The Philadelphia Eagles have pulled off a historical year capped with their organization's second Super Bowl.
It has been seven years since the improbable run with Nick Foles taking the helm and beating the incomparable Tom Brady.
On February 9, 2025, Jalen Hurts led the Eagles and systematically broke down Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
The question now is this the start of something bigger?
We heard former Super Bowl-winning head coach Doug Pederson call it “the new norm” in Philly.
Unfortunately, it was not the norm.
With an emotionally weak “franchise” quarterback, major draft misses, and overpayments to players past their prime, the franchise seemed to be moving backwards.
It was a challenging year in 2020 with COVID but also the end of an era.
Doug Pederson would coach his last game in Philly, and Carson Wentz would be benched and never take a snap as a QB as an Eagle again.
The one big moment in that down year was in the draft in the second round.
Hurts was drafted with the No. 53 overall pick.
This was a ton of controversy surrounding the choice.
The 2021 season was the beginning of what led the Eagles to their second Super Bowl. Philadelphia hired a relative unknown, Nick Sirianni, as their head coach.
He was hired at the suggestion of former offensive coordinator Frank Reich, who was then the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.
This was followed by a change in philosophy from the back office.
General Manager Howie Roseman started drafting from bigger, more NFL-ready college programs like Alabama and Georgia.
It began with drafting Heisman winner DeVonta Smith.
A young, talented team would be built, and in Sirianni’s second year as the Eagles head coach, he would reach the Super Bowl.
The team would ultimately fall short against the Chiefs.
The Eagles seemingly bounced back in the first 11 games, going 10-1 with wins over top teams such as Kansas City and Buffalo.
However, that was the beginning of their downfall. They lost all but one of their last seven games, including a blowout loss to Tampa Bay in the playoffs.
This began many narratives and cast doubt on the proud Philly fan base.
BREAKING THE NARRATIVES
Questions and doubts swirled as the 2024 season started to unfold.
Even with the addition of Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley, changes on defense and new coordinators Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio, the doubts persisted locally and nationally.
Questions that would include:
* Can Nick Sirianni be the head coach to bring a championship?
* Is Sirianni mature enough?
* Is there a disconnect with the head coach and the quarterback?
* Can Hurts be an elite quarterback?
* Can Hurts and AJ Brown regain their on-field chemistry?
* Does the carousel of coordinators affect the growth of Hurts?
For the first four games, the doubters stayed doubters.
They were able to win against the Green Bay Packers in Brazil.
They would fall short of the Kirk Cousins led Atlanta Falcons with an untimely drop from Barkley.
The Birds would barely hold on against the New Orleans Saints.
The Eagles showed up in Tampa Bay seriously short-handed and got completely dismantled by the Buccaneers before heading into the week 5 bye week.
The discussion about firing one of the Eagles' most productive head coaches became louder in Eagles history.
The Eagles would take on the beleaguered Cleveland Browns out of the bye week.
The Birds would win, but not convincingly.
It helped but did not change the narratives.
Then things started to click.
The Eagles would begin to put together a historic season. Barkley ran for over two thousand yards, falling short of the regular season record.
Hurts would win every game he started and complete, including the playoffs and the Super Bowl.
IS THIS A ONE-AND-DONE ROSTER?
It is early to discuss a dynasty, but it all starts with the first ring.
The offense is young and elite at all the skilled positions.
Hurts has changed the narrative for his career and proves he is a winner.
Brown and DeVonta Smith are at the top of their game.
The offensive line is more dominant than ever. Stoutland University continues to be the tops in the NFL.
Fangio is here to stay.
He does not seem to want to jump into another head coaching job.
He can mold more young NFL players with another year of free agency and the draft under his belt.
The most significant question mark is the OC position again. Sirianni and Howie Roseman must replace Moore.
Moore has taken the head coaching position in New Orleans, leaving a void to fill.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that Eagles associate head coach and pass-game coordinator
Kevin Patullo will receive "strong consideration" for the offensive coordinator job
The Eagles will look inside and out to find the right fit.
The 43-year-old cut his coaching teeth with South Florida in 2003 as a graduate assistant.
He has held various assistant coaching gigs with Arizona University, the Chiefs, Bills, Tennessee Titans, NY Jets, Texas A&M and the Colts before coming to the Eagles in 2021.
Patullo’s titles in Philly have been pass game coordinator and assistant head coach under Sirianni.
The Eagles will also have some essential player shoes to fill.
Those shoes include pending free agents All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun, defensive tackle Milton Williams, edge rusher Josh Sweat, and right guard Mekhi Becton, who all showed up with splash plays on the biggest stage.
Fans will rely on the back office and the words, “In Howie We Trust.”
It all starts with one.
Can the Eagles be the NFC’s team to beat? Can they be perennial Super Bowl contenders?
Is this the start of an Eagles dynasty?
Time will tell and TIME is a four-letter word for a reason. *
Email Al Zaffiri at zaffiri@gmail.com
Some information from Wikipedia.com
Al Thompson contributed to this article.
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