How Eagles’ Nick Sirianni connects with each of his players

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You already know how crucial connection is to Nick Sirianni if you’ve spent any time listening to him over the last couple of years.

The Eagles’ head coach emphasizes this fundamental principle the most. Sirianni thinks that relationships have power that extends well beyond the football pitch.

The 41-year-old Sirianni works hard to connect with his team members both on and off the field. He believes it makes a big difference, and his players seem to agree. We’ve heard a lot about how Jalen Hurts, who is also the son of a coach and hails from a football family, and Sirianni had a connection previously.

However, it’s not simply Hurts. Sirianni tries to connect and empathize to everyone of his players.

So, this week, we polled the locker room and asked more than 20 players one straightforward question: How does Sirianni relate to you personally?

Quez Watkins, wide receiver: “Honestly, he invited me into his office. In the off-season, he was engaged in that. He would discuss Philip (Rivers) with me since we are both from Alabama. He is a local hero. He just tells me tales about himself. He played at my high school, and they were his coaches. He is from my hometown. He gives me anecdotes about himself. We are just discussing basketball, football, and other sports. We are just conversing.

CB Josiah Scott: “My brothers are very important to me. The group visited Mount Union. We naturally relate since he is a Mount Union man. I’ve spent the most of my childhood playing football there with my elder brothers, where he went to school. At Mount Union, a lot of the same people and things are known.

OL Josh Sills: He converses with everyone. He makes friends with everyone. He’s simple to chat to and approach. He connects with many of men. Everyone is aware that he attended Mount Union University, which is about two and a half hours away from my home. We often make fun of it since my high school football coach played there and another one of my friends from back home played at Mount Union.

WR AJ Brown: “We discuss… He received a book from me. We sometimes discuss the book “Jesus Calling,” which I gave him. Like a devotional, really. a daily meditation. We read it and discuss it. We talk about it sometimes.

Dallas Goedert, TE: “I speak with Nick often. He’s merely one of my close friends. We’ll communicate through text. He does a great job of just being aware of what is happening. He’ll see the Jackrabbits doing an action and then discuss them with me. He’ll chat to me about what will happen with another tight end. He just has excellent communication skills with everyone. Just an all-around nice person. Whether it’s me with South Dakota State or Jalen with pop culture, he finds a connection. He just does an excellent job of interacting with everyone and making them feel valued.

QB Ian Book: “He definitely has that skill. It’s obvious, really. I simply get the impression that he speaks to a different teammate every day. In the QB room, he is. We connect the most there, I’d say, when we discuss about players who both of us are familiar with. For me, it’s Notre Dame alumni who may have traveled to Indianapolis and had him as their coach. Additionally, we have a mutual acquaintance in Coach (Tommy) Rees, the offensive coordinator at Notre Dame. We thus often interact in that area. Tommy was the quality control in San Diego, where Nick Sirianni was the receivers coach. As a result of their familiarity with one another, Tommy later became my coach and was essentially my closest buddy. We thus have those same items, which is very nice. Tommy contributed several of the plays that we use here from Notre Dame. That’s really great, then. That is how we became acquainted.

WR Devon Allen: “I believe that, for one, he already relates with the age demographic since he is a younger coach. We have men in their 30s, and as a rookie, I am 28. He is close to our age and, having played football in high school and college, can connect to and understand the struggles we have as athletes. He obviously has a lot of passions, in my opinion. He used to play basketball growing up, which is why he’s there in the team meeting shooting with us. His father was a track athlete growing up and now teaches the hurdles for the high school track team. Through it, he resonates with me. I also got to meet his father. That was very awesome. He makes an effort to connect with everyone on the team and I believe he does a fantastic job of simply trying to find something in common with them all. It’s not that most coaches don’t speak to everyone, but since there are so many players on the squad, it might be challenging. And that’s why I believe the squad is doing so well. Because of how many individuals come and go during the year, even the players make an effort to be in touch with one another. A new man is welcomed immediately away when he joins. I was welcomed here immediately away when I arrived. Everyone put out an attempt. A few days before the Penn Relays, Jalen asked me over to his home for a crawfish boil during OTAs. After that, I came here to compete in the Penn Relays. I invited a few of my teammates, and approximately ten of them came to watch after just getting to know me five days before. It’s very neat. Nick does an excellent job of establishing it in us, and I believe that it is a part of the culture here and the reason we are succeeding.

LS Rick Lovato: “We were just discussing high school football the other day. Since I’m from New Jersey and he now resides there, I saw that not his child but a nearby school was participating in a playoff game. We were discussing it. On a daily basis, he would approach me and ask me questions about simple things. After our field goal session, he always makes eye contact with me, approaches me, and always gives me a high five. He really cares about each and every player, which is essential for a head coach. He really does care about us all.

Andre Dillard, OL: “Undoubtedly. I can recall a time when he contacted me when I was sorting through some things and said, “Hey, come over to my office and speak about it.” He sort of simply helped me feel better by letting me express whatever I was feeling. He connected with me in many different ways. I believe that he connects with everyone in a major manner because of his charm. He cracks us up a lot with his jokes. He doesn’t simply behave like our coach; he also acts like a buddy. We all appreciate it a lot.

