This is kind of weird.

On 97.5 the Fanatic this morning, ESPN insider Adam Schefter suggested that the Eagles’ recent defensive hires were made by Howie Roseman and Jeffrey Lurie, and not new head coach Nick Sirianni.

Here’s the exchange with morning show host John Kincade:

Kincade: Adam I had to apologize earlier this week because I was discussing last week on the show before the hiring, that I was figuring that Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman were looking to hire a coach that they could have as a puppet. But obviously him being able to hire his coordinators (Jonathan Gannon and Shane Steichen), and not have people imposed on him, the way Doug Pederson was, it appears there was a lot of freedom given to him to put together the staff he wanted. This is nobody’s puppet.

Schefter: Do you know that he hired his coordinators?

Kincade: With the personal relationships in place I figured that was kind of part of it. Do you think I’m incorrect in that?

Schefter: Well I think definitely on the offensive side it was more of his guy (Steichen), while on the defensive side it was more of the Eagles’ guys.

That’s it. No elaboration from Schefty. Very short in his replies, which adds intrigue to a curious situation that seems a little bizarre now.

Why?

Well Jonathan Gannon came from Indy. He worked with Sirianni under Frank Reich. We, the fans and media, were simply putting two and two together and assuming that Sirianni was bringing over a guy he knew, who also happened to be a hot prospect and linked to a couple of other job openings.

Tracy Rocker, the reported defensive line coach, does not have a Sirianni connection, so it could be understood that the Eagles installed him separately, but like Kincade, I think we were all under the impression that Gannon was a Sirianni guy.

It could be that both things are true. That Sirianni really likes Gannon, and that Lurie and Roseman would have pushed for him anyway, even if they didn’t hire Sirianni. But the takeaway here is the thought that perhaps the GM and owner are still involved in adding coaches they like, similar to the way they paired Doug Pederson and Jim Schwartz together with the former having no say in hiring the latter.

This is a CURIOUS development.

Here’s the full interview if you’d like to listen.