A.J. Brown has had time to rest, reflect and recalibrate since his team’s unceremonious postseason exit three weeks ago.
In that period, his team parted ways with its defensive and offensive coordinators, hired replacements and did all of this only after first deciding that proceeding with head coach Nick Sirianni was the right move in 2024.
Brown agrees, even after the Eagles fell apart worse than the Bluesmobile at the end of the 1980 film “The Blues Brothers.”
“We wouldn’t be where we are if it wasn’t for him,” Brown said in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer. “He’s a great teacher, great coach, great person. Me, I don’t have any doubt. I don’t think the team has any doubt. I think it was just Philly media, fans, or whatever, they just have the question because it didn’t end the way we all would like. But sometimes you go through adversity. Sometimes some stuff is just not meant for you at that right time and you’ve just got to weather that storm.
“You can’t let your confidence waver, either. I haven’t seen his confidence waver. My confidence has definitely not wavered.”
The confidence of countless Eagles fans certainly wavered during Philadelphia’s 1-6 finish to the 2023 season, especially after a blowout playoff loss to a Buccaneers team that the Eagles had blasted in their earlier regular-season meeting. Some fans even saw the result coming, bringing “Fire Sirianni” signs to the playoff game in Tampa.
It was a tough way to go out. And yes, some folks had to pay for Philadelphia’s de-evolution from an advanced cyborg into a jalopy in the team’s final seven games. That’s why Sean Desai, Matt Patricia and Brian Johnson were all let go, which didn’t surprise Brown.
“Unfortunately, when things don’t go as planned or something don’t go well, somebody has to be the bad guy,” Brown said of Johnson’s exit. “And I think that is kind of what happened. So somebody had to go. It’s part of this league. It’s part of the business. But I didn’t really have a reaction either way, because I’m not just attached to who’s in the OC position, because most importantly, we play football. It’s still football at the end of the day and we’ve got to go out and execute the plays. I’m not too attached on who’s in that seat.”
Speaking of seats, Brown didn’t even have one on the team’s flight to Tampa for that playoff game. He stayed behind due to a knee injury suffered in Week 18 that prevented him from playing against the Buccaneers.
“It was just a tough blow,” he said. “I wish I could have been there. I wish I could have played. I wish I could have been there, most importantly. I couldn’t. I couldn’t travel because of the swelling and stuff, just to give myself a chance to play the next round in a week. But it was tough.”
Now, he’s aiming to get right for 2024, a season that will be incredibly pivotal for all members of the Eagles. After succumbing to the incessant downpour of adversity in 2023, they can’t afford to let it happen again.