DT Milton Williams: “I had a distinct relationship with him. His grandfather was ill, and my mother had cancer earlier this year. He’s still kind of battling it since his dad survived and then got it back. My mother battled breast cancer and had several procedures and therapies. Fortunately, she’s OK now that she’s gotten it out of her system. But in the start of the year, we sort of clicked on it. He was only encouraging me to maintain my composure and offering me pointers on how to handle the circumstance.

LB Kyzir White: “It’s strange because Coach Sirianni and my safeties coach at West Virginia, Matt Caponi, were great friends. They were essentially housemates in college. They shared a college team together. That’s how we initially got in touch. He does, however, connect with everyone, as you indicated.

Jordan Mailat, OT: “There was one instance when I just went to his office to discuss a departure discussion from last year. Of course, we discussed the things you need to work on. But we had just finished discussing family. I also stayed in there far longer than I ought to have. just having a broad discussion about things I value. My family, my fiance, and just ordinary things, guy.

OG Landon Dickerson: “This is how we connect, and it hasn’t happened even once. I believe it just reflects his personality. While you’re having lunch and he’s passing you in the corridor, he gets to know you intimately. He’ll bring up something you could have discussed. For instance, we discuss plans for weddings and similar topics. Little things. You aren’t simply being treated like a player, either. He gets to know you personally and demonstrates his sincere concern for you as a person. That begins at the top and reciprocates with everyone in the building.

I don’t know, dude, quarterback Gardner Minshew said. We played HORSE from the moment I first met Nick on my trip to Indianapolis, I believe. little things like that. Together, we played ping pong. He does a wonderful job at it, but I believe all you really need to do is invest time and go the additional mile to demonstrate your want to connect and build those connections.

OL Sua Once again, “He’ll make sure to constantly ask you, ‘What’s up?’ and make you feel important. Hello Sua, how are you today? But I do recall one instance in which he asked me in the weight room what I did in the city on the weekends. We just had a discussion about it. I acknowledged that I am a city walker. Even if I’m not from a city, it’s wonderful to see one. Despite the fact that I’ve been here for a while, I find it intriguing. I just stroll about, stopping at restaurants and other places. It’s wonderful that he took some time to have a little talk like that.

LB Shaun Bradley: “He’s a fantastic coach first and foremost. He is mostly a coach for players. He seeks methods to communicate with each team member, whether it be via various videos. He’ll even come chat to me about movies or other things while I’m with him. He said that I reminded him of a TV character (Tell Me Lies). But gosh, he’s been on top of me. He has been putting a lot of pressure on me to take charge of the special teams, embrace that position, manage the players, and create plays. Man, our connection is fantastic. He is an excellent instructor.

WR Britain Covey: “He inquired a little bit about my time while serving as a missionary. He’ll stay informed about my wife since she’s now pregnant. He will then inquire about it. Because he plainly has so little time, we have just lately begun to develop closer relationships. But when he does, his teammates really appreciate it.

“I believe he does an excellent job of clarifying everyone’s tasks to them,” says Andre Chachere. Making sure we are committed to the duties we have for the week, the year, or whatever it may be, is one of the key things on a personal level. He seems to do a terrific job doing it with each person individually, in my opinion.

Knowing your job, CB Zech McPhearson. Coming into the NFL was more of a change last year. But this year, I feel like I made a larger stride since I knew precisely where I belonged on the squad. This helped me play and perform a little bit better. just being aware that your time will come. But for the time being, stay grounded and consider the team’s component. That has been a big assistance, and that is the main lesson I absorbed from him.

DT Javon Hargrave: “We just know some of the same guys, such as Darius (Shaquille) Leonard, who was over there with the Colts and other things of that like. He just speaks. He merely chats and inquires about my well-being. I don’t speak all that much, however. Perhaps with the D-line and other things, but I don’t speak much.

Just ordinary talk, says OT Lane Johnson. Using movie clips with the crew, we tried to make a point or anything. Today was probably a vintage Kevin Coster movie, I believe. I’m not sure whether “Field of Dreams” is the song. However, this guy had a solid series, and he said, “Damn, can’t you simply be proud of me?” And he said, “Yeah, that moment is over.” attempting to say, “Yeah, we locked up the playoffs, but so what?” What’s next? The coaching staff as a whole is quite knowledgeable about current trends and movies that will be well received by the players.

RB Boston Scott: “Nick and I have spoken on the phone a few times. There is a lot of ball. We both adore it, so there is definitely a connection there. But throughout training camp, we would sometimes have a talk. In any case, it’s nice.

TE Jack Stoll: “I believe it’s all. Every day, he joins us there to shoot (basketball) shots. Just kind of shoving each other aside and cracking jokes. I had the impression that the NFL would be highly businesslike based on what I had always heard. I believe he does an incredible job of interacting with and getting to know his players—almost as well as my high school or college coach, if not more so. It just consists of sporadic chats. I don’t believe it’s just one thing, but I think he’s really done an amazing job of connecting with everyone on the squad, not just with myself.

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