Leave it to Philadelphia Eagles fans to have fun with the very ethnic-sounding name of their new head coach. (Disclaimer: this football reporter is 100% Italian and qualified to comment on all jokes). Have at it, kids.
The reactions to the Eagles hiring Nick Sirianni were hilarious on Thursday as fans flocked to social media to comment. It was hard to ignore the masses bringing up his last name — Sirianni is almost too perfect for a guy set to lead a team that plays its home games in South Philly, aka the home of Rocky Balboa.
Not gonna lie, seeing Sirianni getting hired is giving me serious Italian American pride right now 🇮🇹🇮🇹
There was a barrage of tongue-in-cheek references to popular shows like The Sopranos and Jersey Shore, as well as mobster movies like Goodfellas and The Godfather — and don’t forget the city’s favorite underdog tale, Rocky. It was raining puns (and Italian Stallions) all day.
Sirianni’s office will be a card table on the sidewalk outside the Italian Market.
In Nick Sirianni, Philly finally has an Italian Stallion again. (Cleared this joke with a real Sirianni, @petersirianni).
Jeffrey Lurie & Howie Roseman after hiring the Nick Sirianni the first Italian head coach in Eagles history..
Nick Sirianni and his assistant coaches after Howard Eskin asks a question at his introductory press conference
Of course, the decision to hire the 39-year-old offensive coordinator was no laughing matter. He’s tasked with fixing a broken quarterback in Carson Wentz and restoring prominence to a franchise just three years removed from hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. It won’t be easy for the Eagles’ first Italian-American head coach — free stromboli every Sunday at Stogie Joe’s? — but it might just be the shot of adrenaline (red gravy?) the franchise needed.
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Frank Reich Hypes First Coaching Tree Branch
Let’s not forget that Sirianni has impressive credentials stemming from Frank Reich’s budding coaching tree. Or would that be Doug Pederson’s coaching tree? Reich was his offensive coordinator for two seasons, including the wild Super Bowl ride in 2017. Either way, Sirianni has big shoes to fill.
On Thursday, a bevy of clips surfaced showcasing Sirianni either talking about coaching or complimenting his players. Reich, of course, has always held the young coordinator in high regard and heaped on the praise back at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine.
“We worked for three years together in San Diego, it didn’t take me long during that tenure there that I thought if I ever had this opportunity he would be the guy that I would want to be my coordinator,” Reich said after hiring Sirianni in 2018. “He’s extremely intelligent. He’s very energetic. He’s very passionate about ball. He’s a great teacher, very systematic in his thinking, and just the way we see the passing game and the way we think about offensive football is very similar and very excited about getting Nick out and that he could be here with us.”
The two first met as assistant coaches for the San Diego Chargers in 2013 and stayed in touch. Former Chargers running back Danny Woodhead joined SportsRadio 94WIP to discuss the similarities between them, referring to Sirianni as a “younger Frank Reich.”
“He has worked with Frank for however long so he is more of a younger Frank Reich,” Woodhead told Jon Marks and Ike Reese. “Maybe different personalities, but as far as knowing the game, I think there are a lot of similarities and with working with the quarterbacks.”
Head Coach Nick Sirianni breaking down an #Eagles play from the Superbowl, while he was an offensive coordinator for the Colts.
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Eagles Fans Hilariously React to New ‘Italian Stallion’ Nick Sirianni