When you’re on top, as Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni is learning this week, others come after you.
Philadelphia is set to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 57 and on Thursday, an NFC East rival, New York Giants safety Julian Love, took a shot at Sirianni ahead of the big game.
While making an appearance on the NFL Network show “Good Morning Football,” Love said Sirianni was unduly benefitting from a talented Eagles roster.
“He’s in for a free ride right now,” Love said. “You guys can coach this team.”
Sirianni is in his second season coaching the Eagles and led them to a 14-3 record this season, good enough to win the division. The Giants went 9-7-1 and finished third in the NFC East, though they earned the sixth playoff seed in the NFC.
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“He’s a guy who really is doing a good job because he’s not getting in the way of his team,” Love said during the appearance. “He has an experienced roster from top to bottom -— offense, defense.”
What do you think? Which Eagles’ Super Bowl team is the best, ‘Philly Special’ or Jalen Hurts experience?
What else did Julian Love have to say about Nick Sirianni?
The hosts of the show also asked about Sirianni’s actions on the sideline when Philadelphia dominated the Giants, 38-7, in the divisional round of the playoffs. The clip the show rolled was of Sirianni nodding confidently into a camera late during the game.
“I don’t like it” Love said. “I don’t like it at all.”
Love, 24, then went on Twitter to defend his take.
“Philly fans sure don’t like this one lol… but I’m not wrong,” he posted to his verified account. “This is a players league, and Philly has dogs on the roster top to bottom. It’s no mystery why they’re in this position.”
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Does Julian Love have a point?
Yes and no. Philadelphia’s roster is easily one of the league’s best; the Eagles had two first-team All-Pro players, both of whom are on the offensive line in center Jason Kelce and right tackle Lane Johnson. Philadelphia also had quarterback Jalen Hurts, receiver A.J. Brown, edge rusher Haason Reddick and cornerback James Bradberry nominated to the second team.Â
Also, according to Tankathon.com, Philadelphia’s opponents combined for a .474 winning percentage, which ranks them in the bottom third of the NFL. Still, there are so many parts about building a conference championship team and managing talent is integral to the job. Sirianni has also expertly delegated tasks to two rising stars in the coaching world, offensive coordinator Shane Steichen and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. In any case, Philadelphia’s core was mostly the same this season, and the team went 9-8 last season, losing in the wild card round to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Who is Julian Love?
He just completed his fourth season in the NFL, all of which were in New York. A fourth-round selection in the 2019 NFL draft out of Notre Dame, Love’s rookie contract is set to expire at the end of the league year and he will become an unrestricted free agent. In 2022, he recorded 124 total tackles, a career-high that was 58 more than his previous best, two interceptions, five passes defended, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
Story Credit: usatoday.com