Nick Sirianni

Q. Nick, this is obviously the last day of the off-season program. Now that it’s coming to a conclusion, is there anything different you did with maybe [RB] Saquon [Barkley] specifically in terms of limiting how many reps you got to practice or anything different considering all the touches you had last year? (Eliot Shorr-Parks)

Nick Sirianni: Yeah, we always think about every one of our players individually, the reps that they’re getting, what’s good for them, how their body’s feeling. I’ve said this before, that takes everybody, right?

That takes myself, the players talking to me, the players talking to the strength staff and the trainers where we are. So yeah, everybody had individualized plans like they always do. I mean, and we kind of monitored everybody as we went. We got a lot of good work in, Saquon got a lot of good work in and yeah, I’m pleased with how the off-season program has went. We got another day obviously today. I’m looking forward to that.

Q. Speaking of Saquon, he came out and said that he could at any time just call it a career like [Hall of Fame RB] Barry Sanders did. What would your reaction to that? (Ed Kracz)

Nick Sirianni: Yeah, I guess anybody could do that, right? I just know he’s got a lot of good football left in him. Again, I have interactions with these guys every single day and I’m excited that he’s on our football team and he’ll be on our football team for the 2025 season and I really don’t let myself get wrapped up into anything else beyond that, except for the day that we’re in and trying to get ready for this practice and obviously handle all those things as they come. Yeah, as long as I’m the head coach here, I’d always want to Saquan Barkley on this football team. Obviously it means a lot to this football team and as a player and as a teammate.

Q. On the days we have been here RG Tyler Steen has gotten consistent work with the first team at right guard. Has that been the case on the days that we weren’t here? Is that kind of how you’re thinking about this following camp? (Zach Berman)

Nick Sirianni: Yeah, again, just I know we talked yesterday too, don’t have to make any of those decisions quite yet. We have a lot of football to practice, a lot of football to play, and obviously a big part of the offensive line and the evaluation of the offensive line comes in pads. That doesn’t mean we’re not evaluating them like crazy right now, but a big part of that’s going to come when we put the pads on.

Q. Going back to Eliot’s question, what have you noticed about the way Saquon attacked the off-season, the condition he’s in and everything, after having such a huge load last year? (Martin Frank)

Nick Sirianni: The same the way I visioned or saw him [RB Saquon Barkley] attack last off-season. That’s what’s great about this football team is you see the same humbleness and the hunger that I saw going into the last season, and that’s Saquon, that’s all the players on this football team. They’re working and we’ve had a good off-season.

Q. In terms of last year, DB Cooper DeJean over the summer had a tweak while he was going back home and injuries happen with rookies in the summer. As you’re about to let them go, is there anything that you’re trying to get across in terms of how they manage? (Brooks Kubena)

Nick Sirianni: Being in great, great, great shape. We really pride ourselves on that, that you can’t play with great detail and you can’t play with great physicality, you can’t play with relentless effort if you’re not in great shape.

So they’ll have, obviously we all have conditioning tests. They’ll have conditioning tests when they get back, be in great shape, have your body, if your body’s supposed to weigh this, that’s what it needs to weigh and make sure you can run all day because again, the thing you notice the most when you’re not in good shape, one, injuries happen.

The other thing that happens is your detail slips and in every phase the detail has to be on point and you can’t do that unless you’re in great shape. So that’s always my key message to them is they got to be working their butts off. There’s no substitute for working hard and there’s no shortcut around it. You got to be ready for the season and get your body ready for the training camp and then the season

Q. Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio said that LB Jihaad Campbell won’t be ready until sometime in August of practice. What are the expectations for him? (Jeff McLane)

Nick Sirianni: Yeah, we will see. I mean, I don’t ever want to put a timetable on anybody. Some guys get through things quicker than others and vice versa. So no timetable on that as far as when he’ll be ready. I know he’s doing everything he can to get himself ready, and the second part of that question was?

Q. Just the expectations for LB Jihaad Campbell based upon that we saw DB Cooper DeJean, how it affected him? (Jeff McLane)

Nick Sirianni: Making sure that he gets all the mental reps that he possibly can get at this particular time. I think we’re probably the only sport that practices more than they play, and then also that has more walkthrough even than you have practice reps.

So he’s going to be getting a lot of those opportunities to watch walkthrough, to watch practice and get those mental reps because as a guy is not in, obviously you’re not working the fundamentals of block destruction or tackling or how to take the football away, but what you’re trying to make sure is that they have the mental part of the game down. Those are things that he can do in the film room.

Those are things he can do out in the field when he is watching practice. So that’s his mission right now and our goal for him right now.

