Former Eagles coach Pederson helped usher Sirianni in as Philly coach

PHILADELPHIA — The last time Eagles coach Nick Sirianni strolled the sidelines at Lincoln Financial Field, “Fire Nick” chants were raining down on him.

The offense was sputtering against the Cleveland Browns and the Eagles were coming off a lopsided loss to the Tampa Bay Bucs and, after enduring an epic collapse the season before, the fan base had no patience for any of it. The chirping eventually got to Sirianni, who turned towards the stands as the final seconds ticked off the clock of a 20-16 win and yelled at a group of patrons behind the bench, setting off a firestorm in the city that drowned out the results on the field.

That was less than three weeks ago. In some ways, it feels like a different place and time. The Eagles have since strung together a three-game win streak to improve to 5-2. Both sides of the ball have rounded into form. Talk-show hosts are now debating if this is a legitimate Super Bowl contender, and some are openly wondering if they had gone too far in their criticisms of the head coach.

“Having coached in four major cities in the NFL…Philadelphia is as passionate or more passionate than any of the cities and a little more intense,” said legendary coach Dick Vermeil, who transformed the Eagles from a losing franchise to Super Bowl contenders during his stint from 1976-82. “And I think the Philadelphia fan takes it a little more personal. Once you get established in Philadelphia you become part of their family. They get mad at you just like they get mad at their own kids. They love you and they’re going to spank you.”

Few men know the experience that is being head coach of the Eagles. Two of them will be at the Linc Sunday with Doug Pederson’s Jacksonville Jaguars coming to town (4:05 pm ET, CBS). It will be Pederson’s second game there as head man of the Jags.

There is a statue of Pederson outside Lincoln Financial Field commemorating the moment he green-lit Nick Foles to run the “Philly Special” in Super Bowl LII against the New England Patriots. (Pederson said he still has not seen the statue in person, explaining “It’s on the other side of the stadium…you want me to tailgate, too?”) That win gave the Eagles organization their one and only Lombardi Trophy in February, 2018.

But it wasn’t all roses during his time here. Pederson wasn’t the team’s first choice to replace Chip Kelly and the hire received a lukewarm reception at best. A 7-9 finish his first year at the helm put the entire staff on shaky ground. He went on to deliver a Super Bowl title and two more playoff appearances directly after that but was still fired after a down 2020 season even though CEO Jeffrey Lurie acknowledged at the time Pederson “did not deserve to be let go.”

Sirianni replaced him and has had a wild ride of his own. He has the highest win percentage (.672) of any head coach in franchise history and has made three postseason trips in as many seasons, including an appearance in Super Bowl LVII which ended in a narrow loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. But a 1-6 finish last season put his standing in question, with near flames coming off his seat until the recent win streak.

With a fan base that practices Eagles football as a religion paired with an organization that has set excellence as the standard in recent years, it’s not a gig for the faint of heart. Given the unique nature of the job, perhaps it’s less surprising that Pederson went above the call of duty and helped Sirianni with the transition when he took over for him as head coach in January of 2021 — a nugget that Sirianni revealed this week.

“He was helpful to me with people on the roster and how the building is, and just everything,” Sirianni said. “I always try to put myself in that scenario and am like, ‘Would I help?’ I don’t know. I just don’t know if I have that in me to do that and I admire people that do. I’m teasing when I say that — hopefully I can pay that back for other coaches.”

“I mean, look, it is a tough business and I can appreciate a new head coach going in there and what to expect,” said Pederson. “Just to be a resource, to be somebody there. I did it for five years and I was an assistant coach there for a long time and really just if he had any questions to just ask me. And it is just a respect thing. It’s hard enough to be a head coach in this league and any advice I could give a new-time or a first-time head coach, I was going to do it.”

Even with the helping hand, Sirianni had a wobbly first year. He stumbled through his opening press conference, deepening questions about a coach few in the city knew anything about. The team got off to a 2-5 start and at their lowest point, Sirianni likened the Eagles to a flower that that was growing beneath the surface and would soon sprout. The analogy went over poorly. But Philadelphia won seven of 10 from there and made it into the postseason.

Vermeil’s first season wasn’t a picnic, either, as an Eagles team that needed overhauling went 4-10. Turns out, Vermeil had an experience that was reminiscent of the scene with Sirianni in the Cleveland game a few weeks ago.

“My first year here in Philadelphia, we weren’t a good football team but we were playing harder than hell and working harder than hell. We got beat in the last minutes by Dallas here in a home game in the old Vet and I’m walking out the entryway of the stadium and some fan about 10 seats up really blasts my rear end bad,” Vermeil told ESPN. “And I jumped towards the stands to go in the stands after the guy and [former Eagles tough guy] Chuck Bednarik grabbed me by the waist and pulled me back out of the stands. Thank you Chuck Bednarik.”

The rough edges from Vermeil’s time here have been smoothed out over time, as have Pederson’s. They did enough during their stints in Philadelphia to become beloved figures.

It remains to be seen whether Sirianni will ultimately be fully accepted by the city. Not all spankings in this town are followed by embrace. But the paths of previous Eagles leaders at least offers some perspective as the current coach rides the wave.

“I think from the outside looking in, I think he’s handled it well. My advice is you’ve just got to keep going every single day, man. You’ve just got to keep head down, plowing forward, just do your job, get your team ready to go for another game,” said Pederson, who finds himself fighting for his job with the Jaguars at 2-6.

Added Vermeil: “Well I think Nick goes through in this city a little more intensely what most NFL coaches go through: they love you when you win and they don’t like you when you lose. And I think Nick, like all of us, including Dick Vermeil, have made mistakes from time to time in what he said or what he did and it gets evaluated either very positively or very negatively. Sometimes it misleads the true value of the good you are doing. Whenever you have a winning record in the NFL believe me, you’re doing a good job.”

ESPN’s Michael DiRocco contributed to this story.