Sirianni Thinks He's At 'Top Of Our Profession!'? Is Eagles Coach Arrogance The Problem?
Those who know Nick Sirianni best will tell you with a sort of flattering pride that he was sort of "cocky'' even as a little kid growing up in Western New York. And that flashy confidence plays well - to Eagles fans if not opponents - when Philadelphia is winning.
But after the Eagles lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night in the NFL playoffs in embarrassing 32-9, "cocky'' felt off.
And a "humblebrag'' sounded weird.
John McMullen/Eagles Today
"I'm not thinking about that," Sirianni when asked about his job security following his team's two-month-long season-ending meltdown. "I'm thinking about the guys. Again, there's a lot of guys in that locker room, all the guys in that locker room, every single one of them that put their heart and soul into this. I'm not worried about me."
Good answer. Unselfish. Concern for others. Modest, even.
Now, how will Sirianni solve these problems? His answer is Prime Nick.
“We believe in ourselves,” Sirianni said. “I’m not sitting in this room for (no) reason ... We’re in these seats at the top of our profession because we worked our tail off to get here.”
That sounds rather defensive, and mixed with arrogance, it is a difficult cocktail for Eagles fans to guzzle down. Sirianni has reached the playoffs in each of his three seasons as the coach of the Eagles. Overall, he has a 34-17 record in Philly and he went to the Super Bowl a year ago.
At that time, he was at or near "the top of his profession.'' Twelve months later, it comes across as empty cocksureness to pretend that is still where Nick Sirianni is "sitting.''
