Nick Sirianni
Q. Who has been your mentor in your career, and what would be the key in order to stop Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes next Sunday?
NICK SIRIANNI: A lot of mentors that I’ve had, starting with my dad, who was one of my coaches, my brothers. My mom wasn’t one of my coaches, but definitely one of my mentors. And then, [former Mount Union Football Head Coach] Larry Kehres, [former NFL Head Coach] Frank Reich, big mentors for me as far as the coaching profession goes.
To stop Patrick Mahomes? We’ll have to be on our game. We’ll have to tackle well, we’ll have to get off blocks well, we’ll have to rush well. We’ll have to be on the same page. He obviously presents a lot of challenges. He’s a phenomenal football player and presents a lot of challenges, so we’ll have to be at the top of our game.
Q. The Eagles have a lot of fans in Mexico, and they support you and RB Saquon Barkley, QB Jalen Hurts, all the players. Can you give a message to all the people in México that really support you?
NICK SIRIANNI: Well, thank you for all the support there. That means a lot to us. I know when I was at media night, somebody gave me–I think from Mexico–gave me a bunch of letters. I haven’t looked through them all yet, but we appreciate the support and thank you to Mexico.
Q. Going back to the idea that a lot of players have used the Super Bowl loss as motivation, what’s your messaging been this week so players can use it but also are staying within themselves and aren’t chasing the past?
NICK SIRIANNI: Obviously that makes for a good story, all that. But that is a different team, a different time. I think one thing we talk a lot about is embracing adversity and how adversity shapes you into the person that you are.
So, all our setbacks, including the 2022 end of the season there, we use to help shape us into who we are. It’s about embracing adversity and growing not only the good things that happen but also the bad things that happen because again, like I said, that just shapes the person, the player, the coach you are.
Q. You started off your head coaching career calling plays in 2021, and you haven’t since then. What about being a head coach is important outside of calling plays, which has allowed you to have success going to two Super Bowls in three years, being able to oversee the operation and put an emphasis on building a culture?
NICK SIRIANNI: There’s a lot, obviously, to do during the game as far as managing a football game and all the things that go into that with the decisions that go into that and two-minute football, four-minute football, fourth down decisions. Everything that goes there. And so, on game day, that’s what I’m focused on. As far as during the week and things like that, still go to a lot of different meetings and talk through a lot of the game planning with the offense.
It’s about setting the culture. It’s about being able to go to different things, being able to if a player needs you, to be able to step out of a meeting to be able to meet with that player. There are a lot of different things that go into it. Calling plays is one portion of it that some coaches do and some coaches don’t. So, that’s just the mode that I have.
Q. Will you tell me a little bit about the importance of reacquiring S C.J. Gardner-Johnson as part of your secondary, especially in light of his six interceptions this season?
NICK SIRIANNI: The play on the field speaks for itself. He does a phenomenal job. I think he’s one of our great tacklers that we have. We’ve got a lot of good tacklers, and he does a great job of setting the tone with how he tackles. Obviously, he gets the ball away, like he has a special ability to take the football away. I think about the Dallas game, the second time we played Dallas at home this year, and the interception that he made to put us up 7-0 early in the game. So, he has a special ability there.
But what I love about him is his energy, his love for football, his love for his teammates. He’s got unlimited amount of energy, and that’s contagious. You get around him and you can’t have a bad day. He’s going to make sure that you’re up and ready to go for practice through the different ways that he does it. Love having him back on this football team. He’s been a major part of our success and why we’re here right now.
Q. You’ve had the privilege of working with a lot of great athletes over your career. You mentioned yesterday being emotional on the sidelines, excited a lot, and it reminds me of someone you had the pleasure of working with, former NFL QB Philip Rivers. Can you talk about the bond you’ve had with him, your evolution as a coach alongside him, and what he’s meant to you as a person on and off the field?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, I was with him for two stints, for five years with the Chargers and then one year with the Colts. I was with Philip for six years. Man, did he make me a better coach.
Why do I say that? When I was his position coach, I had to dig and claw and scratch just to find one nugget to give him a week that he hasn’t seen, right. Because he has seen everything. He’s been through everything.
And so, it just made you just make sure you had to be on everything because he had seen it already, and then what nugget could you get him to help him during the week there, and it really made me even better of a coach just because of the detail that I had to have coaching him.
