“Glorified cheerleader,” “terrible coach,” and “trouble maker” have all been insults hurled at Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirriani throughout the season. However, Sirriani deserves better as he has led the Eagles to their 2nd Super Bowl in 3 years.
Sirianni has been constantly ripped by the media for the Eagle’s slow start in the beginning of the year. Many popular personalities and analysts have been calling for his firing throughout the season. Fox Sports personality Colin Cowherd was often one of his main critics.
“It’s time to go get an adult coach who has won, who is proven, who is a veteran… I could see Philadelphia moving off Sirianni in two weeks. Seriously, that’s what they do. They move off Super Bowl-winning coaches. Chip Kelly had a winning record. They’d absolutely move off this,” Cowherd stated on his show The Herd.
Earlier this year, I even fell victim to overreacting to the Eagles slow start writing my “Sirriani’s days numbered” OPED. However, since writing this story, the Eagles have completely reinvented themselves.
Since their bye week, the Eagles have gone 12-1 losing their one game to the Commanders when Quarterback Jalen Hurts was injured. During this streak, the Eagles have completely changed their playstyle and have preferred to lean on star running back Saquon Barkley.
This year, on 345 carries, Barkley has run for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns. Sirriani and the Eagles’ choice to further rely on Barkley has potentially saved the head coaches’ job. Additionally, Barkley’s dominance has led to opportunities in the passing game too. AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith have had 1,079 and 833 yard seasons respectively.
Not only the change in playstyle has been beneficial for the Eagles. Sirriani’s decision making improvements have greatly improved as well. Earlier in the season, Sirriani often went for it on 4th down extremely frequently in situations where kicking a field goal would have been just. For example, their week two loss to the Falcons. However, Sirriani’s choices have become much more educated and precise compared to earlier in the season.
Sirriani’s leadership has also seemed to be taken well by players and other coaches. At first, the media ripped Sirriani for his on field antics, especially with fans. For example, after their 20-16 win against the Cleveland Browns. However, players seem to appreciate Sirriani standing up for his players even during subpar performances.
Sirriani deserves an apology from the fans and media after leading this team to another Super Bowl. However, he still has to overcome the Chiefs in order to truly be respected by fans and the media.