Nick Sirianni

Q. I’d like to know with the change in coordinators this season. The Eagles offense was more static last season regarding motions and so on. Thinking about WR DeVonta Smith back in Alabama using him in motions and jet sweeps and so on, could we expect this season with Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore calling the shots more using WR DeVonta Smith in motions and so on?

NICK SIRIANNI: I think one thing that is an advantage is that no one really knows what we’re going to do. So, to answer that question would be a little bit of a competitive advantage that we have. They have some, too, because their defensive coordinator is new, as well.

But I’m really looking forward to the things that Kellen brings to this offense and to this football team. Kellen is a great coordinator. He has a great football mind. Just so excited to have him on this staff.

Got to watch Kellen from afar as far as in the division with the Dallas Cowboys, and he’s as advertised. It’s been awesome to get with him and all the things that he’s bringing to this football team.

Q. Prior to the game, some Eagles and Packers players have said some things about the lack of security in Brazil. I don’t know about misinformation, if they don’t have the knowledge of playing here in Brazil. I want to know if there was a briefing with the Eagles to the players talking about protocols of security here in Brazil and if there’s really a concern about the franchise playing here.

NICK SIRIANNI: I think ever since we’ve gotten here, it’s just everything has been world class. The welcoming, the people at the hotel have been awesome, the locker rooms. We know how passionate this country is about their sports, and we’re so excited to be here and playing in front of — we like to think that Philadelphia is the best sports town in America, and we know that Brazil is a great sports country, and we’re just getting to know more and more.

I think what we try to do is try to keep everything as the same as possible, whether we’re playing — I think that’s been the most — to kind of clear that up a little bit, how we go about our business when we play in Philadelphia should be the same way we go about our business here.

So, I think it’s more about – there are unknowns with any city you go to. So, it’s just really that we’re here to do our job to the best of our abilities and play a football game and win a football game. That’s our only mission. That’s our only goal. That’s what we’re here for is to keep things as normal as possible.

But like I said, everything since we’ve gotten here has just been first class, and we’re so appreciative to this country and look forward to playing in front of the fans tomorrow.

Q. Also you have a difference of weather in Brazil compared to Philadelphia, its considerably warmer, hotter here, even at night, and also here in southeast Sᾶo Paulo, we’ve had really dry weather the past couple of weeks. Is there concern about that, as well? How are you preparing your team to perform to the best of their abilities given the conditions?

NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, good question. It gets hot in the northeast of the United States in the summer, so we’ve been dealing with the heat that we’ve had. Through training camp, we’ve had some good hot days. We believe we’re ready for that as far as just the dryness. Again, we’re doing everything that we possibly can do to adapt our bodies in the short time that we’re here.

But the way we went about training camp, the way we went about practice day-in and day-out has us prepared because in September in the United States, you’re going to get some really hot games there, as well. Sometimes that’s in Philadelphia, but sometimes that’s in California, sometimes that’s in Florida, which will prepare us.

I think we have a game maybe week 3 or week 4 in Florida, which this will prepare us for that, as well. So, we’re excited.

Again, can’t be more excited to be here. We’re bummed, obviously, we don’t get to play our opener in front of our fans in Philadelphia, but we’re so excited. This is my first international trip as far as a coach, so I’m so excited to go out there into the stadium, see the stadium, and then play here in front of the great fans tomorrow.

Q. You said about training camp; what was the difference in the focus on the work you did with the players to ensure that everything went fine with this travel and being in Brazil at the beginning of the season, and what were the differences between the last training camp played the first game in the United States and now you’re playing in a Brazil, and what were the differences between those two training camps?

NICK SIRIANNI: The training camps were similar. Every year, you go about and you kind of go through a process, ‘Hey, how did this go in this first — in the training camp, and what can we do better?’ So that’s always a part of the process of things that you do.

To perfect your process, you have to know exactly what the process is. So, we kind of have our process and then again, what can we do better off of that. We made some slight changes to training camp this year as far as things that we were doing.

This has a little bit of a feel as far as the travel to the Super Bowl we played in in 2022, again, the way the travel is a little different. Now, this flight was longer. It was a 10-hour flight as opposed to the five-hour flight to Arizona, but there are some similarities here. This kind of reminds me of the Super Bowl as far as the press conferences that kind of were going on beforehand and being able to interact with different reporters and stuff like that.

But at the end of the day our training camp is there for us to really establish our habits of what we want to be as a football team, and what we want to be as a football team is a fundamentally sound team that played with a lot of detail. So, that’s perfecting your tackling and that’s perfecting your catching and your ball security and how you take away the football.

Then also getting in great shape. Training camp is meant to do this, to bring your guys closer together. The things that they go through, the tough practices that they go through in the heat, the tough practices and the long days and the monotony of the days, that tends to bring a team together, so that was our goal through any training camp but specifically this one.

