In his three years with the Eagles, Nick Sirianni has rarely been at a loss for words.
On Sunday evening, he didn’t have any words.
“Yeah, I didn’t have to say much,” Sirianni said. “In fact, I didn’t say anything.”
Sirianni didn’t say a word to his players in the locker room after the Eagles lost for the first time this year, 20-14 to the Jets at MetLife Stadium.
Sirianni generally addresses the team postgame in the locker room. He uses those moments to set the tone for the coming week and he generally shares a few big-picture thoughts. Win or lose.
None of that Sunday.
Sirianni left the speeches to his players.
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“Our guys, as soon as we got in there, they talked,” Sirianni said. “A lot of different guys said different things, that’s what you want out of your team.
“That part was a big positive because they’re holding each other accountable, they’re holding themselves accountable. I’m holding myself accountable, and so, I didn’t have to really say anything. The leaders on the football team did and we’ll keep what they said tight in there.”
One of Sirianni’s strengths is understanding exactly what his players need at all times. Whether it’s a tongue lashing or the soft touch, longer practices or a day off, a long speech or just a few choice words.
It’s one of the reasons his players believe in him so much. Sirianni trusts them implicitly and they almost always pay that trust back.
What was said by the veterans postgame? Nobody was sharing any details, but A.J. Brown said it was healthy and it was needed.
“Just a lot of self-reflecting, a lot of leadership just stepping up and talking to each other,” he said. “That’s most important, even better than Nick getting up there and talking because we’re the ones going to war, we’re the ones out there going to battle each and every play and we depend on each other.
“That was the vibe. We were just holding each other accountable. We’re going to grow from it, but I’m going to keep what was said inside the locker room.”
But you can guess what was said. Jalen Hurts speaks all the time about “the standard,” and how any time the Eagles perform shy of their standard – his standard – it’s disappointing.
Postgame, Hurts was one of the leaders who spoke to the team, and it’s a safe bet the words “standard” and “accountable” were heard multiple times.
Jordan Mailata said the team’s veteran leaders speaking instead of Sirianni got his attention.
“We know the standard and we’re coached well, and I think it was important for us to speak up, and players looked each other in the eye and we’ve got to hold each other accountable,” Mailata said. “So I kind of liked it.”
Jason Kelce was one of the veterans who spoke up postgame in the visiting locker room at MetLife after the Eagles were blanked in the second half, lost to the Jets for the first time ever and fell to 5-1.
“I think whenever you lose you want to take acocuntability and ownership and I think we all know that wasn’t the standard that we hold ourselves to,” Jason Kelce said.
“Whenever you lose or you win, emotions are high and you know people are going to talk so I don’t know that it’s that unique. I think it’s kind of how it goes when you try to motivate your teammates and get things corrected.”
