Philadelphia Eagles: Is Miles Sanders Nick Sirianni’s LeSean McCoy?

Two different head coaches can have very different opinions of the same player.

It happens all the time; a new coach will be hired, they’ll immediately bring in their guys, and they’ll move on from scheme-specific players who were paramount to their predecessor’s vision.

It happened when Chip Kelly took over for Andy Reid, when Doug Pederson took over for Chip Kelly, and it even happened when Nick Sirianni took over for Doug Peders… wait, no, it didn’t. When you compare the Philadelphia Eagles‘ full-strength starting lineups on offense and defense from 2020 to 2021, the only fundamental differences are the additions of DeVonta Smith and Quez Watkins on offense and the additions of Steven Nelson, Anthony Harris, and Eric Wilson on defense.

2020 starters Avonte Maddox, T.J. Edwards, and Greg Ward are still with the team, as is Travis Fulgham on the practice squad, but for the most part, Sirianni has been largely tasked with running his scheme with Pederson’s players and expecting different results from a roster that finished out the past season 4-11-1.

Eventually, that’s going to have to change. Eventually, Sirianni will need to prioritize getting players that fit his scheme so that it can be judged fairly for its merits, instead of being knocked for attempting to fit square pegs into round holes.

Which brings us to the Philadelphia Eagles question at hand: Does Nick Sirianni view Miles Sanders like Andy Reid viewed LeSean McCoy, or like how Chip Kelly viewed LeSean McCoy?

Does Miles Sanders fit the Philadelphia Eagles’ new offense?

Objectively speaking, Miles Sanders is a darn good running back. He has 36 rushing attempts of 10 yards or more on his resume in only 32 games of action and is one of the rare players in NFL history with three 70 yard runs in the same season.

Sanders is fast. He ran a 4.49 40 coming out of college and paired that up with a good 20-yard shuffle, a good 3-cone drill, and both broad and virtual jumps that ranked in the 70th or better percentile among all running backs.

He’s also a good receiver coming out of the backfield, with the rare distinction of having led the team in receiving yards on two occasions as a rookie.

Really, the only aspects of Sanders’ game that aren’t great or better are his pass blocking and his ability to truck between the tackles as a power runner.

For many a head coach, neither of these would be deal-breakers. There are plenty of short-yardage backs who can pick up a blitz and pick up three-plus yards on any given play – the Philadelphia Eagles have such a player on their practice squad right now by the name of Jordan Howard – and they can often be had for very cheaply.  What you can’t find for a dime a dozen is a player with Sanders’ set of skills, as they are incredibly rare and even harder to come by.

But, just for the sake of argument, what if Sanders’ style doesn’t fit Nick Sirianni’s scheme? What if he would rather have a starting running back like, say, Jamaal Williams, aka a fast, one-cut power rusher with a supplemental receiving back like Kenneth Gainwell, than an open-field runner who can make something out of nothing but also turn something into nothing by getting a little too fancy.

If that’s the case, what does it mean for Sanders’ future in Philly?

You see, when Frank Reich made his move from the Philadelphia Eagles to the Indianapolis Colts, he already had an advantageous running back situation in place. Former head coach Chuck Pagano also liked to run with power and had a future starter, Marlon Mack, on the depth chart behind his starter, Frank Gore. While Gore ultimately wasn’t retained under Reich, Mack was, and he was paired up with Nyheim Hines to serve as the speed to his power.

This is the scheme Nick Sirianni coordinated from 2018-20, and a good bit of that scheme came along with him to Philly.

Shane Steichen, the Eagles’ offensive coordinator, came from a similar offensive scheme in Los Angeles, where he served as an offensive coordinator for part of 2019 and all of 2020.

Steichen had downfield runners like Melvin Gordon, Justin Jackson, Kalen Ballage, and Joshua Kelly at his disposal, with only one divergent back, Austin Ekeler, to serve as a three-down style receiver out of the backfield.

Granted, Ekeler did eventually beat all of those other players to become the team’s starter, but it’s rather telling that the Chargers kept drafting one-cut backs to potentially take his place during the Anthony Lynn-era.

Heck, even Jim Bob Cooter, the Eagles’ special assistant with no official title, was a fan of running the ball between the tackles during his time with the Detroit Lions, primarily relying on one-cut backs like Ameer Abdullah, Kerryon Johnson, and our old pal LeGarrette Blount to fuel his bottom-of-the-league rushing attack from 2015-18.

So, with all of that one-cut history on the coaching staff’s collective resume, why would it be particularly surprising that the 2021 Eagles haven’t been riding Sanders to take the pressure off of Jalen Hurts in the pocket? If anything, his style of play is borderline antithetical to what each coach is used to when it comes to full-time running backs.

Remember, Sirianni doesn’t have player personnel control. He didn’t sign the players, he didn’t make the draft picks, and he ultimately didn’t decide who made the 53 man roster. For all we know, he wanted to keep Jordan Howard heading into 2021, as he did start the team’s first preseason game, and it was Howie Roseman who thought a practice squad spot was better suited for the start of the season.

Would Sirianni run the ball more if he had a back that fit his scheme? Or is the job of a coach to get the most out of his players? Either way, the team’s current strategy clearly isn’t working out.

So what should the Philadelphia Eagles do? Would signing a player like Josh Adams or trading for an underused running back like Phillip Lindsay that better fits the team’s style of play be the right choice? Is there any chance Miles Sanders earns a contract extension before his deal expires in the spring of 2022? Only time will tell, but if Nick Sirianni’s lack of rushing attempts has more to do with player personnel than a schematic disdain for running the ball, the only solution would be to give Kenneth Gainwell more runs moving forward, as he’s the lone rusher who even resembles a one-cut back on the roster.