Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has the best winning percentage of any coach in franchise history (.702). He’s led the Eagles to the playoffs in each of his four seasons, including a Super Bowl appearance in his second.
And now, Sirianni has Philadelphia on the doorstep of a second Super Bowl berth, something no other coach in the team’s history has done.
Yet only a few months ago, despite this success, Sirianni appeared more likely to lose his job then lead the team on another deep playoff run.
Questions around his job security began at the end of last season. The Eagles started 10-1, a nice bounce back from its Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs a season before. But they ended the 2023 campaign 1-6, including a lopsided first-round playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Philadelphia brought back Sirianni amid murmurs about his job status, and that conversation became more audible after the Eagles started the season 2-2.
“It’s time to hire a grown-up,” opined Fox Sports’s Colin Cowherd in early October.
“It wouldn’t be a shocker if Sirianni quickly found himself as the guy next to Saleh on the unemployment line,” wrote USA Today’s Nate Davis, referring to Robert Saleh, who was fired as coach of the New York Jets midseason.
Sirianni himself didn’t help matters when he argued with Philadelphia fans from the sideline toward the end of a listless win over the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 13.
On top of all of this, Sirianni reportedly had a strained relationship with quarterback Jalen Hurts, something the two tried to hash out during the team’s bye week this season.
The warning signs were obvious that Sirianni’s days with the Eagles could be numbered. An embarrassing finish last season, public calls for his firing, a tenuous relationship with the team’s star quarterback, arguing with fans — all true.
But Sirianni then did the one thing that can cure all those ailments at once: He kept winning.
After their sluggish start, the Eagles dominated the rest of the regular season, finishing 12-1. (Their lone loss came on the road by 3 points to the Washington Commanders, a game Hurts left early because of a concussion.)
Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley, a free-agent addition, spearheaded the league’s second-best rushing attack, carrying the team to the NFC East title. And the defense, in its first season under veteran coordinator Vic Fangio, led the NFL in yards allowed per game.
Now, Sirianni’s team is on the precipice of a second Super Bowl appearance in three seasons. Philadelphia will be favored to advance against a young, up-and-coming Commanders team. The last time these teams faced off in Philly, the Eagles won, 26-18. Barkey rushed for 146 yards and two scores, while Washington was held to 264 yards.
Sirianni couldn’t avoid the noise surrounding his job during the season but, to his credit, he seemingly didn’t let it affect him.
“You obviously hear it, you gotta prepare for media, and I gotta do questions,” Sirianni told Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer in December. “But I also gotta practice what I preach. And if I’m gonna tell these guys not to listen, when the word is out that we’re not any good, or the word’s out that we’re really good, then I need to do the same thing. That’s all I’ve tried to do. … My job is to lead this football team, along with the captains and the leaders we have, and put my head down and go to work.”
Has Sirianni earned more patience moving forward? It’s not so simple.
It was Philadelphia, after all, that fired head coach Doug Pederson only three seasons after he won the only Super Bowl in franchise history. (Pederson was hired off the staff of Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, who the Eagles let go after the 2012 season.)
It’s not impossible another poor stretch or more tension with Hurts could both become issues for Sirianni again in the future. But it would be hard for Philadelphia, or any team, to find a coach who wins as much as Sirianni does.
