PHILADELPHIA -- Fletcher Cox wouldn't even entertain the thought of the Philadelphia Eagles not having Nick Sirianni next season. The 12-year veteran actually was furious when the subject was even brought up.
"Huh? Come on, man. He's the head football coach of this team. Come on, man," a frustrated Cox said when asked on speculation regarding Sirianni's future. "There ain't even no f---ing discussion about that, man."
Cox was one of many Eagles veterans that vehemently went to bat for Sirianni on Wednesday, as the Eagles cleaned out their lockers much earlier than anticipated. This was supposed to be a team that was primed for a Super Bowl return, a team that started 10-1 and had the best record in the league by two games after 12 weeks this season.
Then the wheels fell off after the Eagles lost six of seven and the message from Sirianni appeared to get stale. It's why Sirianni will be meeting with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie on Friday, per the Inquirer, and presenting a plan on coordinator changes going forward.
This is the head coach with the highest win percentage in franchise history.
"I don't understand that," Eagles offensive lineman Jordan Mailata stated on speculation regarding Sirianni's future. "He's taken us to the playoffs three consecutive years. He's taken us to the Super Bowl last year. That's gotta account for something. He's a hell of a coach. Hell of a coach. I feel stupid saying that, how did we get there?"
Even though the results demonstrated Sirianni did little to prevent the end to the Eagles' season, Mailata knew his head coach was trying everything to keep the team intact. Some players got the message. Some didn't.
"It was a real feeling for me," Mailata said. "I can't speak for the locker room, but I can tell he was doing everything he can. At some point, players have to take accountability. Film don't lie, you can see that.
"That's one thing, as players, when we come back next year. Accountability just can't be a word on the wall. You need to live by it."
Jason Kelce's words carry a lot of weight in that locker room. Whether Kelce comes back or not (he hasn't decided yet), he would prefer to see Sirianni back on the sidelines.
"Of course, yeah. I love Nick," Kelce said. "I think Nick's a great coach. I really do. I think he's a great head coach. Obviously, nobody was good enough this year. I wasn't, none of the players, none of the coaches were good enough down the stretch. That's the reality of this business. When you're that bad, it's a collective thing.
"I'll always have faith in Nick Sirianni. I think he does a lot of things structurally and organizationally that I think are really well done."
The endorsements of Sirianni resonated among the team leaders in that locker room, including the most important voice in the building. The quarterback that's getting paid $255 million.
"You asked me that question the other day," Hurts said. "And I didn't know that was a thing. I had no idea that was a thing. I don't see why that wouldn't be the case. We plan on fixing everything we've done, growing together. Coach Sirianni, Brian (Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson), everyone."
Whatever happens in that meeting between Sirianni and the front office, Hurts doesn't want his footprints staining the carpet. That decision is not his to make.
"I just wanna play at a high level," Hurts said. "I have a ton of confidence in Coach. I have a ton of confidence in Howie (Eagles GM Howie Roseman. I have a ton of confidence in Mr. Lurie. I have to do my job and control the things I can."
