Fletcher Cox praised Nick Sirianni on Tuesday, telling Kay Adams that all the Eagles coach does is win
Nick Sirianni entered the 2024 NFL season on the hot seat after Philadelphia lost six of its final seven games, including a blowout to Tampa Bay in the NFC Wild Card game. What followed was the firing of both coordinators, who were replaced by Kellen Moore (OC) and Vic Fangio (DC).
The Eagles made a few moves in free agency, including signing Saquon Barkley to a three-year deal. Howie Roseman landed two stars with the first two draft picks, and the Birds entered the season with huge expectations.
A 2-2 start led to some talk of Sirianni needing to be fired, but all Philadelphia has done since then is win five straight games, with both the offense and defense playing at high levels. Former Eagles star Fletcher Cox was a guest on Up with Adams and told Kay Adams that all Sirianni does is win.
SB Champ and #Eagles legend Fletcher Cox on his former HC Nick Sirianni…
During his tenure as head coach, Sirianni has guided Philadelphia to five winning streaks of five or more games. No other NFL team has logged more five-game winning streaks since the 2022 season. Sirianni’s .683 (41-19) winning percentage is the 9th-best career mark in NFL history and ranks 2nd among active head coaches, trailing only Jim Harbaugh (.692, 50-22-1). It is the highest winning percentage ever by an Eagles head coach and ranks 3rd in the NFL since 2021, behind Andy Reid (.767, 46-14) and Sean McDermott (.717, 43-17). Philadelphia is tied for the 3rd-best home winning percentage (.762, 16-5) in the league since 2022, trailing only Buffalo (.857, 18-3) and Kansas City (.773, 17-5) in that span. Including playoffs, the Eagles are 11-3 (.786) in their last 14 games at Lincoln Financial Field.
From @ToddBrock24f7: HC Nick Sirianni had a confusing exchange with reporters Friday where he may have revealed a previously undisclosed injury to their QB.
Even in a season when both teams are playing below their standard, the Cowboys and Eagles always bring a little extra juice when they face off.
This year, though, it appears he may have crossed the line from motivational tactics and strategic gamesmanship to flat-out lying about the health of one of his star players ahead of Sunday’s matchup in Arlington.
Sirianni had a head-scratching exchange with the Philadelphia media on Friday regarding quarterback Jalen Hurts, who had been listed as “limited” on the first practice report of the week.
Sirianni was asked about it, and things got confusing in a hurry.
“Yeah, you know, he’s dealing with the– it was on the injury report– dealing with the ankle,” Sirianni began. “Just making sure we’re precautious [sic] with everything.”
Except that’s not what was on the injury report.
“Rest” had been the official reason given for Hurts’s limited participationon Wednesday, not an ankle injury. Though a day off for “load management” is common for many veteran players- including several Cowboys- it was apparently rare for Hurts to have received the classification, prompting the original inquiry.
After a stunned and awkward silence to Sirianni’s answer, several Philadelphia media members followed up at once, with one finally reminding the coach that Hurts wasn’t listed with an ankle issue.
Sirianni was asked to confirm: “I’m sorry. Jalen Hurts: it was an ankle injury?”
“What’s that?” Sirianni asked, looking off to the side to a team PR representative.
That individual answered, “It was a rest.”
And Sirianni’s story suddenly changed.
“It was a rest, yeah. Yeah,” the coach offered before continuing, “Sorry, I thought you were talking about somebody else. All right.”
It was even more thoroughly unconvincing to those in the room than it reads in a transcript.
Despite Sirianni’s attempt to quickly move on, the media pressed.
“Is Jalen dealing with an ankle problem, then?”
“Unh-unh,” Sirianni said with a showy shake of the head and a smirky grin, to the laughter of the assembled reporters.
“No. Rest,” he said with extra emphasis.
Here’s video of the awkward exchange at today’s press conference where Nick Sirianni may have accidentally revealed that Eagles QB Jalen Hurts is dealing with an ankle injury. 🤔 pic.twitter.com/MZNUiMhoBA
It certainly seemed as though Sirianni was more forthcoming with his original answer than perhaps the team meant for him to be and then tried to walk it back in order to stick to the agreed-upon version.
