ARLINGTON - Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni clearly lied, with the purpose being to give his team a secret-keeping advantage. Today comes Eagles at Dallas Cowboys. Has an advantage been won?
Sirianni, who may already be on the NFL coaching hot seat for a variety of reasons, his inability to always "control the message'' and control his emotions being among them, now figures to be in trouble because it seems he just allowed his Eagles to get caught in a cover-up.
Sirianni's Friday meeting with the media ahead of Sunday's visit to the Cowboys included a mention of star quarterback Jalen Hurts' injury status.
The Eagles have been saying that he's missed some work simply due to "load management" - that is, rest. But on Friday, Sirianni clumsily let it slip that Hurts is actually dealing with a legit injury.
"He was on the injury report dealing with an ankle, and just making sure that we're precautious with everything," Sirianni said.
Media members responded by pointing out that Hurts was listed as a limited participant in Eagles practice on Thursday with "rest'' listed as the official reason, at which point Sirianni stumbled straight into deer-in-headlights mode.
"Sorry, I thought you were talking about something else," Sirianni fibbed.
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) November 8, 2024
The league's injury policy is clear. It states teams must provide "credible, accurate, and specific information about injured players to the league office, their opponents, local and national media, and the league's broadcast partners each week during the regular season and postseason."
In this case? It seems Philly is hiding Hurts' true injury issue, and if the NFL finds that to be the case? Recent penalties for such actions have seen teams fined $75,000 with the coach being fined $25,000.
And in Sirianni's case? He'll likely absorb the fine ... and more hot-seat scrutiny about his goofball persona. ... and, probably, a win today at Dallas.
