Oct 15, 2024
I have no problem with Nick Sirianni’s sideline antics. In fact, it’s kind of Philly. Philadelphia fans are suddenly sensitive after a group of them were chanting, “Fire Nick! Fire Nick!” during Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns at the Linc. They couldn’t handle the Eagles head coach barking back at them after the win (albeit a sloppy one)? Gimme a break. Some critics say Sirianni’s behavior is a symptom of a larger issue, of immaturity, but most of them didn’t say that during the Eagles’ Super Bowl run two years ago. The problem occurs when you don’t win. Or when you use your children as human shields in a postgame presser after beating a 1-5 team by four points coming off a bye. With his three young kids by his side, Sirianni acted like he had just won the Super Bowl. It seemed absurd on its face. But, for him personally, it was a huge win. His hot seat had just gotten a little cooler in the last 45 minutes “You want to be passionate and have energy,” Sirianni said the next day, when he apologized for his sideline decorum, saying he should focus that energy on celebrating with team, not directing it at fans. “It’s having that discernment of when to do that,” he said. “I wish there was a playbook on stuff like that. It would make the job a little bit easier to do. But it’s not, so you’ve got to have the discernment and the wisdom of when to do it.” People ask, would Andy Reid behave the way Sirianni does on the sideline? Would Nick Nurse or Rob Thomson or Jay Wright? No, of course they wouldn’t. Because that’s not their personalities. This is Nick’s personality. And there’s nothing wrong with that — as long as you win. But you gotta win. Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and general manager Howie Roseman, who somehow are untouchable from criticism, hired Sirianni. When Doug Pederson was here, they wanted him to get rid of offensive coordinator Frank Reich. Pederson fought to keep him, and the Eagles went on to win their first and only Super Bowl the next season, with Reich as quarterback whisperer for Carson Wentz and Nick Foles. And after Jeff and Howie fired Pederson, they chose Sirianni — Reich’s right-hand man in Indianapolis. What does that tell you? They don’t always know what they’re doing. Lurie is a low-key meddling owner. Ever since firing Chip Kelly, he and Roseman often haven’t allowed their head coaches to select their staffs. They grill the head coach after every game, including after wins, about individual play-calls. These are some of the reasons Pederson got fed up. This isn’t a stable organization. Quarterback Jalen Hurts has had to learn four playbooks in five years. The only thing stable is the micromanagement by Lurie and Roseman. If you want to be mad about Sirianni, blame them. Sirianni, a couple times this year (after the Browns game and the New Orleans game), has said how happy is that “Vic Fangio is our defensive coordinator.”That’s Sirianni shouting out to his bosses, because they’re the ones who hired Fangio. Nick didn’t. He wasn’t allowed to. Sirianni didn’t hire Kellen Moore either. Both Moore and Fangio are Lurie and Roseman’s possible head coaches in waiting, if they fire Sirianni. That’s how dysfunctional this organization is. It also shows they’re not entirely confident in their own hiring of Sirianni. The Eagles had stability under Andy Reid until things went off the rails after 14 years. They’ve been to two Super Bowls in the last seven-plus seasons, including winning one of them. That’s an accomplishment. But how long will Roseman’s shell game of changing coaches hold up? We’ll see how this season plays out. But if Sirianni comes up short, it’s time for the Eagles to hire a strong head coach and give him autonomy. Why the hell are Roseman and Lurie meddling and micromanaging anyway? Make a good hire and get out of the way. Hire a coach and let him do his job. —— Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X at @the_defranc.
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