Eagles Come To Defense Of Their Embattled Head Coach

Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni may have seen his hot seat cool a bit after a 20-16 win over the Browns, and with players throwing their support behind their maligned leader.

Oct 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni reacts to the touchdown pass and catch of quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) and wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) during the second quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA – The hot seat cooled a bit for Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni after Sunday’s 20-16 win over the Cleveland Browns. Or maybe it hasn’t.

This was a bad team the Eagles beat, and they had to sweat more than they should have, especially coming off a bye week. The boobirds noticed early, too.

Sirianni left the sideline after the Eagles went into their victory formation and went back to the bench area to jaw with a few fans in the first few rows at Lincoln Financial Field.

“Everybody doubts him and the people that don’t doubt him is us,” said safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. “I don’t think you guys know how much shit he takes on the daily and we gotta back him up for it. I’m proud that he’s my coach and nobody else is my coach.”

Gardner-Johnson wasn't done riding to his coach’s rescue.

“He believes in us,” he added. “This roster is put together on talent, but it’s put together with guys who want to play with him. If he could play, he’d go out there right now, but playing for a coach like that is something we harp on and get behind, because like I said if he could strap it up, he would, too.”

Eagles HC Nick Sirianni appears to have some words towards the crowd as the clocked ticked down in the Philly victory. pic.twitter.com/XILkMvVamD

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 13, 2024

Asked about his fan interaction afterward, Sirianni didn’t reveal much.

“Just excited to get the win, yeah,” he said. “It’s hard to win in this league, so we’re excited to get the win. Our fans created a couple of false starts that really helped us win this football game. But I’m just excited to get the win and I appreciate the Linc’s support.”

Players in the locker room revealed that they want the old Nick back. They had requested the return of that fiery Italian that would stalk the sidelines last year yelling at opposing players and fans, too, whether they were supposed to be on his team’s side or root for the other team.

Oct 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) smiles after a victory against the Cleveland Browns at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

“I encouraged him to be himself, and so that’s who he is,” said quarterback Jalen Hurts. “I don’t know who all said it. I know I spoke to him. It’s just a reassurance of, you know, we trust who you are. We trust where you are as a coach, and we know we can build with you.”

The Eagles boobirds wasted little time getting started. The game was barely a minute old when the Eagles offense went three-and-out on their first possession. They had waited through a bye week to see that?

At halftime the team was booed off the field with chants of ‘Fire Nick,’ ringing in their ears. It didn’t help that former Eagles star Rodney McLeod, now 34, rumbled 50 yards after Myles Garrett blocked a 57-yard field goal try from Jake Elliott. The score made it 10-10 with 14 seconds left in the second quarter.

“We thrive off the crowd when they cheer for us,” said Sirianni. “That’s all I’ll say. When our crowd cheers for us, we thrive off of them. You know, we hear them when they boo. We don’t necessarily like it. I don’t think that’s productive for anybody. When they cheer for us and we’ve got them rolling, we love it.”

One win may cool the hot seat for a week, but the Eagles still have 12 games left to be played, beginning with two more road games coming out of the Browns win. Improvement that needs to be made. That is obvious.

If Sirianni can pull it off, perhaps the boobirds will back off.

More NFL: Eagles Sparked By Goal Line Stand, Return Of Star Receivers In 20-16 Win Vs. Browns