Nick Sirianni Has Earned More Respect This Season

There were few people under more heat than Nick Sirianni coming into the 2024 NFL season. We had just witnessed the Eagles absolutely collapse under his watch last season. There was plenty of blame to go around, but the bulk of it was focused on him. Add it the off-season drama, and the slightly cold start, there was not a lot of respect going around for the Eagles Head Coach.

But now here we stand, with the Eagles 14-3, the 2 seed, and among the favorites to win it all. Just like there was a lot of blame to go around last year, there is a lot of credit to go around this year. Howie Roseman for building the roster. Vic Fangio for fixing the defense. Of course the players themselves for playing so well. But oddly, there is not much love going to the Coach.

Sirianni is way down the list in Coach of The Year Odds. He gets treated by some, both within the City and outside of it, as an afterthought. As if he is just along for the ride, and the rest of the team wins despite him.

But it is time to give him some credit too. While he deserved the criticism last year, he deserves praise for how things have gone so far this season. Especially for how he has helped turn around the culture of the team to one that handles adversity as well as they have handled it this season.

Last year's Eagles team fell apart after that loss to the 49ers. This year when they faced their most adversity, almost losing to the Panthers and the drama that followed, they not only rebounded, they came back a stronger team because of it. They have become one of the toughest teams in the league, and Nick Sirianni deserves credit for that.

The Best Show Ever talked about this exact subject on Tuesday. Here is what Tyrone Johnson had to say about Nick Sirianni deserving more love around the league.

Later in the same show, Tyrone and Ricky Bo talked to Barrett Brooks from NBC Sports Philly, and he echoed the same sentiment.

"All of this "you've got call plays to be a great head coach" that just started ten years ago. He was just a regular head coach back in the day. He can go in and he could facilitate game plans on the defensive side, special teams, and offense because he's that type of coach.

I'm really mad at the national media for doing it this way. They shouldn't. And I'm really mad that because the GM has done a great job in putting together the best team in the NFL that it kind of puts them in a position that they think he's lacking as far as his head coaching ability.

He built a culture there, and this is not a culture that was there before. This is his culture and he is just fine right now. He just has to go out there and show them. He'll be 1-1 this year with Super Bowls.

That's my guy, man. I was with him the first game when it was talk about him making these calls and he's too aggressive. I was with him back then because he believes in his players and his players believe in him."

Nick Sirianni has had his perplexing moments this season. He made some bad choices vs the Saints and Jaguars. He can still be a bit immature, see his argument with Zach Ertz. But it is impossible to argue with the results.

As it currently stands, he is 5th All-Time in winning percentage among Head Coaches. He has coached only 4 seasons, and 3 of the 4 people above him coached for over a decade, so the sample size still isn't there, but he is certainly on the right track. His 48 wins in those first 4 seasons are the second most ever in a coach's first 4 seasons.

He has also made the playoffs in all 4 seasons of his career, including a run to the Super Bowl. He is only the 6th head coach to ever do that in his first 4 seasons (Thank you to Rueben Frank for that stat). He has done so with 3 different sets of coordinators too.

All he does is win. You may not like his personality, you may find his press conferences unbearable, and he may sometimes act like a fool. But the results speak for themselves.

I was right there with his critics calling him out last year. I did not think they should bring him back after the way that season ended. I was annoyed by him several times this season. But I am admitting I was wrong. Nick Sirianni is a terrific head coach, and it is time people both locally, and nationally, give him the respect he has earned.

The Philadelphia Eagles will host the Green Bay Packers at Lincoln Financial Field in an NFC Wild Card Round playoff game on Sunday, January 12 at 4:30pm.

The spotlight will shine on Nick Sirianni and an Eagles team that’s taken the NFL by storm with a 12-1 record since their Week 5 bye. Jalen Hurts hasn’t played since Week 16, and his status will also consume the attention.

Related Content: Eagles Will Host Packers In The 1st Round Of The Playoffs

However, any Eagles fan who appreciates the playoff history of the franchise also has memories of showdowns against the Packers.

Past meetings include a distant NFL Championship Game memory, an unforgettable catch on fourth-and-26, and a heartbreaking victory for Aaron Rodgers on the way to his only Super Bowl.

NFL Championship Game
December 26, 1960
Franklin Field (Philadelphia, PA)
Eagles 17, Packers 13

A young Vince Lombardi found his way into Philadelphia Eagles history years before football fans ever heard of a Super Bowl or a Lombardi Trophy.

The second-year head coach helped the Packers clinch a spot in the NFL Championship Game against Buck Shaw and the Eagles after the 1960 season.

Philadelphia woke up early one day after their Christmas celebrations for a noon kickoff. The adjusted start time at Franklin Field on the campus of the University of Penn would prevent an early winter sunset from ruining a game played without modern lighting that’s now taken for granted.

Bart Starr helped the Packers to an early lead, but Norm Van Brocklin found Tommy McDonald for the first of two Eagles touchdowns that helped them take a 17-13 lead into the final minutes.

Feared linebacker Chuck Bednarik made his most iconic play just one month earlier by leveling Frank Gifford with an infamous bone crushing hit. However, Concrete Charlie made his most impactful play to seal the 1960 NFL Championship Game.

Starr faced do-or-die from the 22-yard line trailing by four with time for one final play. He threw to Jim Taylor with a head of steam, but Bednarik dragged the Packers fullback down at the nine. He played on both sides of the ball in a legendary performance (that he later criticized one-way NFL players for not matching).

