ClutchPoints
Heading into the 2024 NFL season, Nick Sirianni and the Philadelphia Eagles were far from the favorites to win Super Bowl 59.
The Kansas City Chiefs were still the Kansas City Chiefs, the Baltimore Ravens were a close second after bringing in Derrick Henry, and in the NFC, the NFC North had not one, not two, but three teams that were likely above the Eagles on a power ranking or two, plus the likes of the San Francisco 49ers out west.
Why? Well, because the Eagles kind of fell apart down the stretch in 2023, with no guarantee that Philadelphia would right the ship even after a few key free agent additions and two upgrades at key coordinator spots.
And yet, in the opinion of Sirianni, the fact that Philadelphia struggled so much in 2023 helped to set them up in 2024, as that taste of adversity helped to get the Eagles ready for the task at hand this past fall.
“I look back on last year and how last year ended and I’m grateful. As crazy as this sounds, I’m grateful how last year ended because it shaped us to who we are today [with] the adversity of the beginning of the year and the adversity through the season, through injuries, through ups and downs, through everything,” Sirianni told reporters via ESPN.
“I think that when you embrace adversity, it does something to you, right? It does something to you personally, right? Each and every individual on that football team, the adversity does something to you, and it does something to you as a football team as well. So, our guys, I think that could be the biggest attribute. They worked their butts off to connect.”
In 2024, the Eagles got off to a slow start, going 2-2 before they earned a few days off as part of one of the most consequential bye weeks in professional sports history. Using the time away from the field to get everyone on the same page, the Eagles were able to hit the ground running from October on, with Sirianni using his platform to remind his players that they have all of the tools to be successful.
“We talked about that all year,” Sirianni said. “My job is not to inspire them. It’s just more to just remind them of the things they already know, and I keep it really short. I talk a lot all during the week so before the game, it pretty much is consistent. Week 1, Week 37, whatever, we’re on ‘tough, detailed, together.’ That’s our core value. That’s what we talk about. And the toughest team wins, usually the most detailed team wins, usually the team the most together wins.”
While Sirianni gets plenty of shade thrown his way for one reason or another, from his sassy impressions to his occasional miscues at the podium, it’s hard to argue that he isn’t among the top coaches in the NFL, as adversity after adversity, he’s done nothing but...