Q. Do you have a better feel for LB Jihaad Campbell as an inside linebacker than an edge rusher right now? (Bob Brookover)

Nick Sirianni: Yeah, again, looking forward to getting our hands on him and when he is able to start practicing. But he’s a good football player. We drafted him because he is a really, really good football player and excited to have him in whatever role that he’s going to execute and we know that he’s versatile and is able to do multiple things.

Q. You have had a different play caller almost every year you’ve been here. Is this a little more seamless this year because Offensive Coordinator Kevin Patullo’s been here, and how is it going installing the offense with the players and adjustments? (John Clark)

Nick Sirianni: Yeah, I think there’s always a transition with a new guy calling the plays, but I don’t want to compare it from one to the other or anything like that. I’m just focused on where we are right now.

But Kevin’s doing a great job. Kevin’s obviously had the opportunity to be in front of the room. One of the many things that I think he’s doing really well, he only had an opportunity when [Colts Head Coach] Shane [Steichen] or [Commanders Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Pass Game Coordinator] Brian [Johnson] and [Saints Head Coach] Kellen [Moore] were the coordinators to present in front of the room a section or two. I just think he does a phenomenal job teaching the room when he’s the main guy up here doing that.

He’s got the player’s attention, he’s got a great plan, he’s got a great process, and that’s where I’ve noticed that he’s done a really nice job of and can’t say enough about how good of a job I think he’s doing to this point and he’s got a relationship with these players. That’s probably the main thing maybe that you’re talking about, John, is that he’s got a relationship with these players.

Whereas Kellen came in and had to build relationships, Kevin’s been around these players for going on five years now. I see Kevin pushing those guys out there, being able to get those guys going, whether it’s a high five to him or hey ‘get your butt going,’ because he has that relationship with the guys that he’s been building. He’s always been a guy that has had strong relationships in the building. That’s a strong point of his as well, and that’s suiting him very well. Right now.

Q. We haven’t talked to you since the tush push vote. What was your reaction to that and then also how did you feel about the Cardinals and Cols specifically voting against it? (Bo Wulf)

Nick Sirianni: Yeah, it passed and didn’t want to go too much past that and were ready to be able to continue to grow that play. Excited about being able to continue to grow that play. We have a lot of work to do to continue that success.

It just doesn’t happen. The same work that we needed to put into it last year, we’ll even have to be better because we know teams are going to focus on it to try to stop it and we’ll even have to be better at how we coach it and how we perform it and how we execute. So that’s really try not to focus too much on things that I can’t control and only focus on the things that you can. That’s our process right now to think about the ways that we’re going to get to get better at running that play and the compliments that come off of it.

Q. We talked to LB Nolan Smith last week and he kind of said he thought he was ready to strike. (John McMullen)

Nick Sirianni: He’s always ready to strike. I love Nolan Smith. He is a tough dude.

Q. How do you sort of weigh maybe holding LB Nolan Smith back, do you think that way, or if he’s clear, he’s clear? (John McMullen)

Nick Sirianni: Yeah, we have great people in this building. It takes everybody. We have great doctors, we have great strength staff and training staff that helps me know that, when they say ‘he’s ready to go,’ he is ready to go. I’ve heard a couple of your guys questions about, well, ‘how do you pull this guy back?’ when they’re ready to go? They’re ready to go.

Everybody has an individualized plan to make sure that they’re as healthy as they possibly can be. But the thing that we always have to remember, and you guys always have to remember, is that to put yourself in position to win games, it takes what it takes.

You have to put the work in. You don’t save anybody for Sunday. Now there’s points in the year where you do, but the guys need to work. They have to work to get better at football. You get better at football because you’re practicing football to get better at it. So obviously we have an in-depth plan for everybody.

Obviously major conversations about everybody, but when they’re ready to go and they give us a green light, they got to go. That’s what our players want too. We got guys that love to work hard and that love to the process and the grind, and when he’s ready to go, it’ll go.

Q. This off season, have you researched at all the difference between coming off a championship win, a championship loss, from a leadership perspective? I know you’ve had a lot of conversations with guys? (Tim McManus)

Nick Sirianni: I focused on sustained success. What were the common denominators of different coaches that I talked to or players that I talked to, or [Olympian] Michael Johnson, other sports that we talked to, what were the common denominators of sustained success? Without getting into everything, I think there’s two sides of it.

The main thing is it takes what it takes, right? You’re going to have to be able to work extremely hard and you’re going to have to be able to overcome adversity. You always have to be right in the moment of where you are. As I’ve done research and talked to these guys and we’ve had an element of sustained success here as well, but you can have two ends of it.

You rest on your laurels, you rest on your past accomplishments and you’re not here working or you’re looking too far ahead of how do we do this again. We’re focused on our process and how we get better every single day. If your process is right, then it gives you the best chance to win. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to win, but it gives you the best chance to win. Our goal is just to focus and is to focus on where we are at this particular moment, to put the work in, to overcome the adversity and the rest will take care of itself.