Before Jason Kelce retired as an active player earlier this year, the future Hall of Fame center featured for the Philadelphia Eagles side that suffered an epic collapse late last season.
During a recent chat with Rob Maaddi of The Associated Press, Kelce spoke about what went wrong for the team that fell from 10-1 to 11-6 before it suffered a blowout wild-card playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in January.
“I think we had a lot of talent last year but there were pieces that we were missing,” Kelce acknowledged. “I think the cohesion certainly wasn’t there like it was the year before. Obviously, we lost two coordinators, which it didn’t work out with the replacements.”
Following the Eagles’ Super Bowl LVII loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in February 2023, offensive coordinator Shane Steichen and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon left Philadelphia to accept head-coaching jobs elsewhere. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni later replaced Sean Desai with Matt Patricia as defensive coordinator in December 2023, and Sirianni then dismissed offensive coordinator Brian Johnson this past winter.
“On offense, we went simpler,” Kelce said about how Philadelphia played under Johnson and Desai/Patricia. “On defense, we went the opposite way. We completely overhauled our defensive coordinator and system, and you kind of saw the downsides of both of those. Offensively, I think everybody would agree that we probably went too simple, and that got a little bit predictable and it could put us in situations that were probably harder to execute in.”
Sirianni reportedly has embraced “more of a CEO-type role” working with new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. However, rumors continue to hover over the Eagles regarding alleged issues between Sirianni and quarterback Jalen Hurts as former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick waits for an opportunity to return to the sidelines next year.
“I think that players didn’t execute at the level that we did the year before, me included,” Kelce added about his former club. “It’s always kind of a little bit of everything. And, I feel good about where they’re at now. I really do.”
Sirianni’s seat reportedly could “not be hotter” ahead of the upcoming season, and he may need to guide the Eagles to more than just a playoff appearance in January 2025 to prevent team owner Jeffrey Lurie from reaching out to Belichick. Meanwhile, Kelce left little doubt during his conversation with Maaddi that his “days of playing are just done” as he fully embraces a career in broadcasting.
