by  Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com

The jig is up.

Seven games into his head-coaching career in the NFL and one thing is clear about Nick Sirianni: he’s not cut out for the gig.

Not now, probably not ever.

He was a bad hire by the Eagles’ highest ups, Howie Roseman and Jeffrey Lurie. A classic case of someone unqualified for the job on paper, and even less prepared for it in real life.

For that alone, Lurie would have every right to fire his right-hand man immediately, and, for that matter, he’d probably do those who care most about the Birds – their fan base – a great service by stepping aside and selling his multibillion-dollar entity.

Not that either of those things would ever happen …

But dropping Sirianni like a load of bad asphalt in short order could, and should, happen. The sooner the better. Why? Because he – not Roseman or Lurie – poses the most imminent danger to the Eagles.

For all the tinkering and tampering and needling that the GM and owner may do, even on a daily basis, this is Sirianni’s team. He’s the one around the players all the time. He’s the one laying the foundation of everything they do. He’s the one who is showing them – gasp – his way.

It’s time to detour. Pronto.

Forget the 2-5 record – especially in this town, which can rationalize anything to fit into any kind of scenario or mindset – whichever one they feel most comfy with, from the apocalypse to sheer bliss or any place in between.

The reality is Sirianni not only is Exhibit A of In Over His Head when it comes to the demands of being a head coach and offensive coordinator, he is routinely proving himself to be mentally challenged at putting 2+2 together in the simplest of situations.

Sunday’s 33-22 loss at Las Vegas offered a perfect case in point. With the Eagles up 7-0 in the first quarter and the Raiders facing a third-and-five at the Birds’ 47 on their opening possession, Derek Carr completed a pass for two yards, which would have left Vegas in a fourth-and-three situation. The Raiders happened to be called for holding on the play, but – well, ya know – why accept the penalty to give them another crack at third down, albeit now needing 15 yards for a first, when they obviously would punt otherwise?

Only Sirianni knows … because he took the penalty, which pushed Vegas back 10 yards, and then watched Carr connect with Zay Jones on a 43-yard pass on third-and-15.

Just dumb, dumb, dumb.

Only by the grace of God, or a tipped pass, the Eagles avoided surrendering points as Avonte Maddox intercepted Carr three snaps later.

Given such good fortune, perhaps sticking with the running game – which had fueled a first-possession TD – would have been the smart thing to do then.

But Sirianni is too smart for the smart thing, apparently. He scrapped that from the repertoire on possession No. 2 and thereafter, even before Miles Sanders went down with an ankle injury.

On the bright side, at least no is fooled by his game plans. Including the opposition every week.

Not for nothing, but the 40-year-old communicates like a child as well. He’s immature in a neon-lights way – from the silly t-shirts to the ridiculous gameday visors, accessorized with markers and pins. Now, that could be seen as charming in a way, or even take the edge off in certain situations.

But the NFL is a big-boy business and at some point the individuals involved in it need to grow up.

For their own sake as much as anyone else’s.

Which is why the Lurie/Roseman think tank needs to put an end to its newbie experiment.

Whatever personnel decisions occur after that, so be it. This one, though, has to happen first and foremost.

Otherwise, this Sirianni silliness is bound to drag into the next regime of management.

​by  Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com

Maybe it is time to move on.

For all the good he has done in Happy Valley, stabilizing Penn State’s football program and returning it to national relevance, if not prominence – at times, at least – in the last eight years, James Franklin, perhaps, would be wise to seriously consider overtures from the University of Southern California and Louisiana State University to take over the head-coaching reins at either school.

Penn State fans have been trying to push him out the door for several years. So why not give them what they want?

With 50 fast approaching in February, and his (for now) No. 7 Nittany Lions fresh off a 20-18 loss to lowly Illinois on Saturday afternoon in front of a Homecoming crowd at Beaver Stadium, it almost seems appropriate that he’d pivot his mindset from enjoying (or, say, enduring) a lifetime stay in State College to starting fresh in Los Angeles or Baton Rouge.

You know, contingent on approval from his wife and two girls.

Truth is, despite his success, Franklin has never really gotten the Lions over the hump to being elite – like, say, a consistent top-five to top-eight program. In today’s world, the standard of greatness is reaching the College Football Playoff and Franklin and Co. have yet to make an appearance in one.

But the guy does have three 11-win seasons, three top-10 finishes and a Big Ten championship in his eight years at Penn State – which would match what Joe Paterno did in his final eight years at Penn State and surpass what Paterno did in the eight years prior to that.

That’s not exactly chump-change stuff for a coach, especially a coach with a commanding presence and star quality that allows him to recruit with anyone in the country.

