Philadelphia Eagles: Nick Sirianni not having roster control is a good thing

Towards the end of Nick Sirianni’s tumultuous first press conference as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, he was asked a question in regards to who would be setting the team’s 53-man roster for the upcoming season. If you’re not familiar with why this question was asked, there was a whole conspiracy theory laced story that got drummed up during the offseason that circulated around Howie Roseman physically dictating who was active come game day (which may or not have been true, who knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯).

Sirianni stated that Roseman (and the rest of the team’s personnel department) is responsible for managing the roster, and that Sirianni expects to pick who is active and inactive on game days.

This response sent the Eagles fanbase into a bit of a frenzy.

People were quick to jump on this piece of information as “evidence” of Roseman being too controlling when it comes to roster management, going as far as calling Nick Sirianni a “puppet.” All sorts of hot takes began to reignite in regards to Roseman and owner Jeffrey Lurie treating the Eagles organization as their own personal hobby – refusing to take into account the advice of anyone else in the organization.

The Philadelphia Eagles not giving Sirianni roster control isn’t controversial.

In an attempt to make things as crystal clear as humanly possible, I need to clarify that it is in fact the general manager’s job to oversee the roster, not the head coach’s.

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I’m not sure where the narrative popped up that Doug Pederson should have been the one making cuts, signings, and trades – that’s simply not what he was hired to do.

Should the head coach have some level of input when it comes to who the GM signs/drafts/trades/cuts? Yes, absolutely. However, when it comes down to making a final decision, that should always be a responsibility that rests on the front office.

The Philadelphia Eagles shockingly passed on Justin Jefferson due to Jalen Reagor being a “better scheme fit” (according to the team’s coaching staff), really proving how a coach’s opinion of a player can be skewed based on what they like and/or dislike.

Ultimately speaking, across all sports, there almost always tends to be a distinct “separation of powers” when it comes to coaching and roster management. Doc Rivers doesn’t decide who’s on his roster when coaching the Philadelphia 76ers, Daryl Morey does. Joe Girardi isn’t the one who signed J.T. Realmuto to a five-year extension, Dave Dombrowski was. You get the point.

To summarize, Sirianni’s statement on Howie being “the one in charge of the roster” should not be viewed as an alarming one – in fact, it should be viewed as an encouraging one. I don’t know about y’all, but I’d be pretty concerned if the Philadelphia Eagles handed over full control of their franchise to a 39 year old OC who has never called plays before.

Love him or hate him, Howie Roseman has built a Super Bowl caliber roster in the past, he definitely should be the one calling the shots in terms of roster management compared to anyone else currently working for the organization.

Now I’m fully aware that Roseman hasn’t had a great track record the last couple of seasons. However, the extent to which some of these conspiracy-laced criticisms have gone is simply too much. As long as Roseman is employed as the team’s general manager, he should be expected to oversee control of the 53-man roster (seeing as that’s what his literal job description is).

We all saw what it was like when a head coach (Chip Kelly) was given personnel control – it normally results in some pretty ugly scenarios.

Ultimately speaking, Sirianni wasn’t hired due to any hypothetical wisdom that he could provide in terms of building a roster, he was hired due to his innovative offensive coaching philosophies. In a perfect world, Roseman goes out and builds a competiive 53-man roster, and Sirianni coaches them up above their perceived ability – something that Doug Pederson really struggled to do towards the conclusion of his Philadelphia coaching tenure.

So pump the brakes a bit on the hysteria surrounding Sirianni’s comments on roster control. It’s perfectly normal for a team to distinguish roster control powers from coaching powers – in fact I’d go as far as to say it is encouraged.