Crossing Broad
Nick Sirianni seems to be leaning into his CEO-leadership style by doing the most CEO shit imaginable: misguidedly embracing AI.
According to Zach Berman at The Athletic, the Eagles head coach has been using ChatGPT throughout the offseason to refresh his locker room approach, which he feared was getting stale:
PHILADELPHIA — Nick Sirianni discovered ChatGPT this offseason.
It’s his sixth season as the Philadelphia Eagles’ head coach, now longer than any stop in his NFL coaching career, and the stories are beginning to repeat themselves. How many times can he preach his “tough, detailed, together” mantra before it feels like a rock star playing the greatest hits on tour?
That’s why Sirianni logged into the artificial intelligence chatbot on a Monday in June — a program he knew so little about that he couldn’t get the name right — and began his research with a prompt: “Give me a great relentless effort true sports story.”
This rabbit hole is how Sirianni learned about Anthony Robles, an Arizona State wrestler born with one leg who won a national championship in 2011. Sirianni planned to incorporate the anecdote into a speech to the team, a way to tell an old message in a new way.
First off, I should say in all seriousness: This is not good. This should not be what any fan wants to hear from their head coach. But I’d say it’s especially rough coming from Nick Sirianni, for one reason: what he’s asking ChatGPT to do is literally his only job.
You’re not an X’s and O’s guy, Nick! You have no tactical expertise in any area! We’ve been told over and over that you are the motivational guy. The relationships guy. The leadership guy. The kind of guy who can keep a locker room together and steer the ship and keep everyone’s eye on the same prize. And now it sounds like you’re stumped? On the one thing you have to do? You’re having ChatGPT do it? What are you even asking it? “Can you give me cool stories about people with one leg and stuff that are motivational?” Why are tragic stories such a big part of your motivational approach anyway? You can’t find a way to connect with the players without someone losing a leg? Why did you admit any of this to the press? What were you thinking? Are you actually dumb as hell? Seems like it! Not good!
But for as bad as I think this is, I do have to admit, it is pretty fun imagining Nick up late blasting ChatGPT with questions, truly believing its insights are going to have a positive impact on his life and the Eagles’ season. What could he be typing in there? What could he possibly be airing out? Here are some guesses:
