Indianapolis isn’t Philadelphia.
San Diego and Los Angeles aren’t, either.
The same goes for Kansas City.
And that’s not a bad thing.
Philadelphia is a rabid, big-market sports town. A pressure cooker, if you will. It’s something new Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni surely isn’t used to as the offensive coordinator for the Colts or quality control/quarterbacks/wide receivers coach for the Chargers and Chiefs.
Not to make excuses for the guy, as far as press conferences go it was a pretty forgettable one, but it doesn’t matter what he said or how he said it. What matters is his ability to command a locker room, have his team prepared on game day, and execute the game plan he and his staff put in place.
Would the fanbase really feel more confident in the guy if he stepped to the podium and fed right into the Philadelphia, blue-collar, no one likes us we don’t care, bring your lunch pail to work, Rocky Balboa mentality? Or would we rip him because that’s pandering to the lowest common denominator?
He stuttered, so what?
He didn’t give an answer on which of Carson Wentz or Jalen Hurts will start the season, so what?
Sure, one can “read between the lines” and speculate on what his answers and non-answers mean but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter.
What matters is the staff Sirianni brings to the city, how they work together to win over the locker room and instill their own unique culture.
What matters is how Sirianni and Co. devise a game plan week after week and how well the team responds, practices, and master his schemes.
What matters is wins and losses come game day.
What matters is not only getting to the postseason but making noise year after year with the expectation of bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to Philadelphia.
Is Nick Sirianni the guy to do that? There’s absolutely no way of knowing that after one press conference, let alone his first as the head coach of the Eagles.
We’ll have an answer on the starting quarterback soon enough.
We’ll see how the roster takes shape soon enough.
Soon enough we’ll see clips of his team running around at rookie minicamp, OTA’s, and minicamp.
Until then, cut the man some slack. It’s his first time addressing the media in this capacity. Let’s see how he works behind closed doors in meeting rooms.
Let’s see how he is with his team on the practice field and how that translates to the gridiron come game day.
Don’t write him off after one press conference.
That said, welcome to Philadelphia, Coach Sirianni, your first trial by fire is over. You made it out alive. Battered and bruised but alive nonetheless. Now get to work.
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