Nick Sirianni Benched Tanner McKee the Day After Saying He Would Not. He Admits He Hid It on Purpose.
Nick Sirianni stood in front of reporters on Monday and said Tanner McKee was his starting quarterback. “Tanner’s our guy. We’re not making any changes there,” Sirianni said, per the Associated Press.
By Tuesday, McKee had been benched. McKee told reporters that Sirianni called him that day to tell him. Philadelphia made Joe Milton the Week 9 starter, and the news reached the public on Wednesday through ESPN’s Adam Schefter, not through the coach who had denied it 48 hours earlier.
On Friday, Sirianni was asked about the gap between what he said and what he did. He did not pretend it was a change of heart.
“I was gonna hold on to that as long as I possibly could, every second, every minute,” Sirianni said.
The excuse is competitive advantage
Sirianni’s explanation was that telling the truth would have helped the New York Giants. “I’m going to tell you what I want to tell you guys because I’m always going to protect the team first and foremost,” he said, adding that holding the news back “is a little less time for the opponent to get ready for the game.”
That reasoning only works if the hidden information is worth something. Milton has never started an NFL game. He has appeared in five, thrown for 424 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, and he was on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad until Philadelphia signed him on Oct. 16. The Giants had a full week to prepare for a quarterback with no NFL starts either way.
The Eagles are 2-6 on a six-game losing streak, their longest since 2012. There is not much left to protect.
McKee was not the problem
Sirianni said as much himself. “As a matter of fact, I think Tanner played solid,” he said Friday. “I thought he did a lot of good things.” Then: “this is just what I felt we needed to do at this particular moment.”
McKee, 26, started three games and lost all three. He completed 72 of 114 passes for 638 yards with two touchdowns, two interceptions and a 76.6 passer rating, and he was sacked 10 times. Those are not good numbers, and they are also not the only broken thing in Philadelphia.
NBC Sports Philadelphia reported that through eight weeks the Eagles ranked 32nd in the NFL in yards and 30th in scoring. SB Nation’s Jeff Kerr noted the offense was averaging 265.3 yards per game, the lowest the franchise has managed through eight games since 1999. Both starting receivers, DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks, have been out. Saquon Barkley has been on a pitch count.
Jalen Hurts has been on injured reserve since Oct. 17 and is expected to miss the season after a clot that formed in his calf traveled to his lungs. Sean Mannion is calling plays in his first year as offensive coordinator, and Sirianni confirmed Monday he is keeping him there.
What happens Sunday
Milton starts against the Giants at 1 p.m. ET at Lincoln Financial Field, and then Philadelphia goes on its bye. McKee is still on the roster. The Eagles have not published a depth chart since the switch, so where McKee now sits is not public.
Sirianni was asked about his own job on Thursday and pointed upstairs. “I’ve always felt I have nothing but complete support from Mr. Lurie, in everything, through good times, through bad times,” he said.
Benching a quarterback in a lost season is a defensible call. Saying the opposite into a microphone the day before you make it, then calling that opponent preparation, is how a coach spends credibility he is going to need in December.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
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