Chiefs-Eagles 5 questions with the enemy: How has Nick Sirianni changed since 2023?

We welcome Bleeding Green Nation for answers to five questions about the Philadelphia Eagles before Sunday’s clash in Super Bowl LIX.

On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs face the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX. We welcome Brandon Lee Gowton of Bleeding Green Nation — our sister SBNation site covering the Eagles— for Five Questions with the Enemy.

1) After an underwhelming end to last season (and a number of his antics), Nick Sirianni appeared to be on a scorching hot seat to start the season. What has he done differently this year — and how much goodwill has he bought himself?

I was very much of the mind that the Eagles shouldn’t have retained Sirianni after the 2023 collapse. And even through the Eagles’ turnaround this season, I’ve struggled to determine how much credit he deserves.

Because let’s be real: the Eagles aren’t a coach-driven team. They’re a talent-driven team. Howie Roseman deserves a lot of credit for the excellent work that he’s done. And I say that as someone who has been quite critical of the Eagles’ general manager in the past.

My biggest question with Sirianni has been: how does he give his team an edge?

He doesn’t call plays. He doesn’t pick his coordinators. He doesn’t go for it on fourth down as much as he really should.

And yet… he just wins.

At an incredibly high level.

Sirianni is the only head coach in NFL history who’s made the playoffs in each of his first four seasons with multiple Super Bowl appearances within that range.

Sirianni joined Mike Tomlin and Joe Gibbs as the only three head coaches with two Super Bowl appearances in their first four seasons.

Sirianni has the fifth-highest all-time head coach winning percentage. He’s only behind Guy Chamberlain, John Madden, Vince Lombardi, and George Allen.

Pretty wild stuff.

So to answer the “goodwill” part of your question: I think it’s safe to say he’ll be getting a contract extension this offseason. (2025 is the last year of his current deal).

As for what he’s done differently, I think he’s really focused on fixing the culture issues that apparently plagued the team last year. I typically tend to think a well-connected locker room is a symptom of winning (as opposed to a cause) but last year’s team showed that’s not always the case. The Eagles had a good record but the vibes were not matching their winning ways. One internal source described the 2023 Eagles as “the most miserable 10-1 team.”

That’s different this year. The vibes are really good! ESPN recently published an article about how Sirianni is really popular with his players. Being well-liked isn’t necessarily the most crucial ingredient for success — but hey! It seems to be working well for the Eagles’ head coach.

**2) The Super Bowl will clearly be...