The raging heat from under Nick Sirianni’s seat — those fiery embers that once burned hotter than the oil cooking your Crabfries — has cooled down to the temperature of snow. Perhaps the Eagles will bottle it up and sell it.
Jokes aside, Sirianni appears to be immune to the fire following a 12-1 finish and his second trip to the NFC Championship Game in three years. His players adore him, with Jordan Mailata telling ESPN: “I love that guy. I’ll do anything for Nick, to be honest.”
It’s a funny thing when a football team is winning. People, even fickle Philly fans, have toned down their criticism, choosing to unfurl their tongues in effusive cheer instead of biting them sharply in rebuke, as the head coach keeps launching his name higher up the history books.
Nick Sirianni is cementing his legacy
Sirianni owns a 52-23 record (including playoffs) during his four seasons at the helm. He has the No. 1 winning percentage among active head coaches, with the third-highest winning percentage in the modern era. If the Eagles beat the Commanders in the NFC Championship Game, he’ll be on a short list of elite names — Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, Mike Tomlin, Pete Carroll — as only the fifth coach in NFL history to reach three Super Bowls in three years.
So, yes, the fire has turned into reign. Hear what Sirianni said in his post-game speech last week: “All that did for me was make me hungry as f***. I’m so f****** hungry and I know you guys feel the same way. I love you guys. Let’s go do this. We got business to finish. We got f****** business to finish.”
🔥 Nick Sirianni Locker Room Speech after Eagles advance to NFC Championship
“how about that championship defense!
I’m hungry as F——. We got business to finish!”pic.twitter.com/DdN5WuXlfP— Jeff Skversky (@JeffSkversky) January 20, 2025
Which brings up an important question to stash away for after the parade down Broad Street. Is Eagles’ brass working up a contract extension for Nick Sirianni? He’ll be a lame-duck coach next year as the five-year deal he inked in 2021 is set to expire at the end of the 2025 season. Franchises don’t tend to let guys linger on without a commitment.
Should the Eagles give Nick Sirianni a new contract?
The Cowboys did it with Mike McCarthy in 2024 and the wheels didn’t just fall off the bus, but the entire vehicle combusted and ignited like napalm. Predictably, McCarthy was fired in a long overdue move.
Nick Sirianni has 51 career wins (including playoffs) through his first four seasons as Eagles head coach.
Only former 49ers head coach George Seifert had more wins (57) by any head coach in NFL history through their first four seasons. pic.twitter.com/obwPyc3lbd
— Anthony DiBona (@DiBonaNFL) January 17, 2025
Sirianni won’t suffer the same fate. Everyone knows that. Last week’s divisional round win ensured that much. However, the Eagles are going to have to make a decision about his long-term future in the coming weeks, perhaps Howie Roseman and Jeffrey Lurie are already hashing out the details in a high-ceilinged office over a mahogany desk at the NovaCare Complex, with Big Dom DiSandro handing out cannoli while advising on how to make an offer he can’t refuse. Now that would be a scene.
Seriously, though, something has to give. It was reported that Vic Fangio is making $4.5 million this year (via Rick Stroud) as the highest-paid coordinator in the NFL. If true, Fangio’s salary is more than half of the $7 million Sirianni earned in 2024 (via Front Office Sports). That means a pay bump is due.
If the Eagles win next week, Nick Sirianni will become only the fifth coach since the year 2000 to reach two Super Bowls in three seasons
Here are the others to do it:
-Bill Belichick
-Andy Reid
-Mike Tomlin
-Pete CarrollWould be elite company to be in for an elite head coach pic.twitter.com/1r8fuOrrN3
— Drew Balis (@drewBbalis) January 20, 2025
Nick Sirianni ranks No. 11 among active head coaches in salary. Andy Reid remains the NFL’s top banana at $20 million per year, with Sean Payton ($18 million), Mike Tomlin ($16 million), Jim Harbaugh ($16 million), and Sean McVay ($15 million) rounding out the top five. Only Reid is still alive in the playoffs.
The Eagles handed Nick Sirianni a five-year contract worth $35 million when they hired him in 2021. It’s hard to argue that he hasn’t earned every penny, especially after surviving that vicious attack stemming from his introductory press conference. That, plus the infamous “Flower Speech” in addition to multiple calls to fire him in 2023 and 2024. He’s been through Rocky Balboa’s meat locker, yet keeps punching — and winning football games.
Not Everyone Remains Convinced His Job is Safe
There was a ton of scuttlebutt about Sirianni’s job security heading into the postseason. This writer brought it up on an episode of the “Flipping the Birds” podcast. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler took it a step further, laying it out as a real possibility had the Eagles lost in the first or second round. He wrote:
Nick Sirianni’s 47-20 record is impressive. Yet his standing was a talking point coming off a tumultuous 2023 campaign, and he doesn’t have a contract extension in place. The sideline and on-field spats are sort of hard to ignore. Any firing here would be a sizable upset, but if we’re talking surprises, this would be one to list because his status was a regular debate four months ago.
Turns out, the noise hasn’t been silenced. NFL analyst Chris Canty believes Sirianni might not be totally safe unless the Eagles hoist up the Lombardi Trophy. Losing to the Commanders, backed by a rookie quarterback, would be catastrophic. Canty wants to see Sirianni do something “exceptional.”
“For Nick Sirianni to get a contract extension, he’s got to do something exceptional…beating the Commanders with a rookie QB at home in the postseason is not exceptional. Winning the Super Bowl is.”
—@ChrisCanty99 pic.twitter.com/tR5ooK1i8W
— ESPN Radio (@ESPNRadio) January 20, 2025
That’s one opinion. Embattled Inquirer reporter Marcus Hayes — not one big on doling out kudos to players or coaches — has already called for Sirianni to get an extension. The win over Green Bay was enough for him, calling it: “Sound football. Mature football … The kind of football that results in owners giving coaches contract extensions.”
One more note: Sirianni already ranks No. 4 in franchise history for wins while owning the top winning percentage in franchise history. Not too shabby, and a Super Bowl victory would tie him for the franchise mark in that department.
What the Eagles’ front office does now is anyone’s guess. It stands to reason the Eagles would take some of the profits earned from selling game-used snow and turn it into crisp greenbacks for a proven winner.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