The Athletic‘s Eagles beat writer Brooks Kubena posted on X shortly thereafter that Hurts was warming up on a separate field from the team’s other quarterbacks, Kenny Pickett and Tanner McKee.
Hurts was listed as a full participant on Thursday’s report as well as Friday’s. But ESPN’s Tim McManus notes that, according to his league source, Hurts has, in fact, been dealing with a mild ankle issue “for a couple weeks.”
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The quarterback has rushed for 322 yards in eight games this season, averaging 3.7 yards per carry. Of his eight rushing touchdowns in 2024, six have come over the last three weeks.
He tried to laugh it off in the moment, but Sirianni’s apparent slip-up on Friday could invite a league investigation. If the team is found to have violated the NFL’s clearly-stated policy by withholding a bona fide injury (even minor), there could be fines or other punishment meted out.
In any case, it sounds as if Hurts may not be 100% heading into Sunday’s clash with the Cowboys.
And in this rivalry, any little edge could loom large for either team.
And will the Philadelphia Eagles be disciplined for bad reporting on an injury?
Good questions all around. Let’s explain what we’re talking about.
On Friday, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said that the team was being cautious with Jalen Hurts because the quarterback was “dealing with the ankle.” Hurts had been listed as sitting out practice for “rest” on Wedensday.
Which is where there’s an issue. As you can see in the video below, an Eagles PR person said that Hurts was resting, which means that if he was resting because of an injury and Philadelphia didn’t report it correctly, the franchise might be in some hot water.
Which is why it seemed like Sirianni realized he had made an error and he quickly said, “I thought you were talking about something else.”
Interesting exchange between Eagles HC Nick Sirianni and reporters this morning about Jalen Hurts:
Reporter: "We haven't really seen Jalen held back for load management before, what was behind that?"
Sirianni: "Yeah, you know he was dealing with a–it was on the injury report.… pic.twitter.com/RWdQnyUmIP
Hall of Fame defensive back Brian Dawkins talked about the Philadelphia Eagles slow start this season and called it growing pains
The Eagles are 5-2 and playing like one of the best teams in the NFL, but four weeks ago, there were discussions about the quarterback not being good enough to win without weapons and calls for the head coach to be fired.
Since then, Philadelphia has won three straight games, Vic Fangio’s defensive unit is growing up and making plays, and Sirianni has coached himself off the hot seat.
During a recent interview with The Eagles Wire, Hall of Fame safety Brian Dawkins discussed the Birds’ early-season adversity, labeling it the “season of growing pains.”
“There’s going to be more growing pains than not.” “I love the fact that they struggled early on this season, because when you begin to struggle, you really begin to learn who we truly are.” “There’s a whole lot of publicity.” “When you get into that film room though, the film shows you exactly who you are.”
A team with several flaws one month ago is now one of the most completely efficient and explosive teams in the NFL.
Entering Week 9, Philadelphia is one of only two NFL franchises that rank among the top 10 in the league in both total offense (8th, 367.1 ypg) and total defense (7th, 300.9 ypg), joining Houston.
The Eagles lead the NFL with 11 plays of 40+ yards this season, recording plays of 40+ yards in six of seven games.
Defensively, Philadelphia has allowed the third-fewest 40+ yard plays (3). Below, you can see Dawkins’ comments about growing pains, mental health, and more.
Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore breaks down why Jalen Hurts isn’t under center more
The Eagles have made offensive adjustments since switching coordinators and losing six of their final seven games in 2023. Philadelphia added some motion to the offense and a star running back in Saquon Barkley.
The one approach to the offense that hasn’t altered since Jalen Hurts became the starter is his penchant for running their offense from the shotgun or pistol formation. On Tuesday, offensive coordinator Kellen Moore provided some insight into why Hurts is rarely under center.
