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Former Eagles head coach Dick Vermeil voices his opinions on the issues surrounding the team.
Former Eagles head coach Dick Vermeil sat down with RG.com’s DJ Siddiqi to discuss much of the drama surrounding the organization, including the reports on Jalen Hurts, AJ Brown’s vocal discontent, and his thoughts on Nick Sirianni.
Vermeil coached the Eagles from 1976 to 1982, leading them to the Super Bowl in 1980. He said that the offensive struggles in Philadelphia are a combination of the offensive line not being healthy and defenses gearing up to stop Saquon Barkley and the Eagles’ run game.
Despite the offensive struggles, the defending Super Bowl champions are 8-2 and coming off back-to-back wins against the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions. Much of that has to do with how well Philadelphia’s defense is playing this season.
Vermeil Fires Back at Report of Frustrations Towards Hurts
Reports of internal frustration towards Jalen Hurts’ lack of willingness to push the ball downfield dominated the news cycle last week, but Vermeil was no fan of the rumors. In fact, he took a step further, calling the reports “manufactured.”
Vermeil said to Siddiqi, “We manufacture news, positive and negative. We manufacture stories, we take rumors, or we take things out of context and promote them to promote more news. I just don’t think there’s any real truth to it.”
Although Jalen Hurts may be less willing to throw the ball downfield, his lack of interceptions is a part of the reason why Philadelphia is 8-2 on the season. At the same time, it can certainly be argued that Hurts’ conservatism could come back to bite the Eagles in the playoffs, as Philadelphia’s offense has been completely grounded the last few weeks.
Vermeil Expresses Support For A.J. Brown and Nick Sirianni
Dick Vermeil took a softer stance towards star wide receiver A.J. Brown, as the Eagles’ top receiver has been open about his frustrations in not getting the football as much as a number-one wideout should. Brown is averaging a career-low 50.8 receiving yards per game and totaling just 457 yards on 38 catches so far this season.
Vermeil believes that Brown has sincere motives, but wishes that he had not made his frustrations public and rather approached Nick Sirianni or the coaching staff in-house.
“He’s done a good job of explaining why he’s unhappy. I think he could use other avenues. I mean, why not go to the office and talk to the head coach? Why make it public? But that’s who he is. In listening to him, he comes across with sincere motives,” Vermeil said.
Although Brown has a reputation for being a diva, his frustrations with his lack of targets are rooted in wanting the best for the offense, which includes his own production. With the defense firing on all cylinders, Brown wants the offense to play up to its potential as it did last year.
Nick Sirianni has been another polarizing figure, both for Eagles detractors and previously within the Philadelphia fanbase itself, partly due to his antics and partly because of the team’s expectations. Critics of Sirianni also point to the talent the Eagles have, arguing that other coaches could easily take his place and have similar results.
After the Birds crashed and burned in the 2023 season despite starting 10-1, Sirianni led the Eagles to their second Super Bowl trophy last year and has Philadelphia controlling its own playoff destiny again this year. Vermeil has been a fan of Sirianni’s, voicing his approval of the current head coach to Siddiqi.
He’s done a hell of a job,” says Vermeil of Sirianni. “He’s taking real fine football players and making them play well enough to win a world championship. I think that’s very impressive. His win-loss record is very impressive. Granted, he has very good football players. But all coaches that are successful have very good football players. The thing to do now is to keep them winning. And he’s 8-2 right now, you can’t ask for much more. What the fans are asking for in Philadelphia is to do it more like you did it last year.”
Most Eagles fans would prefer not to have to “eat their vegetables” with offensive struggles leading to ugly, low-scoring games every week. But at the end of the day, winning is the most important thing, and if the Eagles lift the Lombardi Trophy again this February, nobody will be complaining in Philadelphia.
Arnav Sarkar Arnav Sarkar is a sportswriter and reporter covering the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles for Heavy Sports. A proud graduate of Rutgers University, he also currently writes for On The Banks, where he covers everything Scarlet Knights sports, with a main focus on football and basketball analysis. More about Arnav Sarkar
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