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Saquon Barkley Explained Why He 'Couldn't Stand' Nick Sirianni Before Joining Eagles

Barkley wasn't always such a big fan of Sirianni, whom he called the best coach in the NFL.

Tim Capurso

Barkley (right) won a Super Bowl in his first season in Philadelphia with Sirianni (left).
Barkley (right) won a Super Bowl in his first season in Philadelphia with Sirianni (left). / James Lang-Imagn Images
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Days after Philadelphia became the first repeat NFC East champion in 21 years, Eagles All-Pro running back Saquon Barkley spoke glowingly about his coach, Nick Sirianni.

But Barkley, who spent the first six seasons of his career with the division-rival Giants, wasn't always feeling brotherly love towards Sirianni.

“I couldn't stand that mother------,” he says now with a laugh. “I could not.”

Barkley's extreme dislike of Sirianni, as he went on to explain, dates back to a January 2023 playoff game between Barkley's Giants and Sirianni's Eagles, in which Philadelphia routed New York 38-7. The Eagles jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, and after a Giants penalty, the Fox broadcast cameras caught Sirianni nodding his head demonstratively while looking into the camera.

“There's a clip ... and he just like went into the camera and he was like [Barkley nods head]. And that kind of stuck with me for a very long time,” Barkley said. “So I wasn't a fan of him. I've told him this story before.”

Barkley became a free agent and somewhat infamously signed with the Eagles in March of 2024. In his first season in Philadelphia, Barkley became the ninth running back to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season while helping the Eagles win the Super Bowl. And along the way, his feelings for Sirianni changed.

“But now being here and seeing how obsessed he is—Hard Knocks and the behind-the-scenes that we have that you guys are able to see with him coaching, it doesn't really do it enough justice,” Barkley continued. “He's so obsessed with the little things. And there's a reason why this team has been super successful.

“So it's been pretty cool to be able to go from going against him and not being a fan of him [to] seeing what he's all about. I think he does a really good job.”

Barkley also believes Sirianni fits the city of Philadelphia, where sports fans wear their emotions—for better or for worse—on their sleeves, perfectly.

“He's the perfect coach for Philadelphia,” Barkley said. “What he stands for, how he operates. When you think of someone in Philly and a Philly fan, and picture a coach, it would be coach Sirianni.”

Despite five straight postseason appearances, two NFC championship victories and a Super Bowl title during his tenure in Philadelphia, Sirianni and his coaching staff have taken a fair amount of criticism amid a tumultuous season for the Eagles. But Philadelphia, playoff-bound with a chance to defend its Lombardi Trophy, is right where it wants to be ahead of a Week 17 game against the Bills.

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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.

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