Nick Sirianni Deserves More Respect

Things couldn’t have started out much worse for Nick Sirianni in the City of Brotherly Love. When the Philadelphia Eagles hired Sirianni as the team’s new head coach in 2021, he was widely viewed as an underwhelming candidate. The criticism surrounding Sirianni only grew louder following his virtual introductory press conference.

Sirianni was clearly nervous as the moment appeared to be far too big for him. He stuttered during his opening statement and seemed to lack confidence. Then the Eagles got off to a rough, 2-5 start to the regular season in Sirianni’s first year as the head coach. Things were getting ugly fast and many questioned if Sirianni was the right person for the job in Philadelphia.

Then on October 27, 2022, it seemed as though Sirianni hit the final nail in his own coffin with one of the most questionable analogies of all-time. Despite sitting at 2-5 in one of the most sports crazed cities in the world, Sirianni compared his struggling football team to a flower.

“I said, 'The results aren't there right now, but what's going on here is that there's growth under the soil,'" said Sirianni. "I put a picture of a flower up, and it's coming through the ground, and the roots are growing out. The roots are continuing to grow out. Everybody wants to see results. Shoot, nobody wants to see results more than us, right?"

At the time, it felt like Sirianni had lost his mind. The last thing that the blue collar fans in Philadelphia wanted to hear was the Eagles being compared to a flower. Yet fast forward to June of 2026 and Sirianni has grown an entire garden in Philadelphia. The roots that Sirianni helped plant five years ago have seemingly blossomed into the franchise’s golden era.

In five seasons with the Eagles, Sirianni’s team has never missed the playoffs and has made two trips to the Super Bowl, including winning Super Bowl LIX. Sirianni’s career winning percentage of .694 is the highest among all active head coaches in the NFL and ranks fifth all-time behind four Hall of Famers in Guy Chamberlin, John Madden, Vince Lombardi and George Allen.

Despite all of his success, many still ask the same question every season: What does Nick Sirianni actually do for the Eagles? Sirianni is a former wide receiver-turned-offensive coordinator that hasn’t called plays since the first half of his debut season as the head coach in Philadelphia. Therefore, many can’t comprehend how he actually helps an absurdly talented roster assembled by Eagles general manager Howie Roseman.

Yet following the departure of former Eagles All-Pro wide receiver A.J. Brown, it’s time to put some respect on Sirianni’s name. Since Brown was traded to the New England Patriots, plenty of rumors have emerged regarding his frustrations in Philadelphia. One rumor mentions that Brown’s frustration dated all the way back to 2023, just his second season with the Eagles and Sirianni’s third.

Despite Brown’s rumored unhappiness, Sirianni managed to keep his team focused on the ultimate goal. While Eagles star quarterback Jalen Hurts is known for saying “keep the main thing, the main thing,” Sirianni seemingly also embodies that phrase. Philadelphia’s focus never wavered in the face of the drama and conflict that may (or may not) have been taking place away from the football field.

While Sirianni may not call plays, he has certainly created a winning culture in Philadelphia. That isn’t always the case, especially with the offensive geniuses that many have been clamoring for in Philadelphia. For example, just look at former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel.

He is regarded as a mastermind that some of Philadelphia’s fans adore because of the unique, explosive offensive scheme that he utilized in Miami. Yet in four seasons as the Dolphins head coach, Miami went 35-33 and lost their only two playoff games. The locker room was reportedly a mess and dealt with conflict, both publicly and behind closed doors.

The truth is that not every elite play-caller has what it takes to be a head coach in the NFL. There’s more to being a head coach than just X’s and O’s, which is incredibly hard to quantify from the outside looking in. All we see from Sirianni is his sideline antics and seemingly an arrogant personality. Yet it’s becoming clearer that he is so much more than that in Philadelphia.

Sirianni is a vulnerable, self-aware leader that isn’t afraid to have tough conversations. He has publicly fallen on the sword for his players, even when he knew that he wasn’t actually at fault. He swallowed his pride and gave up play-calling early in his tenure with the Eagles to do what was best for the team. That change has led to a revolving door of offensive coordinators in Philadelphia, yet he has survived through it all.

This offseason, Sirianni reportedly led an exhaustive search for a new offensive coordinator, as he moved on from his close friend Kevin Patullo. The Eagles ultimately decided to hire first-year offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, who Sirianni is seemingly giving more control to than any other play-caller that he’s worked with in Philadelphia. That’s not an easy decision for many people to make in the NFL, just ask former Eagles head coach Doug Pederson.

In July of 2020, Jim Trotter wrote an article for NFL.com where he spoke to eight star players and asked them to list the three most important qualities in a successful head coach. Honesty was a quality that was listed more than any other. Sirianni has often talked about the tough, honest conversations that he has to have with players. Yet Sirianni’s most impressive quality may be his honesty with himself.

Once you’re one of only 32 people that can hold the title that you’re in, it’s easy to get full of yourself. Especially in Sirianni’s case, when he’s never missed the playoffs and has the best winning percentage among active head coaches in the NFL. Yet he continues to live by one of his key phrases that he said early in Philadelphia:

“You can’t be great without the greatness of others.”

It’s true, Sirianni works alongside one of the best general managers in all of professional sports. It’s true, Sirianni has worked with a loaded roster and several eventual Hall of Fame players. But do you know what else is true? Nick Sirianni is pretty damn great too.