Eagles Coach: Thursday Night Is A ‘Pain In the Butt’

Nick Sirianni wasn't mincing words when discussing short weeks in the NFL.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni talks with reporters on Nov. 11, 2024. / John McMullen/Eagles On Si

PHILADELPHIA - Eagles coach Nick Sirianni wasn’t shy when it came to discussing “Thursday Night Football.”

“I always think that these Thursday night games-- I know they're a pain in the butt to prepare for,” Sirianni said as the Eagles prepare for the quick turnaround of hosting 7-3 Washington with first place in the NFC East on the line. “They're a pain in the butt for the players to turn around.”

The difference between a normal NFL week and speeding it up 72 hours is “drastic,” according to Sirianni.

“Whenever you get, whatever, let's say 100-hour work week and now you’ve got to do it in four days,” Sirianni surmised. “You can't be like, ‘Well, I'm going to skip this this week or skip that this week.’ It's all the same amount of work that has to be put in.”

“No steps are ever skipped” by the coaches per Sirianni. 

“It's just that everything gets crammed into a shorter amount of time,” said the coach. “So that's what we're working through right now, is I think a lot of guys will have big bags under their eyes at the end of the week, but we’ve got to do what we need to do as coaches to get the guys ready.”

The players need to be on point, something amplified even further by the importance of this Thursday night showdown against Jayden Daniels and the Commanders.

“What's important is that the players are ready to go, that they're rested as much as they possibly can be,” Sirianni said. “... It doesn’t matter how our coaches feel. We’ve just got to get the work done and get these guys prepared as much as we possibly can and be thinking sharply.”

Rest is for later in the week with the mini-bye serving as the gold at the end of the rainbow.

“We can sleep a little later in the week,” said Sirianni. 

There’s also a silver lining when it comes to camaraderie.

“[Passing Game Coordinator/Associate Head Coach] Kevin Patullo and I were talking about a couple of the Thursday night games that we've had in the past and the week leading up to the game and the stories that we have,” Sirianni said. “I always think it's a cool bonding thing for the coaches.”

In the end, it’s about achieving a common goal under adverse circumstances that can bring a coaching staff closer together.

“I won't see my kids or my wife very much this week, but I sure will see Kevin Patullo a lot and [Offensive Coordinator] Kellen Moore a lot and Vic Fangio a lot,” Sirianni said. “There are always cool stories that come out of that. That's the cool part of the journey, that you're grinding together for a common goal, and you'll remember those things.

“These are the things that are so cool about being part of a football team. So, we'll make some memories this week, but ultimately have to go out there and play a good game against a good opponent.”

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