Football in my opinion — all right, this is my opinion — is the greatest team sport there is. So, it does require guys loving each other, guys getting closer to each other, and I think that’s what we’ve had. That has a lot to do with the people that we have on this team. We’ve got good guys on this football team that really enjoy being part of a team and growing their camaraderie as a team.

Q .You said about the Super Bowl and the similarities, but about the crowd, because it’s a home game but you don’t have the home field advantage —

NICK SIRIANNI: Okay, I’m going to give away — I’m going to say to the Brazilian crowd, we’re so excited to be here. Make sure you’re as loud as possible when Green Bay has the ball, and then when the Eagles have the ball make sure – [Flapping arms as wings] this is a sign to be – ‘Fly Eagles Fly’ and quiet down a little bit.

Okay, keep going.

Q. It’s like the Super Bowl, do you have to maintain the team’s concentration even when you are on the attack?

NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, good question. We’ve got to be ready for it to be loud at all times. So, we’re prepared to play as if we’re playing a true home game. We’re prepared to play as if we’re playing a true away game.

That’s part of our process is just — again, you try to do everything you possibly can do to prepare your team to play in any condition, whether that’s raining, whether that’s weather, whether that’s crowd noise. So, we’ve prepared for that.

We’ve prepared for that through training camp. We’ve prepared for that specifically this week, both offensively and defensively. But again, looking forward to the excitement of it, and we’ll have to be ready for there to be crowd noise at unexpected moments. So, we’re excited about it, though.

Q. You are a very passionate guy. We all saw that in the Super Bowl. My question is what is the emotional impact on you starting the season outside your country in a land that the NFL is setting foot for the first time?

NICK SIRIANNI: I think it’s so awesome. This game is awesome. So, the fact that we can spread this game to the rest of the world, I take a lot of pride in that.

But when the lights come on — like one thing about American football is this. When we all grew up playing football, we all grew up playing on Friday nights under the ‘Friday night lights,’ and we get to do that on Friday night. We might not be in Jamestown, New York, or Houston, Texas, or Cleveland, Ohio, but we’re in Brazil and it’s still going to be Friday night, just like we all grew up playing this game. I’ve got goosebumps really thinking about tomorrow night with the lights coming on.

My nephew, Joey, he’s a sophomore in high school, he’s going to be making his first varsity start in a game at wide receiver in Jamestown, New York, so I’m so excited about football starting everywhere, and we get to play the second game of the NFL season under the lights on a Friday night. That’s awesome to me.

Just the emotion of football, it’s one of the reasons I love this game so much. I have so many good memories of this game, so many good relationships that have happened because of this game, and look forward to the people of Brazil and the world to be able to experience what we got to experience growing up under their first game being under Friday night lights.

Q. What happened with LB Devin White? How big of a loss is that? And what do you think of the younger linebackers that you have behind him like LB Nakobe Dean? (John Clark)

NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, Devin tweaked his ankle the other day in practice. The guys are ready. The guys behind him are ready. They’re ready to go, and excited about the opportunity for them.

Again, it’ll be a first opportunity for all of us playing in this game, first chance we get to go in 2024.

Q. In the past days, three players of your team were worried about playing in Brazil. They cited criminality about reasons to be worried about playing in Brazil. Was that one of the topics before coming?

NICK SIRIANNI: Like I said, ever since we got here, it’s just been first class everything, from the people at the hotel, the airport, to the stadium, getting to see the stadium.

I think really at the end of the day we came here to do a job. Our job is not to come and sightsee or anything like that. Our job is to come here and play a football game against a very good opponent in the Green Bay Packers and try to win this football game. Our job is to focus on just that and not anything outside.

But again, I think you ask any of our players, and what I’m saying right now is just everything has been so first class since the moment we’ve stepped foot in this country, and we’re just very appreciative and look forward to playing in front of your fans.

Q. Are you ill? (Jeff McLane)

NICK SIRIANNI: I’m not, but I lost my voice. I don’t know.

Q. I know you probably won’t say LB Nakobe Dean starting, but if he is the guy, what has he done in training camp to put himself in position to again be the Mike linebacker? (Jeff McLane)

NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, I think he’s had a good camp. He’s been consistent throughout camp.

Again, you’re right, I’m not going to say who’s going to play here or who’s going to play there, but Nakobe has definitely shined throughout camp with his leadership, his play making ability, his tackling.

I’m really excited for Nakobe’s opportunity tomorrow. He’s a really good player. He’s battled some injuries throughout, but we’ve sure as heck been excited about him from the moment he stepped into this building. Look forward to an opportunity that he gets tomorrow to play in the season opener.

Q. Wonder if you can reflect — you reflected on the Friday night lights mentality. I wonder if you can offer any reflections that you may have personally or the players may have on the opportunity to represent the brand, to represent the NFL, the Eagles and the city of Philadelphia in front of this audience that’s never seen an NFL game before? (Brian Taff)

NICK SIRIANNI: First, I’d like to ask who’s the big game in Philadelphia this weekend on Friday night? Do we know? Who’s the big high school game in Philadelphia this weekend; do we have any idea? You guys just cover Eagles.

