Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni sounded off on the steady skepticism he and his team have received despite putting together a 10-2 start.
"The panic from anyone was all on the outside," he said to The MMQB's Albert Breer. "What an overreaction of the NFL media."
Sirianni went on to echo it was a "crazy overreaction."
"We're 2-2. And communication's key to our organization; we make a key of that always," he said. "We also make it a key not to listen, when people are telling us how s--tty we are or how good we are, we don't listen, we just do what we need to do to get better, and that's what that week was for. …
"People get so wrapped up in the scheme, because it's an easy thing to look at—look at this guy and how they drew this up and did that. At the end of the day, football is about tackling, it's about getting off blocks, it's about beating blocks, it's about blocking, it's about catching the football, it's about fundamentals."
Beyond splitting their first four games, the Eagles weren't exactly blowing teams away in their wins. Four of their first six victories were all by single digits.
In the case of Sirianni, it didn't help that he pretty much entered the year on the hot seat despite guiding Philly to a third straight playoff appearance. The fanbase wasn't inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt.
The Eagles' on-field success continues to silence all of the doubters.
NFL on CBS 🏈@NFLonCBSThe <a href="https://twitter.com/Eagles?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Eagles</a> are flying this season at 9-2 🦅<br><br>LBs Zack Baun & Nakobe Dean sat down with each other to talk their strong defense, Saquon, and Sirianni's shaved head 😅 <a href="https://t.co/BqNQYX8r5A">pic.twitter.com/BqNQYX8r5A</a>
Philadelphia's defense is allowing the fewest yards with 282.8 per game. Jalen Hurts is ninth in QBR (64.5), up from 12th (60.9) in 2023, per ESPN.com. Running back Saquon Barkley is performing at an MVP-type level with an NFL-best 1,499 rushing yards along with 11 touchdowns on the ground, which match his personal best.
Opinions of Sirianni could swing back in the other direction if the Eagles wind up laying an egg in the playoffs. For now, ownership and the front office are being rewarded for staying the course with the head coach.
