NEW ORLEANS – A stumbling and shocking end to the 2023 season – six losses in seven games, including an embarrassing 23-point playoff defeat at Tampa Bay – had given way to a similarly stumbling and shocking start to 2024 for Philadelphia Eagles coach/Jamestown native Nick Sirianni.
Sirianni had pulled two major levers in the offseason, hiring Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio as offensive and defensive coordinator, respectively. But not much was working during a 2-2 start that was capped by another lopsided loss to the Buccaneers (33-16).
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Externally, talk radio wanted a roll of heads, and fans were ready for, gulp, Bill Belichick. Internally, owner Jeffrey Lurie is not known for his patience – he fired Sirianni’s predecessor, Doug Pederson, three years after he won the Super Bowl. The temperature was rising for Sirianni.
But just as suddenly as it appeared Sirianni had lost his touch, he changed everything … by changing nothing. He stayed the course and didn’t panic. Thirteen games remained, plenty of time to get going albeit with a sense of urgency. The only option was to keep working.
Now look at Sirianni, the alum of Southwestern High School, and the Eagles.
Since that suboptimal start, they are 15-1 entering Sunday night’s Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs. They have the league’s best running back (Saquon Barkley) and the league’s second-best defense in fewest points allowed, a green-and-white juggernaut that won its first three playoff games by 12, six and 32 points.
If the Eagles deny the Chiefs the first three-peat in Super Bowl history, they will become only the eighth team to start 2-2 or worse and win the Lombardi Trophy.
Sirianni is believed to be the first coach from Western New York to lead his team to the Super Bowl and he’s done it twice in three seasons.
“We felt like we had a great training camp and we didn’t start the way we envisioned it,” he said during his Tuesday news conference. “But we continued to keep our heads down and go and work and just continually got better. I think we’re playing our best ball now.
“This game isn’t easy and it has its ups and downs and that’s how seasons go. That’s how a game goes. Nobody in the NFL pitches a perfect game. Adversity does something to you.”
Yes, it does. Those who run away from it usually fail. When things get tough, they shrink. Those who stare at it – grudgingly as all get out as it is – survive and thrive.
The Eagles faced it and have charged nearly every door since returning from Tampa Bay. The bye week followed.
“We didn’t practice the whole week, we didn’t meet with them the whole week,” Fangio said.
So no magical elixir was applied?
“No, it’s a nice story with no substance to it,” Fangio said. “We just kept getting better. It wasn’t like we were the (bleeps) in the first four games. We just had some bad moments.”
Out of their bye, the Eagles squeaked by Cleveland, 20-16, and Sirianni exchanged words with fans as he walked off the field. But he checked his emotions from then on.
Eagles defensive backs coach/passing game coordinator Christian Parker is a rising star in the industry and should be a coordinator in the near future. He relayed what Sirianni’s message was to the staff during the bye week.
“The main thing was, we didn’t have to change who we are, we just had to do it better,” Parker said. “There wasn’t one earth-shattering thing we had to do. It was 2-2. I know it may have felt like the sky was falling outside the building, but our guys showed great resolve. The bye week was after one of our worst performances of the year and it forced everybody to take a hard look at themselves.”
After the bye week, safety Reed Blankenship said, Sirianni had a simple message.
“Keep climbing.”
To that end, Sirianni always puts an image of Mt. Everest on the big screen every Wednesday. Starting from the bottom with Week 1, the opponents are placed a step above each other, but that week’s opponent is blurred out. The rationale? It isn’t about Sunday yet. It’s about Wednesday, followed by Thursday, Friday and Saturday. After all, proper preparation can help prevent poor performance.
“You just worry about today,” Blankenship said. “You keep chipping away until you get to the game. (Sirianni) has done a great job. We’re climbing to the top.”
The biggest hurdle is Sunday night. Two years ago, the Eagles lost to Kansas City in the Super Bowl. Since then, they’ve added Barkley as one of the top free agent signings in league history. Quarterback Jalen Hurts has two more years of experience. And so does Sirianni.
Fangio is a Pennsylvania guy. Grew up in Dunmore. Rooted for the Phillies. Coached for the USFL’s Philadelphia Stars. Gave the Eagles a helping hand during the 2022 playoffs. And joined the Eagles with the deserved reputation as one of the game’s top defensive minds. He understands the passion and pressure of Eagles fans and he thinks they have the right kind of guy in Sirianni.
“I think he fits in perfectly with the Eagles organization and in many ways, he’s the perfect guy to be head coach of the Eagles,” Fangio said. “He can handle everything that comes his way externally and internally.”