Kellen Moore, explaining why Jalen Hurts isn’t under center more, admits Hurts’ ability to run can be better utilized from the shotgun formation. pic.twitter.com/01tEYSRuWm
According to Crossing Broad via SportsRadar Data, through Week 14 of last year, Philadelphia ran 7.2% of their plays last season from under center, which, at the time, was dead last in the league.
The only other team with their quarterback under center a little more was Shane Steichen’s Indianapolis Colts. If you count the Brotherly Shoves on third or fourth down, the penchant for running plays from under center lessens even more.
Running out of the shotgun seems to give Hurts more opportunity to create explosive plays with his legs and elite athletic ability. Thanks to RPOs and motion, Philadelphia can run play-action passes from any formation.
Vic Fangio says Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni did not call Eagles defensive plays in Week 6 win over the Cleveland Browns
Nick Sirianni is taking a lot of heat despite the Eagles being 3-2. One of the most significant talking points was his admission that he called a defensive play late in the win over the Browns when asked by ESPN’s Tim McManus.
“I think it’s very common in the NFL when the head coach gets on and says, ‘Attack; concede; come on, let’s get after these guys.’ I think that is where that comes from. Then there are personal philosophies that I have of how to play certain situations that you talk through.”
“So it wouldn’t be fair for me to have the philosophies that I have, and push that on my coaches, and then not take accountability for it when the play doesn’t work.”
“So, yeah, that’s kind of how it goes. I think that’s pretty common throughout the NFL.”
On Tuesday, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio brought clarity to that statement, explaining that Sirianni didn’t call the defensive play, but brought attention to Fangio about what he wanted the defense to focus on.
#Eagles DC Vic Fangio offered context on Nick Sirianni saying he called failed played on defense. Sirianni said “be alert for this” on a third and long — possible check down — not he called the play.
Said Sirianni’s involvement isn’t much different than he’s had with others HCs. pic.twitter.com/V8g9GxHEzk
Already under fire for the team’s 2-2 start, Sirianni jawed with two Cleveland Browns players and then turned his attention to fans yelling “Fire Nick” chants from behind the Eagles bench.
Nick Sirianni apologized for getting into it with #Eagles fans yesterday: “I was trying to bring energy and enthusiasm yesterday, and I’m sorry for how my energy was directed at the end of the game. My energy should be all in on coaching, motivating, and celebrating with our… pic.twitter.com/0g4TqerrvK
The criticism then grew when Sirianni took postgame press conference questions with his three children—Jacob, Taylor, and Miles—in tow. Experts and pundits took shots at the head coach for allegedly using his kids to shield himself from criticism.
Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for rocking with us today. We appreciate you giving us a bit of your time.
Folks, I hate to say it, but I think the conversation on Nick Sirianni has officially jumped the shark.
The coach finds himself under fire from the public again, but this time, it’s after a win. It’s not because his team didn’t play well (which they absolutely didn’t despite the win, btw!) or because of the weird decisions he made during the game (which there were plenty of!).
It’s because he brought his kids to his press conference after the game, which has somehow turned into this unconscionable “bush league” move. His kids are human shields from questioning now, I guess?
People seem to be arguing that Sirianni did this to ease tensions from the end of the game, when he was seen very obviously arguing with Eagles fans on the sidelines.
First of all, I must say, this has got to be the first time I’ve seen people defending the behavior of Eagles fans! Usually, everyone loves bringing up the whole Santa Claus thing from the 1960s that every Eagles fan must be held accountable for the rest of eternity. Those are the rules. But this is a new day, people. Eagles fans are finally in the right.
Anyway, I digress. Back to Sirianni.
Look, I don’t doubt that Sirianni thought bringing his kids in might make things a bit easier at the podium for him. The game against the Browns was unusually contentious both on and off the field. When that happens, we’ve seen athletes and coaches bring their kids to pressers before. Usually, people love this sort of thing. Sirianni himself has done it before.
