Nick Syrianni did the easy part on Monday.
He apologized for interacting, in a somewhat heated and confrontational manner, with Philadelphia fans during Sunday’s 20-16 victory over Cleveland.
Cameras caught the Eagles’ fourth-year coach yelling and gesturing to fans behind the Philadelphia bench late in the fourth quarter. It included putting a hand to his ear, as if he couldn’t hear their taunts. Fans had spent at least part of the game booing the Eagles’ offense and even occasionally chanting “Fire Nick.”
“Yesterday I was trying to bring energy and enthusiasm, and I’m sorry and disappointed with how my energy was directed at the end of the game,” Sirianni explained Monday. “My energy should be focused on training, motivating and celebrating with our guys. And I have to have greater wisdom and discernment about when to use that energy and that was not the time.”
At least he acknowledged the mistake. Fighting with fans never works. They’ll outlive you, especially when you’ve gone from making the Super Bowl in your second season to needing to survive the hapless Browns (and then bragging about it).
Philadelphia is 3-2, but hasn’t scored a single point in the first quarter and is averaging just 18.0 points per game over its last four games. This doesn’t seem like a very good team.
And that’s where the hard part comes for Sirianni. The 43-year-old is no stranger to being criticized for his lack of focus and maturity on the bench. He has gotten into trouble with referees, opposing players and has apparently played in front of television cameras.
There is no need to exaggerate this. Joking with fans is not a sign of an impending collapse; It can even be quirky and endearing.
It works when everything is working.
However, in the NFL everything eventually doesn’t work out.
Syrianni’s job is to get the Eagles going again.
Crime is a particular issue. Yes, they lost future Hall of Fame center Jason Kelce, but quarterback Jalen Hurts is still there, wide receiver AJ Brown is still there and the team spent big to bring in running back Saquon Barkley.
And yet, despite coming off a bye in which they were supposed to iron out some kinks, they needed a 45-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Hurts to DeVonta Smith to break the tie with Cleveland, which was trailing a victory.
“If there was something magical, we’d be doing it,” Sirianni said of the team’s slow starts. “We have to put guys in positions to be successful. We have to be ready, and guys have to go out and execute. It’s always going to be that way. And we just have to keep trying new formulas.
“It’s not necessarily the same formula against every team,” he continued. “It depends on the defense you’re playing and the opponent you’re playing.”
The good news is that it was a victory. The bad news for Sirianni is that all eyes are on him. Philadelphia has talent, but it can’t get out of its own way.
Last year, the Eagles started 10-1 and everyone dreamed of a return to the Super Bowl and a rematch with Kansas City. Then they fell apart and lost five of their last six games to ruin the NFC East and limp into the playoffs.
Once there, Philadelphia did not seem ready or willing to compete against Tampa Bay, being humiliated 32-9.
“We didn’t play well enough,” Sirianni said that day. “And that will always start with me.”
Sirianni kept his job, to the chagrin of more than a few Philadelphia sportscasters, but the expectations for something different were obvious. He was hired at just 39 years old, the Indianapolis offensive coordinator tasked with replacing Super Bowl winner Doug Pederson in a football-mad city.
The good will and patience of his good start are gone. What’s left are just questions about how he fixes things. Any distraction from that, including barking at fans for whatever reason, does not inspire confidence.
The next three weeks offer an opportunity. At the New York Giants, in Cincinnati and at home to Jacksonville: three opponents with five combined wins. Like the Browns, the Eagles shouldn’t have to be at their best to get the win.
However, for Sirianni’s sake, she needs them to start looking their best before it’s too late.
Once you give oxygen to the fans singing “Fire Nick,” they don’t tend to calm down. The apology and promise to refocus is the easy part.
Making it count is the task at hand.