Rookie head coaches Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon have daunting tasks ahead of them in their quests to turn around the Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals, respectively, in 2023.
However, the former coordinators have left the Philadelphia Eagles and former boss Nick Sirianni with an arduous assignment, as well.
With the Eagles aiming to return to the Super Bowl, the departures of Gannon and Steichen stand as just one of the many statistical and historical hurdles Philadelphia will have to overcome to return to the championship, per NFL Research.
The Eagles are the sixth team to make the Super Bowl and lose both coordinators in the ensuing offseason, and none of those clubs returned to the big game.
Just the third Super Bowl squad to lose each coordinator to a head coaching position, that speaks to the stellar play on both sides of the ball exhibited by the Eagles in 2022. Philly was the only NFL team last season to finish in the top three in offense and defense.
Now, new OC Brian Johnson and new DC Sean Desai are tasked with maintaining Eagles excellence and meeting high expectations for 2023.
However, coordinator conundrums aren't the only numbers going against Philly in '23.
The Eagles have the most difficult strength of schedule (.566 opponent winning percentage) in 2023, and five of the last six teams with the hardest strength of schedule didn't even make the postseason, much less the Super Bowl. The only playoff squad emerging from those half-dozen teams was the 2021 Pittsburgh Steelers, who posted a 9-7-1 record, snuck into the playoffs and were dismissed in quick fashion by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Perhaps the most daunting historical note is that no NFC team that has lost a Super Bowl has returned the following season since the Minnesota Vikings in 1974. Neither of the Eagles' previous Super Bowl runners-up squads won a playoff game in their follow-up seasons (Philadelphia missed the playoffs in 2005 and lost in the NFC Wild Card Round in 1981).
Still, the Jalen Hurts-led Eagles are a talent-laden squad hungry to erase the sting of last season's loss in the biggest of big games. History is against the Eagles making a return to the Super Bowl, but Sirianni, Hurts and the rest of the convocation in Philly will most certainly be looking to make some history of its own.
