Over the last few years, the Philadelphia Eagles franchise’s culture has been unstable. The inconsistency that had plagued them in the front office was reaching it’s boiling point. From the lack of teamwork between scouts and the GM to the lack of workmanship between the head coach and the general manager. It was all becoming a pain point for a franchise that tried to portray themselves differently.
Players turned on players, coaches turned on coaches, and front office executives ran and shifted the blame onto others. Most analysts and fans looked past it because the winning, for the most part, was consistent. It’s easy to ignore a culture problem when a team has made the playoffs for three straight years and in four of the last five years.
Change on the Eagles front
Since the hiring of Nick Sirianni though, the culture has clearly shifted. Players talk more about accountability, coaches talk about putting players in the right spot, and the front office has appeared to go all-in on this next core of guys.
According to Roseman, after the team’s loss to Tampa Bay in the wild-card round of the playoffs, the rest of the team went their separate ways after returning home. All except for Sirianni that is.
The Eagles’ head coach stayed by with rookie corner Zech McPhearson, who was waiting for a tow truck.
“You stayed with Zech McPhearson for 30 minutes after we just lost to the Bucs?” Roseman said to Sirianni that day “no offense, but I said, ‘[Senior Advisor to the General Manager/Chief Security Officer] Dom [DiSandro] would have done that.’ He goes, ‘That’s my guy; I’ve got to take care of him.”
Roseman stated that the one moment there was all he needed to realize that the Eagles, not only have the right man for the job, but the right culture in place to take the next step.
“I was like, you know, we may have something here with our culture, and now I have to go do my job and I have to make sure that we get better,” Roseman added.
A small story like this doesn’t make a lot of headlines in the national paper. A coach staying behind with a player with car trouble is something high school coaches are known for. Those same coaches always preach that character is who you are when no one is watching.
In the case of Nick Sirianni, it doesn’t matter if the Eagles are a high school team, college, or pros, the players he coaches are his guys and he’s going to take care of them.
That’s the mark of a coach that understands the importance of culture, and the importance of relationships. His players are aware that their head coach will continue to give them his best week in and week out. The acts of a true leader are contagious and you can see the evidence of it in the team’s leaders.
Nick Sirianni may not win a Super Bowl here in Philadelphia, but it’s clear he understands the major importance of what the city of Philadelphia is all about. That culture change will only help the team going forward.
Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire
