Eagles Coach Addresses Robert Saleh Firing

Nick Sirianni is one of two coaches from the NFL's 2021 hiring class to remain employed.

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni looks on against the New Orleans Saints. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA - Seven NFL head coaches were hired in the 2021 hiring cycle and only two remain after the New York Jets put the punctuation on the Robert Saleh era on Tuesday.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni and Detroit mentor Dan Campbell are only only two left standing five weeks into Year No. 4

Back from Philadelphia’s bye week at 2-2, Eagles on SI asked Sirianni about Saleh’s abrupt departure from Florham Park and if it has an impact on him.

“No,” the Eagles coach said. “Obviously, wish him nothing but the best. I had a good working relationship with Coach Saleh being able to practice against those guys [in 2021]. Got a lot of respect for him. Always wishing him and his family the best. Think he is a really good football coach but my mind is set on only how do we get better.”

Coaches understand the profession they’ve chosen. In the moment, the competitive nature of the league demands focus.

“Anything out of your control or anything that consumes your mind that's not focused on getting better is a waste of time,” said Sirianni.

According to the Philadelphia coach, who is dealing with his own adversity despite a franchise-best 36-19 record and three consecutive postseason berths, any outside angst clouds the process-driven nature of the business.

“If my mind. I get less sleep but I get a lot of things [waking up in the middle of the night], on the trip home,” Sirianni explained. “My drive into work. My drive out of work. There's so many things. If you're focused on things that you can't control that's gonna cloud that hunger and that drive to get better.

“So that's all that we think about is the hunger and drive to get better. You can probably say 'oh, that's coach talk' and I'm not bulls@#$ting you. … That's how I live. That's how I've operated. You are what your habits are and that's how I've been operating for a big portion of my life.”

MORE NFL: Eagles Nick Sirianni One Of Two Coaches Left From 2021