Eagles playoff loss could create all-time bidding war with Cowboys

Fans of the Dallas Cowboys are in no position to talk down on another team after they suffered arguably their worst loss in franchise history on Sunday. The Philadelphia Eagles, however, are the exception in that regard.

The Eagles lost five of six games to end the regular season and seemed like a dead team walking entering the playoffs. That inkling proved true as they were bludgeoned by Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers on Monday night.

It marks the end of an unprecedented collapse. For whatever reason, the Eagles were incapable of salvaging their season just a year after appearing in the Super Bowl. Granted their injury luck and historic sack production regressed to the mean, but it looked (again) on Monday that they quit on Nick Sirianni.

Regardless, the Eagles are broken. Tight end Dallas Goedert was spotted chewing out quarterback Jalen Hurts in the middle of the game. They gave up multiple long touchdowns due to lame-duck tackling efforts.

Again, it's hard to say that they outright quit, but they looked checked out and you have to wonder what it means for Sirianni's future. If Sirianni does get fired, could it create a Bill Belichick bidding war between the Eagles and Cowboys?

Could Cowboys and Eagles chase Bill Belichick if Nick Sirianni is fired?

It might seem draconian to fire a head coach a year after he took a team to the Super Bowl and led said team to the playoffs in all three years on the job. However, the Eagles collapse is one that hasn't been seen in some 40 years. Not since the 1986 Jets has a team started 10-1 only to lose six of their final seven games.

That is at least grounds for a reevaluation. With myriad alluring coaching candidates available this hiring cycle, the Eagles might consider handing Sirianni the pink slip. After all, it's not like he has universal support in the locker room.

"I didn't know he was going anywhere," Hurts said of Sirianni. "I have a ton of confidence in everyone in this building. Just a matter of us going out there and playing clean football, and that's been something we have not done."

Pretty odd that Hurts didn't mention Sirianni by name, no? Dak Prescott even fell on the sword for Mike McCarthy after the Cowboys' loss. In any event, the Eagles will look externally to replace Sirianni if it comes to that, and a simple reading of the tea leaves makes Belichick a no-brainer target.

While the Eagles offense (and Hurts) regressed exponentially in the second half of the season, their defense was arguably the worst in the NFL during that stretch. Monday's loss marked the third straight game they surrendered more than 400 yards of offense. Demoting defensive coordinator Sean Desai and promoting Matt Patricia to defensive play-caller was a disaster waiting to happen.

Belichick might be the only one capable of saving the Eagles defense, which has marquee talent all over the field.

If you thought the Shaq Leonard bidding war between the Cowboys and Eagles was intense, imagine what a fight for Belichick would look like. After Philly crashed out of the playoffs without a whimper, it just come to fruition.

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