One of the most challenging jobs a head coach has after winning the Super Bowl is keeping his team humble and focused on doing it all again.
This is the first time that Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni is going through that with his team, just four months removed from winning their second Super Bowl in franchise history. It's the first time for most of the players on the active roster, except for veterans like Lane Johnson and Jake Elliott.
That's why Sirianni's message to the team before their OTA workouts was so crucial for him to deliver.
“The celebration is over. Preparation is here…Treat praise like perfume. Sniff it, don’t drink it—it’s poison.”
Sirianni understands what his team needs to hear
Since taking over as the head coach in 2021, Sirianni has set a foundation of winning within the culture. He has never had a losing season as the head coach, as he holds a 48-20 regular season record and a 9-6 postseason record, including two trips to the Super Bowl and a title in 2024.
The journey hasn't always been the smoothest under Sirianni as the team had a 2-5 start in his first season as head coach in 2021. They even struggled late in 2023, losing six of their last seven games including a blowout lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Wild Card.
Sirianni has always been able to hold the team together and produce winning seasons, though. He might be outspoken about it on the field, which will rub people the wrong way, but he is as true of an Eagle as anyone can be.
His humbling message to the team is one they will remember: not to let success go to their heads. They have a chance to do something no other Eagles team has ever done: win back-to-back Super Bowls.
The roster is built for this moment, and the culture is in better shape because of Sirianni.
