the players, with Lurie ranking sixth in the NFL and Lurie seventh. Sirianni ranked first overall in being efficient with the players' time. The players also praised Sirianni for being willing to listen to their opinions inside the locker room.
Sirianni's respect was apparent after the season when several veteran players, such as Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox, were incredulous that there was speculation that Sirianni could be fired after the disappointing finish to the season.
Sirianni, of course, kept his job, but did fire both his offensive and defensive coordinators, and hired Kellen Moore to run the offense and Vic Fangio to run the defense.
Sirianni said Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine that he has spent the past six weeks since the Eagles,
Change to:
Sirianni said Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine that he has spent the past six weeks, since the Eagles were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, figuring out what went wrong in their season-ending collapse.
"My job is to talk to every single player, and I've done that," he said. "I talked to every single coach, what went right, what went wrong. You take everything into account, and you try to get better at doing those things.
"I think connection is our No. 1 core value, and there were things that we as a team, myself, didn't do a good enough job of last year. ... Maybe at times I felt like I leaned maybe a little bit more into one (core value) and not enough into the other. So those are all things that you evaluate at the end of the year. I look forward to getting better."
Lurie also showed how he could get better, too. Last year, the Eagles ranked 14th overall, but got a D in team travel, ranking 27th. This year, the Eagles got a C in team travel, ranking 19th. Lurie got a 9.4 rating out of 10 from the players for his willingness to upgrade the team's facility.
Here's a look at how the Eagles fared in the other categories:
Treatment of families
Grade C, NFL rank, 16th
Highlights: The Eagles are one of 11 teams that do not provide free, onside day care to players' families on game days. There is a room devoted to child care on game days, but each player must supply their own child care.
Locker room
Grade B-, NFL rank 16th
Highlights: 85% of players feel like the locker room is big enough (19th overall), and 90% of players feel like they have enough room in their individual lockers (14th overall). But they also feel like the locker room needs a renovation.
Training room
Grade B+, NFL rank 9th
Highlights: More than 90% of the players feel like the Eagles have enough trainers, physical therapists, and that the hot/cold tubs were improved over last year.
Training staff
Grade A-, NFL rank 4th
Highlights: Head trainer Tom Hunkele ranked first in the NFL, 92% of players felt they receive enough 1-on-1 treatment, and that the training staff "significantly contributes to their success."
Weight room
Grade A-, NFL rank 9th
Highlights: The players feel they have high-quality equipment in their weight room, and that they have more than enough space in their weight room.
Team travel
Grade C, NFL rank 19th
Highlights: Only 75% of the players feel like they have a comfortable amount of personal space during flights (21st overall), but the players did like that the Eagles don't require roommates in hotels before games.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Eagles rank 4th in NFL survey. Nick Sirianni, Jeffrey Lurie get A's