Put it this way, one game, especially with playing a banged-up starting quarterback, that takes nine overtimes to result in defeat is not going to deter schools such as USC and LSU from pursuing him hard.

And the reaction Franklin has received from Nittany Nation after that game may make it easy to leave.

QUICK HITTERS
- Navy, despite just having one win all season, appears to be the litmus test for the top teams in the American. No. 23 Southern Methodist and Houston both passed, barely, earlier this season. Both, also, were far more impressive in surviving than No. 2 Cincinnati was in Annapolis on Saturday. The Bearcats, looking as mild as former No. 2 Iowa did before finally falling to its own conference rival in Purdue, got pushed around, outgained and seemed confused throughout before prevailing by a single score – just like SMU and Houston did. Only they finished plus-160 and plus-90, respectively, in the yardage department. Cincy didn’t even reach 300 for the game in finishing minus-40.

- Would love to hype Pitt QB Kenny Pickett for the Heisman after yet another masterful performance that saw the Panthers completely shut the door on Clemson’s dominance in the ACC for now, but, man, Pitt’s uniforms outshone him. That mustard gold and royal blue pairing, with white trims, wow – it all makes for the sharpest look in the sport. (Please, no ridiculous Oregon comments.)

- Kidding aside, it’s kinda hard to go too crazy over Pickett’s 302-yard, two-TD passing day when a pair of QBs from fellow ACC schools went completely off: Sam Hartman went 23-for-29 passing for 458 yards and five TDs for undefeated No. 16 Wake Forest, and ran for a sixth score, while season-long stat monster Brennan Armstrong threw for 396 yards and four TDs and ran for another 99 and two to help Virginia reach 6-2 on the season.

- Yet another ACC signal-caller had himself a day as Garrett Shrader, in leading Syracuse to victory at Virginia Tech, threw for 234 yards and two scores and ran for 176 and three more.

- Not sure all the luster is off Iowa State coach Matt Campbell. His Cyclones just dropped No. 8 Oklahoma State from the ranks of the unbeaten and they are 5-2, with losses against ranked teams.

REALITY CHECK
For all the hyperbole – pro and con – about the new overtime rules that got put on full display at Penn State with nine mind-numbing sessions of mostly futility and young men walking from one end zone to another, the most telling part of the game was the Fighting Illini’s clear dominance in the trenches. Which, frankly, was shocking to see against a top-10 team, especially after their coach, Bret Bielema, had just ripped the offensive line and the recruiting efforts made there by the previous coaching staff headed by Lovie Smith a few days prior to the game.

Bielema backtracked a day later, of course, but the point was made … and either his guys responded to the challenge or Penn State’s players believed him.

Illinois RBs Chase Brown (33 carries, 233 yards, TD) and Josh McCray (24 carries, 142 yards) accounted for 148 more yards than Penn State’s entire offense just by themselves.

P.S.
We may wanna chill out there on all the "epic-ness" – and newness and rareness – of that nine-OT opus between the Illini and Lions. Princeton beat Harvard on Saturday in five extra sessions to cap an 18-16 inept-fest that, amazingly, was played more poorly than what transpired in State College. 

​Next up for the rules committee: Should rock-paper-scissors be added to overtime?

by  Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com
​
Heads may shake. Eyes may roll.
​
Blank stares may be most prevalent of all.

But, make no mistake, with word coming out Tuesday that six current members of Conference USA -- Alabama-Birmingham, Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice and UT-San Antonio – took the first step to joining the American Athletic Conference by applying for membership, one thing should be clear:

Mike Aresco knows what he is doing.

Oh, maybe not in a harmonic, “let’s create regional rivalries that could tug at the heartstrings of longtime college football fans” kumbaya spirit, but in a business sense.

Take a look at the schools listed above that the AAC commissioner appears poised to welcome. They’re all located in large metro areas. UAB, Charlotte and UTSA are self-explanatory. FAU is near Miami, North Texas is near Dallas and Rice is in Houston.

Furthermore, these are schools that put money into football, which is the driving force for this latest round of conference realignment across the country – just as it was the last time, and the time before that. They all have quality facilities that are either spanking new (UAB’s pristine, 47,000-seat Protective Stadium just opened this fall), relatively new (Charlotte, FAU and North Texas have homes built within the last decade) or recently renovated (Rice Stadium got a whole new look in 2015; UTSA’s Alamodome had a touch-up in 2017).

With Houston, Cincinnati and Central Florida – three cornerstone members of the current AAC – set to depart the conference for the Big 12, likely, in 2024, Aresco had to make a move. Opening the door to these six seems to be better than those hung up on the past or geography would instinctively feel.

UAB and Charlotte bring rising programs to the table, and UTSA finds itself ranked in the current Top 25.

