NEW ORLEANS — Eagles coach Nick Sirianni knows what losing a Super Bowl feels like.
As he prepares Philadelphia and quarterback Jalen Hurts for a rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, Sirianni believes his team wouldn’t be here without the pain of their Super Bowl LVII defeat. Hurts said the loss lit a fire in him to get back to the league’s championship game.
“Adversity does something to you. If you embrace adversity it can shape you to who you are,” Sirianni said. “Obviously that’s been the case with Jalen and through his career. This game is not easy. This game has it’s ups and downs. … Nobody in the NFL pitches a perfect game. That doesn’t exist in the NFL. You’re going to have bad plays. You’re going to have good plays. It’s about focusing on the next. Going back to the 2023 season, we’re grateful for that. We’re thankful for that. As bad as it (stunk), I’m grateful for that.”
The Eagles are hitting their stride seven months after training camp began, long removed from a 2-2 start to the regular season. They’re 15-1 since, losing only to the Washington Commanders in a game Hurts left in the first quarter.
“This game and anything worthwhile in this world is not instant gratification. It takes commitment to the work,” Sirianni said Tuesday at the Hilton New Orleans. “We felt like we had a great training camp. It didn’t start the way we hoped. But I think we’re playing our best ball right now.”
A self-admitted “emotional” coach, Sirianni said his core values and the team’s principles haven’t changed.
“Toughness, detail, together,” Sirianni said. “Those things don’t change. It doesn’t mean you don’t grow. If you start to be somebody and act like somebody you’re not, players start to see through that. You have to be genuine. … To say I’m going to stop being excited when we score a touchdown or after a win after everything we lay on the line to do so; or I’m not going to yell to correct or yell to praise, that’s not who I am. … There’s 43 years of habits that sometimes are hard to break.”
Sirianni said the Eagles had a great week of practice last week and has the entire game plan installed for their second look at the Chiefs in a Super Bowl.
“We’ve every year since I’ve been a head coach we’ve played Kansas City. What I see on tape is just the detail, again I have so much responded for the players that they have and coach (Andy) Reid,” Sirianni said, praising the amount of detail evident in Reid’s team preparation. “You have to be ready to prepare for everything knowing they have one of the best players of all-time in (Patrick Mahomes). It’s always going to be about stopping the run. Limiting the (big) plays. I see two teams that are highly detailed and highly skilled.
“I do like to study great coaches. And I’ll ask, ‘What would Andy have done in this situation?’ to guys who’ve been around him. He’s had a lot more success than I have. Three-hundred wins. That’s wow. It’s an honor to go against him. Nothing but respect for Coach Reid and everything he’s accomplished.”
–Jeff Reynolds, Field Level Media
