Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni issued a warning to the rest of the NFL at the Scouting Combine in February when he said 2024 would be a time to “reprove” himself.
Sirianni expects that the disheartening end to the 2023 season in which the Eagles lost six of their last seven games was a momentary setback. Now entering his fourth season as coach with a revamped roster, two new coordinators and eight picks in next week’s draft, the onus is squarely on Sirianni to return the Eagles to dominance — and it’s scrutiny Sirianni will embrace because he’s defeated it throughout his football journey.
“One thing I can truly say wholeheartedly: Nick does not run from a challenge,” former Eagles coaching intern Geremy Davis, who also played two seasons under Sirianni with the Chargers, told NJ Advance Media. “If he sees a challenge or adversity, he doesn’t turn and run. He wants to fully take it on.”
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Even though Sirianni has the most regular-season wins (34) by an Eagles coach during his first three seasons, made the playoffs each year and reached the Super Bowl in 2022, his biggest challenge in Philadelphia is looming: He is on the hot seat for the first time after a season that concluded with an ugly playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and amid controversial decisions like changing defensive coordinators before Week 15.
But Sirianni has an opportunity in 2024 to show that last year was an anomaly. For the last 24 years, his former players and teammates have watched him overcome tough circumstances, handle criticism and prove doubters wrong.
Now, he will have to do those things again to save his job.
“He’s a guy that’s going to get charged up by this challenge,” former Chiefs quarterback Ricky Stanzi, who played under Sirianni from 2011-12, told NJ Advance Media. “He’s an extremely, extremely competitive person. And when you take an extremely competitive person and you put them in an adverse situation, they’re going to use that as fuel to catapult them for that comeback.”
Always showed up
At the beginning of his sophomore season (2001) as a player at Mount Union, Sirianni suffered from compartment syndrome, a condition that occurs when pressure within the muscles builds to dangerous levels, which can decrease blood flow and prevent oxygen from reaching nerves — and he later developed a staph infection that nearly cost him his leg.
Wade Kirk, who was a freshman that season, originally thought Sirianni’s injury was so bad that he would never play football again. But to his surprise, Sirianni made a full recovery and returned as a junior.
“What stuck out a lot, of course, was he never missed any of the football stuff,” Kirk told NJ Advance Media. “He technically didn’t have to nor was it necessarily expected of him to come to any of the extra football curricular activities. But he was always there for everything if he didn’t have some sort of rehab appointment outside of the Mount Union facilities.
“He basically stepped in and was definitely helping any way he could (with the) younger guys. He didn’t have to do that. Nobody made him do that. That’s just something Nick wanted to do. Everybody recognized that.”
Former Mount Union linebacker Anthony Frate battled through injuries the same year and rehabbed alongside Sirianni, who he said never seemed discouraged.
“What’s great about Nick is even though he was the one with the injury, as other people were coming in, he was lighting up their day,” Frate told NJ Advance Media. “He was working hard to engage with them and joke with them and have a good time with them because that’s just who he is.”
Positive and consistent approach
Sirianni’s battles with adversity didn’t stop after college.
In his four seasons (2009-12) as an assistant coach with the Kansas City Chiefs, the team finished with a 23-41 record. Although it was a difficult time, Sirianni made sure his players didn’t wallow in the negativity of losing.
“Having someone like Nick that always brings a positive energy, always brings sort of this lens of, ‘How I can be better, how I can improve, what are the little details that I can do?’” Stanzi said. “It recharges you during that work day, during that work week, during that season. Just having that big infectious smile. And always talking about just whatever it was, it was always set in the light that was trying to get the most positive outlook on the situation.”
During the 2016 season, Davis noticed Sirianni’s ability to adjust when former Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1 that left the group shorthanded.
Sirianni, who was the wide receivers coach, helped two players finish with career-highs in receiving yards: Tyrell Williams (1,059) and Dontrelle Inman (810).
Those are moments that make Davis confident that Sirianni can still motivate his players and rebound from last season. As a part of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship, Davis spent two months on Sirianni’s staff before the 2022 season and saw how much Sirianni cared.
“There was a play (in a preseason game) where it was like, ‘Man, should this guy split the difference between the hash and numbers or be plus one between the hash and numbers?’” Davis said. “And he sat there for like 15 minutes just trying to look at the spacing against that specific defense to see how that play can best succeed. And that’s just him really wanting to be dialed in on helping guys succeed and helping the team succeed. There’s a difference between being a perfectionist and overthinking it. I think Nick is a perfectionist.”
Authentic style
Sirianni’s sideline antics and emotions have caused controversy. He has cursed at Chiefs fans after a regular season win and has erupted on the sidelines during a Christmas victory over the Giants.
Eagles chief security officer Dom DiSandro keeps Sirianni’s emotions in check. According to a report, Sirianni got into arguments with players and coaches during games without Big Dom, who was banned from the sidelines for the remainder of the regular season after shoving 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw in their Week 13 loss.
Some have argued that Sirianni should control himself more on game days. But his former players appreciate the competitive energy and don’t believe it’s something that has to change.
“I think it would be wild for Nick to not continue to be authentic to himself in the way that he coaches, in the way that he cultivates relationships and all that,” Andrew Krewatch, who played three seasons (2006-08) under Sirianni at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, told NJ Advance Media. “I don’t imagine he pays too much attention to it, and I would assume he’s going to continue to do things the way he’s done them because again that’s authentic to him.
“The dude that was listening to the National Anthem at that Super Bowl, shedding a tear, that is an authentic, real moment. That’s somebody who feels passionate about the game and that’s somebody who’s going to show up.”
Former NFL wide receiver Stevie Johnson, who played two seasons under Sirianni with the Chargers, said Sirianni doesn’t care about outside perception.
“Sirianni is a nerd to the game of football,” Johnson told NJ Advance Media in a social media message. “It’s his element to be who he feels he’s designed to be, a coach/trainer of the game of football. And he (couldn’t) care less if people like him or not outside of it because he’s got a goal in mind and it’s 100% on proving that he is the best at football.”
During his four seasons with the Chiefs, former NFL wide receiver Terrance Copper appreciated how Sirianni built genuine relationships and worked hard. Copper believes doubting Sirianni would be a mistake.
“If I’m an Eagles fan, I’m hanging my hat on Nick because he’s always got it done, regardless of where he’s been,” Copper told NJ Advance Media. “This guy is a grinder and knows how to face adversity. Just keep believing in him, or you don’t have to believe in him and he’s still going to make it happen.”
Sirianni could re-establish himself as one of the best coaches in the NFL next season. But if the Eagles’ late-season struggles carry over into this season, he could get fired.
Either way, Sirianni won’t be afraid of the challenge.
“I can remember times when he was in Kansas City that he never shied away from a mistake or if he got chewed out by (former Chiefs head coach) Todd Haley,” former Chiefs quarterback Tyler Palko told NJ Advance Media. “He was still the same type of guy. I don’t think that’s going to change about Nick. He’s a football guy. He understands how hard this game is.
“I think he loves being in Philadelphia. I think that he loves being a head coach. And I think that he’s going to make sure those guys are ready for next season. I don’t believe there’s any bone in my body that doesn’t think that Nick’s not going to answer the bell next year.”
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Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription. Cayden Steele may be reached at CSteele@njadvancemedia.com.