The Eagles head coach was encouraged by Jalen Hurts and others to be more like himself on the sideline, and that’s just what he did on Sunday against the Browns.
The pressure has been mounting for Eagles’ head coach Nick Sirianni over the past few weeks as the team has had few answers for the long list of issues they needed to fix. While the offense started slow, yet again, against the Browns, the defense played great and the offense finally pulled it together enough to score points.
There’s no shortage of emotion in a close game like the one on Sunday, and fans let the team know early on that they were on notice – although, it shouldn’t have been a surprise. Sirianni was asked about being boo’ed after the game, and he explained that he doesn’t really like it, but does appreciate the cheers they get.
SIRIANNI: “Yeah, we thrive off the crowd when they cheer for us. That’s all I’ll say. When our crowd cheers for us, we thrive off of them. You know, we hear them when they boo. We don’t necessarily like it. I don’t think that’s productive for anybody.
When they cheer for us and we’ve got them rolling, we love it.”
As the team went into the locker room for halftime, “Fire Sirianni” chants were heard, and after the final whistle, Sirianni had some of his own words for some Eagles’ fans in the crowd. When asked post-game about his interaction with the fans, he said he was excited to get the win, and noted how hard it is to win in this league.
SIRIANNI: “Just excited to get the win, yeah. It’s hard to win in this league, so we’re excited to get the win. Our fans created a couple of false starts that really helped us win this football game.
But I’m just excited to get the win and I appreciate the Linc’s support.”
It didn’t exactly look like a friendly, thank you, kind of interaction, but the head coach was notably more animated this week than he was before the bye. Sirianni explained that he was having fun on Sunday.
SIRIANNI: “I was having fun and I kind of got some feedback from the guys of the sense of, ‘We need you back, Nick. We need your energy. We need your focus.’ I got that from a couple players.
When I’m operating, having fun, I think that that breeds to the rest of the football team. If I want the guys to celebrate and be themselves after big plays, then I should probably do that myself, right?
Jalen Hurts didn’t see Sirianni having words with fans after the game, but admitted that he did encourage the head coach to be himself, and that’s who he is. The QB elaborated a little bit about why he was among those that encouraged Sirianni to return to form.
HURTS: “It’s just a reassurance of, you know, we trust who you are. We trust where you are as a coach, and we know we can build with you. So it’s about doing it together. It’s about doing it together, you know. And I think for him, I think any leader, it’s about a vision and trusting in that vision. He’s done a really good job of being able to have conversations and honestly try and map things out, you know, and some things take time. But it’s a group effort from everybody, and everybody has to dominate their box. Everybody has to respect their role, accept their role, and give their best. I’m excited for him and his growth and continue to see where he’s going, and I think it’ll continue to help our football team.”
While the head coach was also seen going back and forth with a few Browns players, Sirianni explained that it was all in good fun, and he understands that there’s a time and place for that kind of animated interaction.
SIRIANNI: “There are times for that and times that are not for that. I have to have wisdom and discernment of when to do that and when not to do that. I was kind of talking back and forth with 21 and 0. I think [Greg] Newsom and Denzel Ward are phenomenal football players.
[…]
Rodney [McLeod] is the other guy. I love Rodney. Man, Rodney means a lot to me. I think back about Rodney talking to our football team — I think I said something this week about how Rodney said something in 2021. I have so much for Rodney McLeod, so much respect and gratitude towards him. He was talking to me, I was talking back to him.
It was just all out of fun.”
Sirianni’s antics on the sideline have been celebrated and criticized throughout his tenure in Philly, but for the most part, it’s built out of pure passion, which Eagles fans can respect. If him being an unfiltered version of himself helps the team turn things around, then let the man loose, so long as he doesn’t get penalized for it, and he can channel that energy into stringing together a handful (or more) of wins.
