Sirianni ready to roll with youth
Enthusiasm tempered by comprehensive process
PHILADELPHIA — Nick Sirianni won’t turn 40 until next month, but the new Eagles coach has spent more than three decades of his life on football fields, so running his first practice of rookie minicamp on Friday was just part of a natural progression in his life.
Not that it wasn’t a big deal. The man was and is understandably excited about being one of just 32 men in the world to command an NFL squad. But Friday was about trying to keep the magnitude of this first practice and rookie camp in general in proper perspective.
“I’ve been going to football practices since I’ve been four years old, when my dad [was] a football coach,” Sirianni said. “So this is a thing I’ve been doing my entire life. So football practice, to me, it’s the same over and over and over again. The things that I’ve been taught that are very important in football, it’s the same thing over and over again.
“It’s just [that now] I have different responsibilities. When I was four, my brothers had those pads on the sidelines and those dummies and we were hitting each other with them and practicing ball security. Just a little different now, right?
“So I’ve just been doing this my whole life, so really the only difference is, you know, I kind of move around the field more.”
And after one day of watching only a fraction of his team perform knowing almost all of the players won’t be with them by the start of the season, he knows that this phase of the offseason is also just about baby steps.
“We set some goals for them,” Sirianni said, “and really it was to go out there and compete ... to learn the offense, the defense and the special teams, get the basics down, get 1% better every day, connect with their teammates. Then finally, the fifth goal that we set for them was go out there and show us what you guys can do.
“... My message to the coaching staff was, ‘hey, let’s let these guys go out there and show us what they can do. Let’s keep the installs very simple. Let’s keep them very simple so they can get out there and they can exhibit their abilities on the field.’ “
Rookie camp is not all about the players, either. It’s about the coaches too, especially because this is such a young staff.
“The guys that are new to me, I think they wanted to come out and impress me and show me that I made the right decision of hiring them,” Sirianni said. “So that was pretty cool to see them coaching. I know they have a ton of energy . ... But the goal for them again was keeping it simple for the players, and they’ve heard me talk about fundamentals and technique a million times.”
Many of the questions Sirianni was asked Friday were not about rookies. Second-year quarterback Jalen Hurts, the presumed starter following the trade of Carson Wentz to Indianapolis, was the main topic, even though he is not at this camp.
Will he be the starter this year?
Is he their long-term solution? What needs to be communicated to Hurts about his uncertain status?
The answers, in so many words, were “can’t say,” “not sure” and “just stay focused on the offense.”
Because there is just no way Sirianni is going to deviate from his “competition” plan and hand anybody a job in May.
“You guys won’t leave this one alone, will you?” Sirianni joked. “No, I mean, it’s competition at every position. Competition is great, competition elevates everybody’s play. Everybody’s play. If you come in and you have somebody that’s competing with you every single day, it makes you better. This is all part of the strategy of we want everyone to feel that they’re competing for their jobs.
“I’m competing for my job. [Offensive coordinator] Shane [Steichen] is competing for his job. [Defensive coordinator Jonathan] Gannon is competing for his job. Like every single day, there are so many people that want to do what we do in the NFL, right? So we’ve got to compete, we’ve got to fight, everybody on this team has got to fight every single day to get better . ... In my mind, competition is never a bad thing. It doesn’t matter the position. It’s never a bad thing. It takes people and the cream rises to the top when you compete.”
Miscellany Heights, weights and motion
Undrafted wide receiver Jhamon Ausbon looks tall, really tall. A lot taller than his listed size of 6-foot-2. Fellow undrafted receiver Trevon Grimes looks thick, really thick. A lot thicker than his listed weight of 223.
“They have impressive statures about them,” Sirianni said. “Obviously, we knew that about them and we knew their heights and weights. We knew them up close. We’ve seen them up close. And yeah, they have that size.
“You know, I really was impressed with the way they moved out there today with that size. They had good catch radius and strong hands, and I just thought they did a good job of moving around. And [wide receivers coach] Aaron Moorehead did a good job of allowing them to see what the skills were.” DeVonta Smith impresses First-round pick DeVonta Smith did not disappoint.
“As advertised, he catches everything,” Sirianni raved. “Like that ball touches his hands, he catches it. He’s really long. I think you guys saw that, right? He’s got long arms, and he’s got a big catch radius.”
The coach also pointed to Smith’s “excellent, excellent ability to change directions at the top of the route. Even better than what I saw on tape, to be 100% honest with you. So again, a lot of things that I expected, because we spent a lot of time watching him, all his catches the last couple years, but it was great to see him in person. He’s got a lot of talent to him, and look forward to working with him.”