Frankly, FAU brings about the possibility for a rivalry with South Florida – especially with the Owls coached by Willie Taggert, a former Bulls head coach – and North Texas is a natural one for Southern Methodist. Same with Charlotte for East Carolina. UAB could be a good one for both Memphis and Tulane.

In short, these additions to the AAC may not seem all that exciting. But they’re sound, they’re solid and, when you look beyond just the names, they make a lot of sense.

Now, if Aresco and Co. could get Army and Air Force to join Navy in the AAC as well, that would be even better. Coastal Carolina and Louisiana, a pair of up-and-comers who already rate legit on college football’s mainstream landscape, deserve courting, too.  

by  Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com
​
The formula is, was and always will be flawed … and the University of Iowa’s football team finally paid the price for following it.

Play close to the vest on offense, pray for the opposition to make mistakes and place all the burden for success, or survival, on the defense remaining stout throughout and, fingers crossed, the special teams not screwing up.

In layman’s terms, it is called winning ugly … and while it can, and often does, work, eventually, ultimately, it will not.
When that happens, you look like the Hawkeyes did on Saturday: Unwatchable, as losers, completely manhandled by visiting Big Ten rival Purdue, 24-7.

Just a collection of athletes and coaches who, now unmasked from the “just win, baby, it doesn’t matter how you do it” cover, leave you asking one thing: How the hell did they win at all, never mind enough to advance to a No. 2 ranking in the polls?

Make no mistake, Kirk Ferentz’s 23rd edition of the Black and Gold possesses a College Football Playoff worthy defense. The Hawkeyes rank among the nation’s best in just about every measurable on that side of the ball – even after Boilermakers quarterback Aidan O’Connell went off with Iowa first-rate ballhawk Riley Moss sidelined due to injury, passing for 375 yards and accounting for all three of Purdue’s touchdowns.

On the other side? Just the opposite.

Only 10 teams in the country were more pathetic at accumulating yardage before Saturday and no team had been more reliant on opposing ones’ miscues. The Hawkeyes stood at plus-15 in the turnover department before facing the Boilermakers.

A week ago, when ranked third, they were down 14 at home to No. 4 Penn State in the second quarter. Then the Lions lost their starting quarterback for the rest of the game, paving the way for a 23-20 Iowa victory – its sixth of the season against no defeats.

In their biggest win of the season before Penn State, the Hawkeyes traveled to No. 9 Iowa State in early September and posted what seemed to be a convincing 27-17 victory. Only they were outgained 339 yards to 173. How’d they come out on top? Simple, plus-4 in the turnover battle.

They were plus-3 against Penn State.

Against Purdue, they were minus-3 – thanks largely to Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras’ four interceptions, coming on the team’s opening drive and then its final three.

Flawed. Ugly. Worst of all, this loss won’t clear any future debt, either.

It’s not going to cover any charges likely headed fellow Big Ten member/win ugly advocate Michigan State’s way very soon, either.

JUST A THOUGHT
While Louisiana State head coach Ed Orgeron may have doused the “fire him” chants from the Tigers’ faithful for a week with Saturday’s wild 49-42 upset of No. 20 Florida, is it time to start wondering about his counterpart on the opposing sideline for that one? Not for nothing, but Dan Mullen seems to have stagnated with the Gators, following up double-digit-win seasons to start his head coaching tenure in Gainesville with an 8-4 mark last season and a 4-3 one thus far in 2021. His choice to go with Emory Jones as starting quarterback appears to be more about appeasing the most hostile on fan sites – who truly persevered last season through Heisman finalist Kyle Trask starting over their guy Emory -- than going with a superior talent in Anthony Richardson.

While the “exit, stage left” noose has loosened around the neck of Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh, it has tightened on the likes of Nebraska’s Scott Frost and Virginia Tech’s Justin Fuente – both of whose teams lost on Saturday. Frost, whose Cornhuskers clearly look better despite their results, is staring down the barrel of having a fourth straight losing season at his alma mater after leaving a gig at Central Florida that saw him go 13-0 in his final season. Fuente at least got off to a strong start in Blacksburg, going 19-8 his first two seasons. But he’s just one game over .500 in the three-plus seasons since with no signs of the Hokies escaping the mediocrity they have settled into with him.

DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN …
Stetson Bennett “sucked” and was the sole reason Georgia wasn’t winning a national championship in (insert year here), that salvation was only possible with the arrival of Southern Cal transfer JT Daniels to take the reins of the Dawgs’ offense?

Me neither.

While Daniels rested on the sideline Saturday, dealing with yet another injury, in top-ranked Georgia’s 30-13 win against No. 11 Kentucky, Bennett merely went 14-for-20 passing for 250 yards and three TDs, posting a 224.5 passer rating in the process – which was even better than his already insane 206.6 passer rating for the season entering the contest.

