There’s an interesting connection between Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid that, more than likely, few fans knew about before the two were slated to meet in Super Bowl LVII.
It dates back to 2013 when “Big Red” first arrived in Kansas City following the dismissal of then-head coach Romo Crennel, who was coming off an abysmal 2-14 season.
As things usually go in the NFL, any time a big-name head coach is brought in they almost always clean house, save for maybe the offensive coordinator or defensive coordinator. That usually depends on performance. But a two-win team probably isn’t expected to have much left on the shelf once the new stable arrives.
Little did we know that one of those coaching casualties upon Reid’s arrival a decade ago was 31-year-old Nick Sirianni.
The man who can now seemingly do no wrong in Philly had just finished up his very first season as Chiefs’ wide receivers coach. Unfortunately, timing was not on Sirianni’s side in this instance as he was working under the least successful head coach in Kansas City Chiefs history.
Nonetheless, just as Reid was brought in to revive the franchise, Sirianni and the rest of Crennel’s crew were looking for work.
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Let’s be clear, though. Despite what some headlines may indicate, Sirianni technically was not fired by Reid, who had ironically just been shown the door by the Eagles.
Reid would clearly be bringing in his guys, including his own wide receivers coach David Culley, who had been with him in Philly for 14 seasons.
But having to regroup and land a new opportunity — which Sirianni found with the Chargers — did provide some motivation for the young coach following a season to forget.
“Do you always have this little chip on your shoulder? Sure, you do. You’re always like … but that’s who I am as a coach, as a person. I want to make sure that I’m working my butt off to be as good as I possibly can.”
Nick Sirianni on being let go by Kansas City (via NBC Philadelphia)
Based on Sirianni’s additional comments, it absolutely seems like most of what Reid left with him were positive traits to carry forward.
“What I appreciated was that he brought everybody in and talked to them,” Sirianni said. “Unfortunately, it was the same thing I had to do (when he was hired by the Eagles) … I didn’t coach with Andy but he gave me a good example of what to do, unfortunately, of the hard part of the job of, ‘Hey, I got a guy here.’ And he was very complimentary. He knew I would be down so he gave me strength when I was down. And I appreciated that.”
And look where we are. It took just eight years for Sirianni to vault from that harrowing experience of a 2-14 season to become the head coach of the Eagles and — after reaching the playoffs in season one — finds himself in the Super Bowl in season two after a dominant run through the NFC Playoffs.
It’s safe to say things have worked out for both sides to an extraordinary degree.
What’s also important to remember is that it is a two-way street.
Despite having proven the Eagles wrong by sustained success with the Chiefs — Reid holds a record of 116-45 with a Super Bowl ring — there’s no doubt “Big Red” will be looking for some overdue revenge come this Sunday with everything on the line in Arizona for Super Bowl LVII.