It seemed the Philadelphia Eagles were past the heartbreaking loss against Washington. However, more drama came out of the loss. Apparently, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and a beloved former Eagle needed to be separated after getting chippy. This was inconsequential but could it potentially have a long-term impact on the team?
Eagles Head Coach And Former Player Get Chippy After Loss
The Latest Antics From The Eagles Head Coach
It seemed that in terms of making questionable decisions that caught the eyes of the media, Sirianni had cooled down. His last incident of note was chirping with fans at the Linc after the team’s win against the Browns. Since then on the team’s 10-game win streak, Sirianni stayed away from causing distractions with the press. However, things sparked again after the team’s week 16 loss.
Sirianni struck a nerve with former Eagles tight end Zach Ertz after the loss on Sunday. According to Sports Illustrated, the head coach and tight end needed to be separated by team security after the game.
The report says that “neither the Eagles coach nor the Washington tight end wanted to get into what happened afterward in Landover, Md. on Sunday, but their brief dust-up saw Ertz take exception to a comment Sirianni made about his performance in the game.”
The report said that Sirianni felt bad about the exchange afterward and called the tight end to apologize.
The Verdict
It seems that this incident was somewhat overblown by the local media. This is a sentiment that even former tight end Zach Ertz deemed was “blown out of proportion” based on a report by CBS Sports.
Furthermore, the Sports Illustrated report showed a video from X documenting the incident. While Sirianni exchanged platitudes and handshakes with other members of the Washington team staff, Ertz came in from the lefthand side looking agitated with a remark Sirianni made. Sirianni then followed Ertz to the tunnel with a smirk on his face continuing to conversate with the tight end.
While this incident was minuscule in nature, it serves as another notch that fans and media can use against him for being “obnoxious” and a distraction to the team. Sirianni needs to have more awareness of the things he says because these kinds of antics have led to struggles in the locker room that can derail the team’s season.
Take last season for example. After the team’s narrow win over the Chiefs, Sirianni taunted their fanbase. Shortly after this win, the team imploded with a disorganized locker room that seemed to have an anything-goes mentality when speaking to the press.
Now more than ever, the team has no room for distraction or error with potential division-clinching scenarios against the Cowboys and Giants. The team must remain focused if they are going to get the job done this year and not have a repeat of last season. Sirianni improved this year by recognizing his mistakes and correcting them. He apologized to Ertz and put the matter to bed which is what matters. Now they’ll look ahead to clinching the division.
Main Photo: [] – USA Today Sports
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