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The Philadelphia Eagles currently sit atop the NFC and, in fact, the entire NFL with a 9-1 record. But it hasn’t been the easiest path to that point of late. Philadelphia dropped its first game of the season to the Washington Commanders in controversial fashion last Monday. They then traveled to the lowly Indianapolis Colts this past Sunday looking get to back on track.
But the Colts have looked like a far different team under surprise interim head coach Jeff Saturday. Indianapolis picked up a 25-20 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in Saturday’s first game and took an early lead against the Eagles. They held onto that lead until late in the fourth quarter when Philadelphia scored the game-winning touchdown on a QB draw by Jalen Hurts.
The win seemed to mean a lot to Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, who took some time to jaw with Indianapolis Colts fans behind the Philadelphia bench.
Easily the most unlikable coach in the NFL. pic.twitter.com/e3MbOJjoOJ
— Kevin (@Daboys_22) November 20, 2022
The incident didn’t sit well with fans across the league. But it turns out Sirianni’s emotions had a pretty solid reason behind them.
Eagles Coach Nick Sirianni Says It Was ‘Sweet’ To Beat Colts After They Fired His Mentor
Prior to Saturday being hired, the Colts parted ways with previous head coach Frank Reich. Reich was hired in 2018 and went 40-33-1 in his 4.5 seasons at the helm. He also picked up a playoff victory in 2018.
Sirianni coached under Reich from 2013-15 with the Los Angeles Chargers and then again as the offensive coordinator in Indianapolis from 2018-20. So the win on Sunday had a little extra meaning to the second-year head coach.
“I’m emotional because I love Frank Reich. I really do,” said Sirianni, who served as Reich’s offensive coordinator in Indianapolis from 2018 to 2020. “He’s one of the best damn football coaches I’ve ever been around. I was hoping that he and I would be able to coach against each other this game. He is one of my biggest mentors.
“You don’t want to know what I think of if he should be here or not, but you guys can probably imagine what I really think. … It was sweet to come here, especially with what happened with this organization the last couple weeks, and get the win. The win. We’re leaving Indianapolis with a win!” – via ESPN
It’s rare that a regular-season victory over a bad team means some special. But it was clearly a victory that Sirianni will remember for a long time.