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Perhaps Nick Sirianni has not been the easiest sell to a fan base.
His tenure with the Philadelphia Eagles began on nervous footing, as the new head coach delivered remarks at his introductory press conference that were shaky at best. Remarks that were a stark contrast with the kneecap-biting energy offered by Dan Campbell in the Motor City.
Then as the season began, there were similar moments. The new head coach wore a series of T-shirts in the buildup to the Week 3 meeting with the Dallas Cowboys that referenced the rivalry between the two teams, and then to get his players ready he showed a montage of many of the Eagles player’s rivalry games while in college.
Philadelphia was throttled that night by 20 points.
Then, following a Week 7 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, that dropped the Eagles to 2-5, Sirianni used a gardening metaphor, talking about how the players in the locker room needed to be planting seeds and fertilizing every day.
Similar to his introductory press conference, those comments were laughed off and brushed aside.
But, who is laughing now? Since those seeds were planted, the Eagles have won three of four games and now sit at 5-6 following a Week 11 victory over the New Orleans Saints. Philadelphia is just on the outside of the playoff standings right now, but look at how their final few weeks set up. The Eagles have two games against Washington, two games against the New York Giants, they have a game against the New York Jets, and a bye week in Week 14.
Their toughest remaining game on paper? Dallas in Week 18. With the possibility that the Cowboys are already locked into playoff position and as such might be resting starters.
So, how did the Eagles turn things around, and will this hold down the stretch?