Nick Sirianni is the forgotten man when credit gets doled out for the Philadelphia Eagles’ surge to their second Super Bowl in three years.
But the head coach deserves recognition for shepherding Philly to their 17-3 record through 20 games entering Super Bowl LIX, especially considering he began the season on the hot seat.
The Eagles might be the most talented team in the league, no doubt. GM Howie Roseman consistently sets a high standard.
League sources note, however, that Philadelphia’s team plays with a toughness that is far from automatic to extract from players even with a superior roster.
Sirianni, 43, is not afraid to challenge his players to get the most out of them. His competitiveness, while it has a tendency to cross the line on game days, is genuine and contagious.
And his team, not coincidentally, plays with a punishing and relentless edge.
Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has made a huge impact this season on the team’s attitude, too, instilling a mindset through more grueling practice habits and a hard line of high expectations.
Even so, Sirianni is the head coach. So if delegating more authority to Fangio as a coordinator and putting aside ego is one of the key elements of this team’s success, that is still the quality of a leader.
And it is something a lot of coaches aren’t able to do: decipher the difference between when to put their foot down and when to listen or adjust.
Sirianni’s role in getting the most out of star defensive lineman Jalen Carter also should not be overlooked.
Carter was talented enough to be a top two pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He slipped to No. 9 because of off-field red flags that scared teams away.
Roseman was able to surround Carter with four former Georgia teammates on the Eagles’ roster, no doubt. And chief security officer Dom DiSandro is known for his ability to keep the building in line.
But who oversees the plan for how to manage, develop and grow the player as a part of the team?
That’s the head coach’s job. And Sirianni has overseen a plan that has enabled the Eagles to get the best out of Carter, who made first-team All-Pro.
That included some organizational changes in the sports science and strength areas, which combined with some harder practices to condition the likes of Carter, Jordan Davis and others to play more snaps at the same high level.
Obviously, there are reasons why Sirianni is not generally accepted and praised.
His awkward introductory press conference in 2021 put the fan base on its heels.
He is an offensive coach who is not considered a mastermind of offense. Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore now receives most of the credit there.
Sirianni’s job was in serious jeopardy after last year’s late season collapse and embarrassing 32-9 playoff loss at Tampa. And his relationship with quarterback Jalen Hurts has come off as anything from lukewarm to unusual to strange to contentious at points.
Then, when Sirianni yelled at his own fans at Lincoln Financial Field after a narrow Week 6 home win over the Cleveland Browns to improve to 3-2, his outburst felt like a possible sign of the beginning of the end for the fourth-year head coach.
But it was the total opposite.
It was the start of a 10-game winning streak. It was the match that lit the Eagles’ run of 15 wins in 16 games to reach the Super Bowl.
Now, entering next Sunday’s Super Bowl LVII rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans, Sirianni has 53 wins in four years as the Eagles’ head coach, including the postseason.
That makes him one of only two NFL head coaches ever with at least 50 wins in his first four seasons, behind only the San Francisco 49ers’ George Seifert (57).
He is also now one of only three NFL head coaches ever to reach the Super Bowl in two of his first four seasons, following Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin.
And he led the Eagles there by stomping the Washington Commanders, 55-23, in the NFC championship game. Who is responsible for drawing up the game plan for a beating like that?
The head coach.
Afterwards, Sirianni threw out effusive praise for Hurts, and he defended the criticism that Hurts is only successful because he has great players around him.
“You tell me a quarterback that’s won like this that has s–t around him,” Sirianni said. “It [doesn’t] happen.”
Well, that applies to coaches, too:
Name a coach that has won this way under this kind of pressure, in that unforgiving of a market, coming off that kind of disappointing season, and made multiple Super Bowl appearances in a short span and received this little credit.
It doesn’t happen.