His passion for the game of football and his teammates, same thing, was incredible. He was an incredible player. I still get a chance to talk to him a couple times every other month or so. He meant a lot to me as a coach. The good player– I think [Defensive Coordinator] Vic [Fangio] said it the other day, I don’t know how exactly he said it, but good players keep you employed in this league.
The secret to being a good coach is having good players, so I was really grateful for the time. I’ve been very fortunate to be around very good quarterbacks. [QB] Jalen [Hurts], Phillip, [former NFL QBs] Andrew Luck, Matt Castle. Great experience I had with him. [Patriots QB] Jacoby Brissett, same thing. But I have had an opportunity to be around a lot of good quarterbacks and learn how they think and everything like that. So, he was awesome and meant a lot to me as I got to coach him.
Q. Got to marvel at your medical staff, I’m talking about DE Brandan Graham. The fact that he tore his triceps, had surgery and he’s prepared to play in the big game is stunning to me. I guess a two-part question; is he going to be wearing that Rob Gronkowski brace on his forearm? And B, close your eyes and tell us what would it be like for him to get a strip sack and hoist the Lombardi trophy?
NICK SIRIANNI: We will see where he is at the end of the week. I know Philly media is looking at me like, ‘You better answer that the same way you answer all injury questions throughout the year.’
We’ll see where he is by the end of the week. If he’s able to be out there with us, it would mean a lot to this football team, just his leadership. Obviously, his ability and his play and the things that he can do, but it would mean a lot for us out there to be able to make — if he’s out there, I know he’ll make plays that help us win the football game.
Q. Speaking of Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio, he comes in here with a lot of new guys, he had been here as a consultant and now he’s obviously the DC. What have you learned about him and his wizardry over the years and his ability to turn defenses around in such short order?
NICK SIRIANNI: He’s got great experience. When you talk about coaches, sometimes you’re like, ‘He’s been a good coach for years.’ He’s been a good coach for decades, which is impressive. He’s had an unbelievable career and done so many good things, and just so grateful that he’s on this staff. I think that he has a standard of how it’s supposed to look and holds the guys to that standard.
He’s not afraid to tell you what he thinks if you don’t meet the standard and praise you if you do meet the standard. There was a clip I saw of the guys kind of imitating him. I think that imitation is a form of flattery. The guys like him. The guys like the fact that he can make them a better football player and help them reach their goals as players.
He’s been awesome, just the way he’s connected with the guys in that matter, you can see it in that matter, and just the way he’s called the defense. He’s great on game day. Brings so much experience. Helps me on some other things, too, with some things if I have a question. It’s nice to have a former head coach there on staff with me, and so he’s meant a lot to this team, and he’s been awesome this year.
Q. The Eagles are the first team since the ’92, ’93 Dallas Cowboys to enter this game with the top-ranked defense and a rushing game post over 2,000 yards. Is there any added pressure with such an elite defense and a strong rushing attack to win this game?
NICK SIRIANNI: Obviously, we’re going to do everything we can possibly do to put ourselves in position this week to win the game. That means the way we prep, the way we prepare. There’s always pressure in this game. Have you been to Philly?
I tell this story sometimes about one of my first games there as the head coach, and we’re in a preseason game, and — it was a preseason game, and they were booing at halftime.
I kind of remember getting in the car– and my wife adapted very quickly to Philly, I’ve told this story before — us coaches only have so many stories and we recycle them and tell them over and over again.
But I got in the car, and I’m like, ‘Can you believe that? They were booing us at halftime.’ It was the second preseason game against the Patriots.
She said, ‘Well, what did you give them to cheer about?’
I was like, ‘That was fair.’
There’s pressure in all professional sports. We’re used to that. We’re built for it. So, what we need to do is control the things– like we can’t control what the outside noise or anything like that. All we can control is our habits and that’s what we’ll try to do this week to try to put ourselves in position to succeed this weekend.
Q. Can you remember the exact moment when you knew you had officially gotten RB Saquon Barkley, and obviously you would have watched his film as a player. Were you aware of what you were getting in terms of a teammate and a leader?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, it’s very obvious when you watch the tape how good of a player he is, right. But the things that he has that he brings to our football team as far as his leadership, his work ethic. He’s an awesome teammate. Those are the things that make him very special.
And that’s pretty special that I’m saying that even more after you see him jumping over guys backwards and all that stuff.
