Daily News | ‘Gotta win Super Bowls’: On Andy Reid, Nick Sirianni, and Jeffrey Lurie’s ability to look into the hearts of Eagles coaches
PHOENIX — During his first NFL bye week as Eagles coach, Nick Sirianni took his wife, Brett, to New York City for an overnight jaunt. The team set them up at the Marriott Marquis near Times Square and with a concierge it has used for years.
Fourteen months later, Reid and Sirianni will face off in Sunday’s Super Bowl LVII, pitting both coaches against former employers. Reid’s history with the Eagles, of course, is longer and more complicated than Sirianni’s four years as an assistant with the Chiefs. “These moments and opportunities are so rare, come Sunday the gloves will come off,” Chiefs general manager and former Eagles scout Brett Veach said, “and both organizations will do whatever they have to do to win.”
And the 71-year old’s emotional intelligence in entrusting his franchise often to the right coaches and fostering a collegial relationship between that fraternity has played a role in the Eagles’ consistency vs. other NFL operations. “I want to have as healthy a relationship with those I’m working closely with,” Lurie said. “And whether they’re still with us or not, we want our lives to cross in a healthy way. And, yeah, Andy was instrumental in advising us to hire Doug. Frank Reich was instrumental in raving about Nick Sirianni.
On Monday night, Tammy Reid joked, “They ran us out of town,” but her husband, for many reasons, had decided he, too, had enough. The ensuing coaching search was criticized as it stretched on, but then-team president Joe Banner pushed for the relatively-unknown Reid and Lurie eventually made his choice. Banner had left by the time the Eagles would go through the process again.
Two years later, when Nick Foles was thrust under center after Carson Wentz’s season-ending injury, Pederson utilized some of Kelly’s offensive scheme to play to the backup quarterback’s strengths and even called him for more detail. Lurie has always been an engaged and involved owner. But for most of his first 20 years he allowed his coaches and Banner, who had specialized in the salary cap and found other non-traditional ways to gain advantages over other teams, to run the show.
The relationship had reached an impasse following the 4-11-1 season in 2020. Lurie wasn’t satisfied with Pederson’s initial list of coaching replacements — among other concerns — and when the coach declined to alter his suggestions, he was fired.The overall emotion After Kelly’s departure, he spoke about the importance of coaches “opening their hearts” to get others to “achieve peak performance,” which may sound new-agey on the surface, but may be the secret to Lurie choosing the right candidates, despite their relative anonymity.
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