Burning Heart
Sirianni’s passion has Eagles back in NFC Championship
There’s a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, making the rounds this week. It shows Howie Roseman, the executive vice president and general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles, celebrating on the sidelines at Lincoln Financial Field in the final moments of their victory last Sunday over the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Playoff game.
With the snow falling, Roseman is seen jumping up and down and then sharing an embrace with star running back Saquon Barkley.
Although not contained in the clip, it’s my guess that Roseman had a similar celebratory postgame moment at some point with the Eagles’ head coach, Nick Sirianni.
Because not only did the win raise Philadelphia’s record this season to 16-3, it also sent the Jamestown native and his talented crew to the NFC championship game for the second time since 2023. Furthermore, it also padded his extensive resume.
Consider these numbers, courtesy of the Eagles’ media guide:
Sirianni has the sixth-best career regular-season winning percentage all-time for head coaches (48-20, .706); the best active regular-season winning percentage among head coaches (48-20, .706); the third-best regular-season winning percentage among head coaches since 2021 (48-20, .706); and the best career and the best regular-season winning percentage in the first four seasons among Eagles head coaches (48-20, .706).
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Hired in January 2021, the youngest son of Fran and Amy Sirianni has 52 victories, including playoffs, which places him in front of Matt Lafleur (49), Jim Harbaugh (49) and John Harbaugh (49) for the most wins in the first four seasons as a head coach.
All of that is not surprising to Tom Langworthy, who has been best friends with Sirianni since the two were in elementary school.
“He’s an elite coach,” said Langworthy, the varsity football coach at Jamestown High School for the last 17 years. “His teams get better and evolve throughout the season. That’s due to his commitment, skill and detail. He’s an outstanding leader.”
And with a win Sunday at home against Washington, Sirianni and the Eagles will play in the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons. If that happens, he will become only the fifth coach since 2000 to do so.
The others?
Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, Mike Tomlin and Pete Carroll.
Ponder that for a moment.
But for some reason, Sirianni always seems to be on the proverbial “hot seat” from Philly faithful. Whether it was during the 2023 late-season collapse that ultimately saw the Eagles suffer a first-round playoff exit against Tampa Bay, or their relatively slow start to the 2024 campaign, the “outside noise” can be deafening in the City of Brotherly Love.
Combined with Sirianni’s unique and fiery personality and occasional sideline antics, it’s been an interesting four seasons for him in Philly. But Jay Sirianni said that countenance is exactly who his younger brother has always been.
“He doesn’t fake it,” Jay told me in January 2023. “He’s as genuine as they come. You may not like it, but he’s not faking it. That’s who he is. That’s the thing I’m most proud of. He’s doing it the way he wanted to do it. He’s the same guy he was coming out of Western New York.”
And as Sirianni prepares for the Commanders this week, don’t be surprised if he listens to a song that he and Langworthy played over and over during their high school years. Part of the soundtrack from the movie “Rocky IV,” it includes the following verse from the song “Burning Heart:”
In the warrior’s code
There’s no surrender
Though his body says stop
His spirit cries, never
Deep in our soul a quiet ember
Knows it’s you against you
It’s the paradox
That drives us on
It’s a battle of wills
In the heat of attack
It’s the passion that kills
The victory is yours alone
If Sirianni, who will be inducted into the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame on Feb. 17, does accomplish career win No. 53 on Sunday, maybe, just maybe he’ll play it again on his drive from his New Jersey home to the team NovaCare Complex practice facility in preparation for another trip to the Super Bowl.
Oh, and do you know the name of the band that performs “Burning Heart?”
Survivor.
No wonder Sirianni likes that song.