Seeing him on tape, seeing him in person, having to play against him two times a year in-division, a lot of times at the beginning of the year, I was like, ‘Man, this is exactly what I saw on tape when we were like, hey, here is how you’ve got to try to tackle this guy.’ I remember how many times he was on the Wednesday morning, ‘Hey, get ready for the opponent,’ tape. Like, ‘Hey, you’ve got to make sure you close the space.’ All the things that we talk about with tackling was really emphasized with him.
He’s an awesome teammate, an awesome person. I can’t say enough good things. I can spend the rest of this press conference talking about what Saquon has meant to this football team and not even talk about anything on the field.
Q. Wondering if you can talk a little bit about DT Jordan Davis’s impact this season, both his impact and his growth?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, he continues to get better. He’s been in great shape all season. I think that’s why you see him continuing to get better. I feel like every time you guys ask me about somebody, I kind of start talking about how good of a teammate he is. This guy is infectious around the team and what he brings. Someone asked me the other day who the funniest person on your team was and I’m like, ‘Slay,’ right? Slay is up there, but Jordan Davis is pretty funny, and he just brings so much to the team as far as his personality, his play out there. He’s massive. It’s hard to move him. He had a big sack last game that we played. He just continues to get better, and he’s been very important to this defense.
Q. Let’s go back to RB Saquon Barkley. What’s it like for you to witness and coach a running back, obviously having an historic season, who is exponentially getting better and better and is stronger, faster, right now than at any point in the season as you head into a game like this?
NICK SIRIANNI: I think when we talk about the game of football, you can’t be great without the greatness of others. You’re seeing Saquon be able to completely shine with the offensive line that’s blocking for him, and Jalen, the things that he does with holding the back side as far as his ability to run.
He’s around all these great, great players and a great offensive line, and you’re seeing him just shine big time.
As far as what you asked about with him being in great shape. He’s got himself in great shape and has worked so hard at his body, and it’s a tribute to our trainers, our strength staff, our doctors, our nutritionists, ofkeeping him where he needs to be there and maintaining where he needs to be. We manage that throughout — I think there was a lot of — I don’t hear the questions any more that I got early in the year of, like, ‘Can Saquon take this many carries all game? What if he does this, what if this happens, what if that happens?’ Then my response to that always was, ‘Well, what we’re going to do is we’re going to try to win every single game, no matter how we need to win the game, we’ll try to do that.’
And this year, it’s been a lot of carries for Saquon. You manage that in between games. So, maybe he has a Wednesday that’s not quite as rigorous for him or Thursday or Friday, and you manage it there.
So, again, great efforts, obviously, first and foremost by Saquon himself to have his body firing like it is right now, and then also all the people that are involved.
Again, this game is awesome, and you can’t be great without the greatness of others, and that speaks in every aspect of the organization. That’s how we think and that’s why I think you see our football team– when you talk to our football team, hopefully you guys are seeing this because I see it very clearly. They are just talking about how much they mean to each other; everybody means to each other. I think that’s the secret to good teams is they don’t want to let each other down.
Q. As a follow-up to that, the phrase, ‘Can’t be great without the greatness of others,’ you’ve said it to us just about every day but you didn’t start saying it until late September. Is there a story or background behind that phrase, and how have you seen it resonate with the guys?
NICK SIRIANNI: I think at the end of the day, it’s just the truths of football. We talk about tough, detailed, together an awful lot.
If I said to a group of people that didn’t even know anything about football, ‘Hey, the toughest team is going to win.’ Well, yeah. ‘Hey, the most detailed team, making the fewest mistakes is going to win.’ Yeah, that makes sense. ‘Hey, the most together team in this awesome team sport is going to have the best chance of win.’ And those are all the truths of football.
At this point of the year, I don’t have any new coaching points for them. It’s not like I saved something for this moment. We just keep going back to the truths of football, and one of the major truths of football is that I can’t be great without the greatness of others. That applies so much in this game.
It’s the best team sport there is. There’s no other team sport like it, and you need the success and the — everyone doing their job. As Jalen says, everyone checking their box, if you’re going to be successful as a football team. It can’t be that one guy does it and another guy doesn’t do it. That doesn’t work. It’s 11 people working as one. It’s 11 people checking their box. It’s 11 people knowing they can’t be great without the greatness of others.