Nick Sirianni is now Philadelphia Eagles' CEO head coach, but will it work out?
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The stage is set. Corinthians Arena in São Paulo, Brazil, has been transformed from futbol to football. It's game day and a new season for the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers, making history as the first NFL teams to play in South America.
The Eagles came undone after racing to a 10-1 start last season. The Birds lost five of their final six regular season games, lost the NFC East to the Dallas Cowboys and were dismantled by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC wild-card round.
Green Bay finished 2023 with a 9-8 record and made the playoffs, upsetting the second-seeded Cowboys in the wild-card round. The Packers' season came to an end in the NFC divisional round, losing to the San Francisco 49ers.
The Eagles' front office got to work after last season's collapse. Their roster has been among the best in the NFL in recent years and could be even better this season if everything goes well.
Couple that with new play-callers on both sides of the ball, and there's reason for optimism as the season begins tonight in Brazil.
Fangio takes over the defense, but will the Birds' D improve?
After a disastrous end to the 2023 season, change was inevitable for the Eagles.
While head coach Nick Sirianni held onto his job, he has two new coordinators.
Vic Fangio takes over defensively, but the question is, will they be better than a year ago?
"We haven't played real games yet, and that opener against that offense is going to be very challenging," Fangio said during training camp. "So I think that's a better question to ask midway through the season."
There are other new faces on defense.
Bryce Huff steps in for the departed Haason Reddick, who the Eagles traded to the New York Jets. Reddick remains a holdout in New York, seeking a new contract.
The future of the Eagles' secondary rests on first-round pick Quinyon Mitchell and second-round pick Cooper Dejean.
"Moore" motion coming to the Eagles' offense
Now that Sirianni is the CEO head coach, it's Kellen Moore's offense. The Eagles were dead last in motion last season, an area that will change with Moore in charge of the offense.
Moore's offense with the Los Angeles Chargers was motion-heavy. The Chargers ran motion 59% of the time last season with Moore at OC.
"You know right now, it's been a lot of new inventory in. Majority of it — probably 95% of it being new," Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts said. "I think the goal of it coming in was to learn Kellen's offense and master it, and I think that's been a process."
Moore should have no trouble dialing up plays for an incredibly talented group, including Saquon Barkley, who spurned the Giants to join his old rivals.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman wasn't done. Late in the preseason, he added Jahan Dotson, giving the Eagles three formidable receivers.
"Being back home is always fun. I truly love being around here and the atmosphere," Dotson said. "So yeah, I'm ready to put on for the green and white."
Perhaps the most significant change of all for the Eagles comes in the middle.
No longer is Jason Kelce snapping the ball to Hurts. That job belongs to Cam Jurgens, but is he ready to fill those Hall-of-Fame shoes?
The answers to those questions begin tonight. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET.
