It Is Time To Give Nick Sirianni His Flowers
Hunter Martin / Philadelphia Eagles
With Sunday’s NFC Championship win against the Commanders, Nick Sirianni became the first head coach in Eagles history to reach two Super Bowls. If he can find a way to win this upcoming game he will be just the second head coach in franchise history to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Yet, he does not get the respect he deserves.
After last season’s playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Eagles waited 9 days to have an end-of-year press conference. Many fans and media speculated that they were trying to decide if they should bring back head coach Nick Sirianni. Sirianni, who was one season removed from losing Super Bowl 57, had reached the playoffs for the third straight season. When you think of it that way, it seems pretty silly to consider firing a head coach after accomplishing that. But as we all know the 2023 Eagles had a historic collapse from a 10-1 start, to a 11-6 finish. Because of that collapse, many people wanted him fired.
People have always been skeptical about Sirianni from his opening press conference. He preached core values, togetherness, and football IQ. He was also put in a tough spot because the team was actively trying to trade their quarterback. Many people saw him as a joke, and just because he had a bad first impression they were quick to write him off. Then his first year started. The Eagles were losing and losing and his message was not what people on the outside wanted to hear. He talked about watering the roots so that a flower can grow. This even led to a fan throwing flowers at him while he was running through the tunnel. But, Sirianni does what he does best and made adjustments that turned that season around. The Eagles ended up making the playoffs that season, but losing to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round.
We all know what happened in 2022 with taking the team to the Super Bowl, and in 2023 with the collapse, but I think this season has been his best coaching job. Coming into this season the Eagles decided to make Nick a CEO head coach. Kellen Moore runs the offense, Vic Fangio runs the defense, and Sirianni runs the team. While that is the setup in places like Pittsburgh and Baltimore, many fans and media were not happy with how this was being constructed. It even led a media member to ask Sirianni “What do you do?” in an offseason press conference. But even with all the noise, Sirianni kept his head held high into the start of the season. And then, they had a rough start. After last season’s collapse, everyone was on edge and was wondering if he was on the hot seat. The Eagles entered the bye week 2-2 and had just been blown out by the Buccaneers. Everyone was in a panic that the stink of last year was still lingering, but Sirianni and the offensive coaches made an adjustment in that bye week that would save the season. Lean on Saquon Barkley. What is an obvious choice now was not so obvious at the beginning of the season. But Sirianni listened to his players, and he adjusted for the benefit of the team. After that bye, the Eagles are 15-1 and are knocking on the doorstep of a Super Bowl Championship.
In his opening press conference, he talked about connection, and I believe that is his greatest strength. There have been multiple stories over the last few months of players like Nakobe Dean, Zack Baun, Jordan Mailata, and many more talking about how much Sirianni means to them. I think a good example of that was the video of him FaceTiming Nakobe Dean after last game. Dean is out for the season with a knee injury, but Sirianni still wants him to be a part of the celebration because he is such a big reason why we are in this spot we are now. Sometimes there are more important things than X’s and O’s, and Sirianni is proof of that.
Yet, somehow, Sirianni is still disrespected by people both locally, and nationally. In his time with the Eagles, he is 53-23 (.697) with two NFC Championships. He is the first Eagles head coach to ever make the playoffs in every year he has been coach, and he also has the highest winning percentage in franchise history. He has the highest winning percentage out of all active coaches and the third-highest in the history of the NFL. I understand that people don’t always love his outgoing and sometimes obnoxious personality, but at the end of the day he is a great head coach, and it’s time we give him his flowers.
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Sam Heine
Sam has been with Philly Sports Reports since 2022. He is a contributor for both the Eagles and the 76ers. Sam is hoping to pursue a full-time job in sports in the future.
