NFL/Philadelphia Eagles/X
This situation in Philadelphia with Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni seems to be devolving into toxicity, to say the least.
During the final moments of the Eagles’ narrow 20-16 home victory over the lowly Cleveland Browns, Nick Sirianni — whose job status has been in question for almost an entire year now — was seen chirping his own fanbase on the sidelines.
Then, after the game, Sirianni arrived at the postgame press conference with his three children in two, which is a move that’s garnered quite a bit of criticism, with some accusing the head coach of using his kids as “human shields” to protect him from difficult questions from the media.
“If the Eagles aren’t having serious internal discussions about their direction after that press conference I’ll be floored.” Philly area radio host John Kincade said on social media. “Howard Dean would have come off better. No NFL Coach acts like that and brings human shields with them proceeding to cuss frequently.”
Former NFL offensive lineman Damien Woody has a similar assessment of Sirianni’s behavior on Sunday while speaking on ESPN’s Get Up!.
“It’s clown behavior. Nick Sirianni looked like an absolute clown doing all of that… and then to have your kids in the postgame to kind of deflect from reporters trying to come after you, it’s lame, it’s weak, he’s a clown. It just looks ridiculous,” Woody said.
Damien Woody on Nick Sirianni jawing with Eagles fans: “It’s clown behavior. Nick Sirianni looked like an absolute clown doing all of that… and then to have your kids in the postgame to kind of deflect from reporters trying to come after you, it’s lame, it’s weak, he’s a clown.… pic.twitter.com/ltRUYCTYKt
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 14, 2024
“Sirianni yelling at the fans and then bringing his kids up to the podium for his postgame PC is so unbelievably gutless and infuriating that I might not sleep tonight,” added another football fan on X, formerly Twitter.
Such a bush league move by Sirianni to bring his kid to the podium while he’s under fire for bad play and acting like a maniac on the sideline. Kids are not human shields pic.twitter.com/66aeuXO8at
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) October 14, 2024
Beyond pulling up to the presser with his kids, the content of Sirianni’s comments has also sparked some backlash, with the 43-year-old claiming that his apparent jawing with fans was “all out of fun,” an assessment that few, if any, are buying.
Despite the turbulent start to the season and Sirianni’s increasingly fractured relationship with both the Philly fans and media, the 3-2 Eagles find themselves just one game out of first place in the NFC East.