Proving His Worth
After magical midseason turnaround, Sirianni earns vindication
Nick Sirianni wandered into Philadelphia and immediately stumbled, blabbering through his first press conference, incapable of even discussing his quarterbacks. At that moment, the situation was clear: He would begin his Eagles coaching career playing from behind.
Inexperienced, relatively young for an NFL head coach and without the built-in constituency that would support a former player or hometown favorite, Sirianni would have to show more than his Linc parking pass to prove he deserved the job.
Eagles fans can be that way.
The media sorts hanging around can be even worse.
Yet that was the deal, and Sirianni took it, asking only for a chance to show that he could lead the Eagles through a successful season both with his ideas and his tolerance. In so many words, most unspoken, he would request to be judged on an installment plan. Judge him at the end of his career. Judge him at the end of his contract. Judge him, if necessary, after every regular season.
He has coached one regular season, and he proved plenty, winning more than twice as many games as Doug Pederson did last year and leading the Eagles to a playoff spot after Vegas wondered if they would win seven games.
With that, it’s Sirianni’s turn to do the booing to the critics who wanted him fired at midseason. With that, he can slide underneath a “NFL Playoffs” cap at his next press conference. With that, he can claim vindication.
“No,” he decided. “I don’t look too much into that. I try not to hear the outside noise. I know sometimes, you’re going to hear it because, obviously, part of my job is to do the media conferences multiple times in a week. You’re naturally going to hear some of that stuff. But everyone has a job to do, and when we were not playing good, there was criticism. When we’re playing good, you get praise.
“When you’re winning, you probably get more praise than you deserve, and when you’re losing, you’re getting more criticism than you deserve. I know everybody has a job to do. My job is to block out the outside noise, whether it’s telling me that I’m really good or whether it’s telling me that I stink.”
He won nine games and lost eight, so there was ample opportunity for both. When the Eagles were dropping five of six early in the season, he seemed lost if not silly, showing up for one press conference in a Phillies costume, another time yacking about Allen Iverson. His defense was soft, his offense timid, his fans few.
Some of his star players complained of the play calls. Others just made faces.
Yet prominent in a decision to hire a 40-year-old, entry-level head coach is the expectation that he will adapt. As for Sirianni, his in-season growth was staggering, and by midseason, everything had changed. Once reluctant to trust his running game, Sirianni turned the Eagles into a vintage, NFC East powerrushing machine. Once satisfied with a pliable defense, suddenly Sirianni would shove it into attack mode. For sure, the second-half schedule bent in the Eagles’ direction. But high among the reasons they were triumphant in the last four regular-season games that meant anything was because Sirianni was self-assured enough to develop Jalen Hurts into a Pro Bowl-alternate quarterback.
He never panicked. For that, neither did the players, including the skeleton crew left over from the 2017-18 championship team.
“Bad things happen,” Jason Kelce reportedly said in one turning-point locker room rant. “Press on, press on, press on.” Kelce is a pro, a franchise legend, a leader. So it wasn’t surprising that he would so aggressively give his coach a boost at a critical time. Yet not every rookie coach would have won over so many veterans during a choppy season.
Eventually, Sirianni will be judged by his ability to push the Eagles to consistent excellence, deep postseason penetration and, perhaps, a parade. But to have groomed a star quarterback, recovered from a 2-5 start, earned the backing of aging franchise legends, grown as a playcaller and tightened his defense all while not allowing any frustration with his critics to show was a coaching magic show.
Early last week, after the Eagles completed the serious portion of their schedule at 9-7, Sirianni was asked if he learned anything about himself in his first NFL season. “That’s a good question,” he said. “”I don’t know. Shoot, I have been doing this football coaching thing for a long time, been raised in it. I don’t think so. This is kind of catching me off guard, so I don’t have a great answer for you. Ask me again later and I’ll have a better answer.”
He was at a loss for words, but was confident he would have a reasonable answer later.
He has earned the right to be believed.