Per Chris Franklin of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, quarterback Jalen Hurts revealed shortly after television cameras picked up head coach Nick Sirianni having words with some fans late in the Philadelphia Eagles’ 20-16 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday that Hurts had encouraged Sirianni “to be himself.”
During ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown” program, retired center Jason Kelce defended his former head coach over what happened at Lincoln Financial Field this past weekend.
“He’s passionate,” Kelce said about Sirianni, as shared by Kristen Wong of Sports Illustrated. “He loves his guys, he loves his team …Obviously he knows that was not the right way to handle that situation, and everybody knows it, that was inappropriate. But this is a guy that knows that his energy is going to feed the football team.”
Reuben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia noted that Sirianni said during a Monday afternoon news conference that he was “sorry and disappointed” regarding his actions. Sirianni reportedly upset Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie when the coach taunted Kansas City Chiefs fans after a “Monday Night Football” win last November.
“My energy should be all-in on coaching, motivating and celebrating with our guys. And so I’ve got to have better wisdom and discernment of when to use that energy and that wasn’t the time,” Sirianni said on Monday about what seemed to be a response to booing he heard during Sunday’s home win that improved the Eagles to 3-2 on the season.
Kelce understands how and why Sirianni let his emotions get the better of him in that particular moment.
“That energy, even though it comes out in the wrong ways sometimes like at the end of that game — and I am a victim of that myself, trust me I am very happy there has not been a camera on me sometimes either at the game or after the game — if that is going to get the best out of him, that emotional energy that he can then infuse into other people, I’m all for it,” Kelce added about Sirianni’s antics.
One can’t help but wonder if Sirianni has been impacted by the numerous stories linking former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick with the Eagles since Philadelphia’s collapse during the second half of the 2023 season. Earning a four-point win over the lowly Browns won’t silence such chatter, as Sirianni may have to guide the Eagles to at least the NFC Championship Game in January to hold onto his job.
For now, Sirianni will focus on trying to notch a victory at the 2-4 New York Giants this coming Sunday. As of Tuesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Eagles as 3.5-point favorites for that matchup.