ROLL CALL
- LSU running back Tyrian Davis-Price rushed for a school-record 287 yards and three TDs against Florida, which matched the junior’s total for the season in yards heading into the game and surpassed his total for TDs by one. Frankly, his lack of use (11 carries per game heading into Saturday) is yet another indictment of Coach O. He had 36 carries vs. the Gators, more than half of what he had in the previous six games combined.

- Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong was the nation’s leader in total offense entering Saturday, averaging more than 400 yards per game. The red-headed lefty came up a little short against Duke, only posting 398 in a 48-0 blowout.

- Oklahoma State running back Jaylen Warren, in keeping the 12th-ranked Cowboys unbeaten, blistered No. 25 Texas for 193 yards on 33 carries – more than 100 of those yards coming in the fourth quarter as the Pokes rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to win 32-24.

- Mississippi quarterback Matt Corral went all Vince Young on Tennessee, throwing for 231 yards and two scores and running for another 195 yards as the Rebels escaped Knoxville and the Vols’ golf ball-throwing fans with a 31-26 victory.

- Purdue wide receiver David Bell, with Saturday’s 11-catch, 240-yard, 1-TD effort against Iowa, now has 37 catches for 558 and 5 TDs against the Hawkeyes in three games.

by  Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com
​
Let’s be clear:

Roy Halladay was a great pitcher for the Phillies.

An ace. A top-of-the-rotation guy. Just a dominating, in-total-command presence on the mound.

Here is the caveat, though: He was all that for just two seasons.

For all the hype and hoopla surrounding his signing, and the immediate payoff the team received with 40 wins in his initial 56 regular-season decisions, another 3 in two postseasons and a Cy Young award, a perfect game and a playoff no-hitter mixed in, along with a combined ERA that would have put a smile on Bob Gibson’s face, Halladay’s stamp on Philly sports lore, really, truly, is based more on myth than substance.

Sort of like Carson Wentz’s NFL MVP season with the Eagles.

Note: Wentz never won the MVP. (Pssst, he also didn’t win the Super Bowl.)

To his credit, Halladay did win that one Cy. But he didn’t win a World Series with the Phillies, which is what he and the club considered the whole point of their union. He also fell off a performance cliff following those individually brilliant campaigns of 2010 and ’11.

In 2012, he went 11-8 with a 4.49 ERA … and showed signs that his throwing shoulder was about to give out.

In 2013, he went 4-5 with a 6.82 ERA … and that shoulder gave out, ultimately forcing his retirement.

Frankly, it’s always been amazing to hear the vast majority of Phillies fans, young or old, rational or irrational, those who should know better or those who definitely don’t, actually scoff when, say, the name of Cliff Lee – a pitching contemporary, a Phillies teammate – is brought up in any convo that involves Halladay.

Reality check: During their Phillies’ careers, Lee had a better ERA (2.94) than Halladay (3.25), was a more dominant performer (averaging 8.8 strikeouts per 9 innings to Halladay’s 8.0), was a more accurate performer (averaging 1.3 walks per 9 innings to Halladay’s 1.8), was better in the postseason (4-1 with a 2.33 ERA compared to Halladay’s 3-2, 2.37), and actually led the club to a World Series.

Of course, when you have fans masquerading as informed sports radio yakkers spouting off “facts” such as “Halladay had 9 shutouts his first year with the Phillies,” it’s no wonder the rest of those wanting a hero to worship get lost in the fantasy.

Truth is, Halladay had 5 shutouts – total – during his time with the Phillies. Lee, by the way, had 6 in one season – 2011. Three in a row, in fact, en route to a 34 scoreless innings streak.

When factoring in the entire picture, including the brevity of it all, not to mention the reality that Halladay wasn’t pitching at a level only seen when he was on the hill in red pinstripes or road grays, a jersey retirement of his Phillies No. 34 on Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park doesn’t seem, well, warranted.

Not if someone like Lee is labeled as nothing more than “meh” and guys such as long-time stars Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley don’t already see their respective 11, 6 and 26 jerseys retired by the Phillies.

It would not be surprising if Halladay’s untimely death in 2017 helped the organization green light the decision to do so on alumni weekend. Especially since the narrative surrounding the plane crash that killed him focuses solely on his passing and never, ever brings up that he caused the accident by being reckless, both with the drugs he had ingested into his system and the stunts he attempted while in the air.

A better idea: Just let him rest in peace. His memory is etched permanently in the minds of those who want to see him in the most positive of fashions.

Bringing him back, so to speak, for this ceremony (or others like it in the future) may only tarnish it – as well as any respect for the organization -- for those annoying curmudgeons who may question, well, why …