It’s not the big deal people want to make it out to be. The kids don’t stop anyone from doing their jobs. They didn’t stop anyone from asking Sirianni any questions they wanted to ask. He was still questioned about the incident with the fans. He was still asked about the Eagles’ broken offense and the role he played in it. He still had to answer those questions like he normally would. Those kids didn’t interfere at all.
The kids were a non-story until the talking heads decided to make it one. Now, we’re talking about this instead of how badly the Eagles looked against the Browns. So, if that’s what Sirianni wanted, then it worked?
Ultimately, Nick Sirianni’s problem isn’t that his kids made an appearance at a press conference. It’s that his team has been pretty bad for the last calendar year, and he doesn’t have any good answers to why.
When we’re all ready to talk about that, we can finally have a reasonable conversation about the Eagles’ head coach in good faith.
None of us are in a position to tell Tagovailoa what he should be doing and how he should be living his life. Football is his livelihood. His decision to continue to play is one for him and his family to make alone. What we think doesn’t really matter.
But I can’t help but feel like we’ve entered into some pretty dangerous territory when it comes to Tagovailoa’s long-term health. He’ll play this season, obviously. And we have to wish him the best.
But, man, I hope he thinks long and hard this offseason about what his future might look like with football or otherwise.
Donte DiVincenzo is bringing spice to NYC
Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Usually, when big names are traded in sports it quite literally requires a lot of moving pieces. Donte DiVincenzo was one of those moving pieces in the Karl-Anthony Towns trade.
He was shipped to Minnesota along with Julius Randle and as a salary casualty in the deal. The money wouldn’t have worked otherwise. It’s a great trade on the Knicks side, but it also robbed us of the Nova Knicks that we were promised when the Mikal Bridges deal went through.
Nobody seems more miffed by that than DiVincenzo himself, who had a lot to say to the Knicks in the Timberwolves’ preseason game against New York. Here’s Bryan Kalbrosky with more:
“After the preseason game, DiVincenzo got into a heated exchange with Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson. The coach is also the father of New York’s point guard Jalen Brunson, who attended college with DiVincenzo. The pair actually won two collegiate national championships playing alongside each other.
While we may never learn exactly what happened during the argument between DiVincenzo and his former assistant coach, there were some preceding incidents that perhaps led to the tension. For example, he also had a back-and-forth with his former head coach Tom Thibodeau.”
This is big New York energy from Donte. The Knicks are going to miss this. The Timberwolves are going to love it.
Quick hits: Things we learned from Week 6 … Caleb Williams is doing the thing … and more
— The Lions are plagiarizing … the Lions. And it’s still working really well, Christian D’Andrea writes in his latest recap column for Week 6 of the NFL season.
But Sirianni’s general on-field antics stick out most like a sore thumb in relation to the middling Eagles’ struggles.
After the Eagles just barely eked out an unimpressive 20-16 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, Sirianni was seen seemingly picking a fight with frustrated Eagles fans in Philadelphia.
Judging by the way he did the “I can’t hear you” gesture, it’s abundantly clear the man has the self-awareness of a two-by-four.
Eagles HC Nick Sirianni appears to have some words towards the crowd as the clocked ticked down in the Philly victory. pic.twitter.com/XILkMvVamD
Let it be known that Eagles fans have had Sirianni’s back through thick and thin over the last few years. When the team didn’t yet have championship expectations, Philly sports fans were Sirianni’s champion. This sort of brash act only really works when your team is a juggernaut. You should keep your head down when your squad’s barely skating by.
So, I wouldn’t advise Sirianni to turn on likely the last few people who believe in him. He may as well be telegramming his own exit.
This is the first time in Eagles history they haven’t scored any points in the first quarter through their first 5 games.
The Eagles have one of the NFL’s most explosive offensive units, but unlike the 2022 squad that reached the Super Bowl, this team struggles to generate any offense or points in the first quarter.
Sunday against Cleveland marked the fifth-straight game in which the Birds went scoreless in the first quarter, a new franchise record.
First time in Eagles history they haven’t scored any points in the first quarter through their first 5 games.
