Nick Sirianni clear protocols, will coach Sunday

The Eagles got exactly what they wanted for Christmas.

Nick Sirianni will be able to coach his team from the sideline of Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday afternoon.

Sirianni, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, has cleared the NFL’s testing protocol and has returned to the NovaCare Complex, the team announced on Saturday afternoon.

Sirianni on Friday was in good spirits and was very hopeful he’d be able to return.

“I’m planning on being there, hoping I’m there,” he said. “I know that that is optimistic thinking, so I haven’t thought the other way yet. If I’m home, if I’m actually back at the house, then I can imagine — I love my kids and I love my wife, but I’m not going to want them around when I’m watching the game. If it’s here in the hotel, no one is around here anyway, so I’ll just handle that as it comes.”

But Sirianni is now out of his hotel and can resume his normal duties as head coach. Had Sirianni missed Sunday, passing game coordinator Kevin Patullo would have taken over game management responsibilities and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen would have called the offensive plays.

The Eagles also got some good COVID-19 news on Friday when starting left guard Landon Dickerson was removed from the reserve list. He’ll be ready to start against the New York Giants after missing Tuesday night’s game against Washington. As of Saturday afternoon, the Eagles have three players on their Reserve/COVID-19 list: Andre Dillard, Le’Raven Clark, and Ryan Kerrigan.