Philadelphia sports media legend Bill Campbell proclaimed the Eagles the champions of the world.

Lombardi ultimately won all nine of his remaining career playoff games on his way into NFL allure. However, Philadelphia owned the day. The Eagles carried Buck Shaw off the field after their third championship in franchise history.

NFC Divisional Round
January 11, 2004
Lincoln Financial Field
Eagles 20, Packers 17

An ugly 2-3 start to the 2003 season had Philadelphia up in arms after a second straight NFC Championship Game exit. Donovan McNabb remained calm and fought through early-season struggles to lead a nine-game winning streak that helped the Eagles back to the top seed in the NFC.

The Eagles hosted Brett Favre and the Packers in a divisional round game on a bitter cold Sunday evening in Philadelphia after the 2003 season.

Favre threw a pair of touchdown passes to Robert Ferguson to springload the underdog Packers to a worrisome 14-0 lead. However, the early hole only set the stage for one of the greatest comebacks in Eagles history.

McNabb threw touchdowns to Duce Staley and Todd Pinkston to claw back and tie the game early in the fourth quarter.

The Packers took a late three-point lead and milked the fourth quarter clock, but Philadelphia’s defense held just enough to earn one more possession.

A two-minute offense that allows a 16-yard sack with only one timeout leaves the game in the hands of a miracle, but that’s exactly what the Eagles got.

McNabb lined up under center on fourth-and-26. He fired a strike over the middle to Freddie Mitchell in between two Green Bay defenders. A glaringly generous spot, the adrenaline of one of the unlikeliest plays in NFL history, and McNabb’s quick reaction to run and spike the ball eliminated any questions about whether Mitchell actually reached the sticks.

The Eagles drove into range for David Akers to send the game into overtime.

The best quarterbacks rack up career interception totals over long periods of time. It’s how the game works, and it’s a big reason why Brett Favre threw more pics than any quarterback in NFL history.

When he threw the backbreaker to Brian Dawkins in overtime, however, it was simply a terrible decision that cost his team a chance to win a playoff game.

Dawkins returned the ball to the Green Bay 32. A short drive lined up Akers for a chip shot that put the exclamation point on one of the most thrilling victories in franchise history.  

NFC Wild Card Round
Lincoln Financial Field
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Packers 21, Eagles 16

A half century had passed since Bednarik dragged down Taylor to capture the NFL Championship. The two franchises fittingly faced off in Week 1 of the 2010 season in Philadelphia.

While the throwback kelly green uniforms initially drew the attention, the emergence of Michael Vick as the full-time quarterback stole the headlines after a close opening day loss.

Vick and the Eagles again met Green Bay to open the NFL Playoffs after the golden anniversary season. Aaron Rodgers came out hot for the visitors. Green Bay took a 14-0 lead in the second quarter while the usually dynamic Philadelphia offense sputtered.

Vick finally sparked the Eagles in the second half for two touchdown drives that raised the collective spirits higher in South Philadelphia. The defense even kept Rodgers from icing the game on a key third down stop just ahead of the two-minute warning.

One of the NFL’s most dangerous offenses suddenly had a chance for a game-winning touchdown drive trailing 21-16.

Vick drove the offense down to the Green Bay 27-yard line with 44 seconds left. The Linc waited for an epic moment.

The NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year for the 2010 season decided a deep ball to Riley Cooper was worth throwing to the end zone and risking time and momentum on the Eagles side.

Tramon Williams came down with the interception and sealed Green Bay’s first of three road victories on their way to the Super Bowl.

Many Eagles fans had never heard of James Starks before entering the gates at the Linc that day. The rookie sixth-rounder had played three NFL games and rushed for 101 yards entering the playoffs.

Starks ripped through a door left open by an underwhelming running back group. He rushed 23 times for 123 yards with the type of unexpected performance that leaves Eagles fans in self pity thinking “Why does this stuff always happen to us?” after a tough loss.

Eagles fans will also remember the heartbreaker as possibly David Akers’ worst career game. He missed a 41-yard field goal in the first quarter and a 34-yard chip shot in the fourth.

Fans in attendance didn’t realize the magnitude of the personal situation he dealt with heading into the playoffs. He later shared with The Philadelphia Inquirer that his daughter faced surgery to remove a cancerous cyst. 

Make sure you celebrate the best kicker in franchise history with proper perspective for an overtime winner that followed the fourth-and-26 conversion ahead of this painful memory.

NFC Wild Card Round
Sunday, January 12, 2025 at 4:30pm
Lincoln Financial Field
Eagles (14-3) vs. Packers (11-6)

Polarizing head coach Nick Sirianni helped the Eagles to an appearance in Super Bowl LVII, but his shortcomings showed up in a brutal late-season collapse in 2023. 

How will his Eagles legacy unfold as his team enters the playoffs as one of the Super Bowl favorites?

Vic Fangio has helped the Eagles to an incredible resurgence on defense this season. The league’s top-ranked unit in DVOA, total yards, and scoring will cause fits for praised offensive playcaller Matt LaFleur and probable starting quarterback Jordan Love.

Although the Eagles beat the Packers 34-29 in Week 1, the evolution of both teams and the fluky nature of a trip to Sao Paolo, Brazil minimizes the relevance of the victory.

The health status of Hurts and Love will dominate the conversation leading into an NFC Wild Card Round playoff clash between the Eagles and the Packers.