Anyway, yeah, just excited about the opportunity to play. Like I said, I’ve never been a part of — my 13, 14, however many years I’ve been in the NFL, I’ve never been to an international game, so this is a first for me.

But again, know we’re here to do a job and try to keep everything as normal as possible.

But excited to play in front of these fans, and yeah, again, like I answered a question earlier, just to be able to — the game that I love so much that gives me goosebumps to think about the Friday night lights, to be able to experience that, and for people all over the world to be able to experience that, not just in the United States but in Brazil and all over the world, the people that will be watching this game.

To me, it’s the best team sport there is. You learn so much about life. You have so many great relationships because of it. Hopefully they get to see a great game tomorrow and they fall in love with the sport the way a lot of us have, probably all of us that are covering it or playing in it or coaching in it have fallen in love with the sport.

Q. You just mentioned trying to preserve as much normalcy as possible. We don’t usually hear from you the day before a game or from players the day before a game. How does the process of today change, and how are you trying to keep it normal? (E.J. Smith)

NICK SIRIANNI: Sure, you keep everything the same, but also you try to plan everything out in football, too, but you know things change. Again, it goes back to controlling what you can control. I’m taking pride in being able to talk to everybody here today. Is it different than my normal routine? Sure, but that’s not something that you can control, and again, it’s the way life plays, it’s the way football plays out, it’s the way life plays out, and that’s our message to the guys and to myself, even reminding myself, is when you go through adversity, when you go through good times, it doesn’t matter this or that. You’ve got to focus on the next, whatever the next is and the things that you can control. You can’t worry about the past. You can’t worry about in the present things that may or may not be — that are not in your control.

That’s true mental toughness, having the same attitude, effort and energy no matter what the circumstances are, and that’s in good times, that’s in bad times, that’s when your process is right on, that’s when your process is right off, that’s when the defense or the offense is doing exactly what you think they’re going to do, that’s when they’re doing the opposite of what you think they’re going to do. It’s handling all those things and handling them all with grace and just the ability to say, hey, we’re going to do our best and control the things that we can.

Q. With the long flight and the trip in general, are you trying to turn this into a team-bonding experience for your team, and how do you do that? (Dave Zangaro)

NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, every opportunity you get to hang with the guys, you try to turn into that. You try as much as you possibly can to turn that into the lunches together, the dinners together. We have a ping-pong table there. Those guys are going to be playing ping-pong together, PlayStation, whatever they’re going to do, play cards together.

This is a great opportunity for that. I heard some guys had some great conversations on the plane yesterday. I got to sit next to [Offensive Coordinator] Kellen [Moore]. We had some good conversations on the plane yesterday. Our sons play on the same pee-wee football team, and they had a scrimmage yesterday, so we were able to get some updates from our wives and talk back and forth about that.

We’ve got to let Jacob throw the ball a little bit more when he drops back to pass.

Anyway, it’s a great opportunity for that bonding time, and sometimes you get that on the road in New England, sometimes you get that on the road wherever, sometimes you get that on the road in Brazil. So we’re looking forward to the time we get to spend together here because again, you’ve heard me say this a million times, it’s not the best groups of individuals that win football games and win championships; it’s the best teams. Part of being a team is that brotherhood, and that’s one of the special things about football.

Q. You talked about some of the expectations that you have for the guys here, the Friday night lights. A lot of expectations come with being a first-round pick. How is CB Quinyon Mitchell handling the expectations set forth by you guys in what is typically a complicated defense with Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio? (Jane Slater)

NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, it goes back to controlling the things that you can control. When you’re a first-round pick, the expectations are high. Shoot, when you went to the Super Bowl the year before, the expectations are high. How are you handling those things? It’s like you can get lost in the expectations sometimes. But what’s so important is that you just try to control what you can control so you can get better each day and truly enjoy the journey.

Again, this is one of the reasons you get into this is the camaraderie, the Friday night lights, all these different things, and truly enjoying the journey. That’s what I’ve seen — you’ve heard the older guys talk about Q [Quinyon Mitchell]; they really have taken a liking to him. I see [CB Darius] Slay joking around with him quite often, and I think he’s enjoying being an Eagle. You can ask him all those things. But Q has got a calm, confident demeanor about himself because he knows he’s prepared and he knows he’s put the work in, and he knows he’s a heck of a talent.

Excited about him to get his first opportunity tomorrow.

Q. You seem like you’re really excited about this. How is your Portuguese? (Jane Slater)

NICK SIRIANNI: You put me on the spot there. I don’t know any Spanish, I don’t know any Portuguese, I don’t know any French. I’m Italian, and I know zero Italian words, also.