Nick Sirianni’s name is already getting tossed into the coaching carousel, and we’re not even at the start of the 2026 NFL season yet.
On Thursday’s episode of “First Things First,” FS1 analyst Nick Wright went all the way out to 2027, predicting Sirianni won’t be back in Philadelphia by then. Wright’s landing spot for him? Cincinnati.
“The head coach of the 2027 Bengals will be Nick Sirianni,” Wright said. “Sirianni won’t be back in Philadelphia next year.
If the Bengals miss the playoffs, they’re firing Zac Taylor. That button has to be pushed.
The Bengals wouldn’t want to roll the dice with a first-time head coach again, and the guy [Sirianni] has won a Super Bowl.”
That kind of speculation is a little wild on its face, especially with Sirianni still under contract and fresh off another playoff appearance. But it also isn’t coming out of nowhere. His future in Philadelphia has been a talking point before, including earlier this year when fans started buzzing after cryptic comments from a national reporter, even though the Eagles never seriously explored a change.
The noise around Sirianni picked up again after his public comments about A.J. Brown following the receiver’s trade to New England.
Add in the tension that surrounded the team last season, with locker room issues involving A.J. Brown, Jalen Hurts and the offense, and it’s easy to see why every move he makes gets picked apart.
The résumé is still strong. Sirianni has gone 59-26 in the regular season since taking over in 2021, and he’s guided the Eagles to two Super Bowl appearances, including a win over the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. But the pressure point now is obvious: he has to get that offense back on track.
His contract situation also makes Wright’s prediction a tougher sell in the short term. Sirianni is working under the extension the Eagles gave him after their Super Bowl run, and by most reports his salary sits in the middle tier among NFL head coaches. That matters because teams usually don’t make a real push for a sitting head coach unless there’s a clean buyout path or the deal is nearing its end.
Cincinnati, meanwhile, has its own issues bubbling up. Joe Burrow told reporters, according to ESPN, that something has to change after another disappointing finish, and Ja’Marr Chase said the same thing.
For now, Sirianni is still in Philadelphia, and nothing in the source suggests that changes before the 2026 season begins. Still, the fact that his name is already being linked to another job says plenty about the scrutiny that follows him.
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