Tag: Sirianni

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni wields the Vince Lombardi trophy during the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl celebration in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025.

Philly revelry: Eagles celebrate Super Bowl LIX title

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Howie Roseman strolled to the podium, Lombardi Trophy in hand, and took a big puff of a celebratory cigar.

His forehead had been cut by a can of beer thrown in his direction, but the Philadelphia Eagles’ general manager didn’t seem to mind.

“I bleed for this city!” he bellowed.

Below, a sea of fans clad in Kelly green roared back in approval, not that they had ever stopped.

Cheers and beers were aplenty throughout downtown Philadelphia on Friday as scores of Eagles fans braved the cold to celebrate their team’s second Super Bowl championship.

Philadelphia secured its latest Lombardi in dominant fashion, blasting Kansas City 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX last Sunday in New Orleans.

The party started late Thursday night, with fans sleeping in tents along the parade route to ensure they’d get an up-close look at their heroes the following day.

After beginning on Broad Street, the parade route made its way to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where the Eagles took the podium atop the iconic “Rocky” steps to give speeches.

Players posed for pictures with fans along the way while catching beer cans thrown from the jubilant crowd. Tight end Dallas Goedert even made a one-handed snag on a hoagie tossed his way atop one of the parade’s double-decker buses.

Star running back Saquon Barkley made a young girl’s third birthday extra special by lifting her up and holding her as giddy family members recorded the interaction. Barkley also recognized one of the team’s ball boys in the crowd and helped him over the barricade to join the parade.

Roseman wasn’t the only one to fire up the sea of fans from the podium, as Super Bowl MVP quarterback Jalen Hurts, head coach Nick Sirianni and wide receiver A.J. Brown all sent the crowd into a frenzy when they approached the mic.

“You know, I told myself that when I got drafted, that I wouldn’t come to the Rocky steps until I won a championship,” said Hurts, who accounted for 293 yards and three touchdowns in the Super Bowl win. “And now we’re here.”

Sirianni, 43, secured his first title in his fourth season as the Eagles’ coach. He did it by avenging a three-point loss to Kansas City in Super Bowl LVII two years earlier.

“This team is special. We can’t be great without the greatness of others and that certainly applies to our fans,” Sirianni said.

Brown, who caught a 12-yard touchdown from Hurts and finished with three receptions for 43 yards against Kansas City, clapped back at the criticism he received throughout the regular season.

“They said I was a diva, they said all I care about was stats,” Brown said. “You gonna get all those things wrong about me, but one thing you get right: I’m a (expletive) champion!”

Brown, Hurts and company got off to a shaky start in 2024, losing two of their first four games ahead of their Week 5 bye.

The Eagles soon found their stride and rattled off 10 straight wins to seize control of the NFC East. They clinched the division in Week 17 and finished 14-3 to secure the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.

Never having to leave Philadelphia throughout the NFC playoffs, the Eagles took care of the Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams and Washington Commanders before exacting revenge on Kansas City and former Philadelphia coach Andy Reid, storming ahead 34-0 in the third quarter against the two-time defending champions.

“I’m so happy you didn’t have to go through a nail-biter game,” veteran defensive end Brandon Graham said. “It’s about us being gritty. We’re going to stay gritty.”

Friday’s parade was not entirely joyful, though.

Area police said two women were shot in the leg during an argument that occurred near the parade route, per ESPN. It is unclear whether the shooting was related to the celebration.

Last year, one person was killed and at least 22 others were wounded in a mass shooting at the Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade in Kansas City, Mo.

–Field Level Media

Jan 26, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) and running back Saquon Barkley (26) warm up before the NFC Championship game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Different roster, different outcome? Eagles tout newcomers’ experience

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NEW ORLEANS — It was just two years ago that the Philadelphia Eagles were last in the Super Bowl.

That experience in a 38-35 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs was helpful to the many players who will face the Chiefs again in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday at the Caesars Superdome.

But the differences between that Eagles team and this Eagles team are greater than they might appear from the outside.

“Every team is different,” Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts said Thursday. “Every season requires a different version of each individual player. We’ve got a ton of different players on our team. We’ve got a lot of young players starting and playing pivotal roles. You just have to navigate that and find your way as a team for that year.”

The Eagles have navigated this season quite well, especially after a 2-2 start, winning 15 of their last 16 games.

“We’ve been able to play disciplined ball,” Hurts said. “We’ve been able to play ball and be on the same page and find ways to win.”

Philadelphia’s offensive identity has evolved since the team’s last Super Bowl with the addition of running back Saquon Barkley, who debuted with a 2,000-yard rushing season in 2024. The effectiveness of the running game helped Hurts finish fifth in the NFL with a career-best passer rating of 103.7.

“He’s a great passer and reads the defense great,” head coach Nick Sirianni said of Hurts. “And then he has this ability that, when something breaks down, to make big plays happen that way as well. He just knows how to win.”

Sirianni was asked about key Eagles that weren’t on the last Super Bowl team, such as first-year free-agent acquisitions in Barkley (Giants) and linebacker Zach Baun (Saints), as well as two rookie draft choices starting in the secondary — cornerback Quinyon Mitchell (first-round pick from Toledo) and nickelback Cooper DeJean (second-rounder from Iowa).

The coach explained that the term “big game” is relative.

“You tell Cooper DeJean that the Iowa-Iowa State game is not a big game,” Sirianni said. “Maybe to the outside world it’s not as big as the Super Bowl, but in that moment for Cooper it is. It’s what the player feels in his heart at that particular moment.”

Toledo’s biggest rival didn’t come to Sirianni as easily as Iowa’s did, but he finally came up with Kent State and Akron as examples.

“So these guys have big-game experience,” Sirianni said. “They’re not rookies anymore. They’ve played in so many games and have so many big-game experiences. I know how much these guys put in and how they empty the tank every time they go out and play.”

Hurts said this version of the Eagles has benefited from the closeness of a half dozen defensive players that were college teammates at Georgia. Defensive tackles Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis, edge rusher Nolan Smith Jr. and linebacker Nakobe Dean are all starters, though Dean suffered a season-ending knee injury in the wild-card playoff victory against the Packers.

Reserve defensive backs Kelee Ringo and Lewis Cine are also former Bulldogs. Davis, Dean and Cine are in their third seasons and Carter, Smith and Ringo are in their second seasons, entering their first Super Bowl with Philadelphia.

Georgia won back-to-back CFP championships in 2021-22.

“I think a big part of (the team’s closeness) has to do with the Georgia background on defense,” Hurts said. “I think that starts with Nakobe Dean and all those guys that were able to play ball in college together and bring their ways to the league. I think that has a big impact on our culture. On defense, how they play, how together they are, and I think that kind of seeps through the team.”

–Les East, Field Level Media

Feb 5, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni speaks with the media during a press conference at Hilton New Orleans Riverside. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Nick Sirianni: Eagles looking to ‘focus and refocus’ at practice

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METAIRIE, La. — Throughout the Philadelphia Eagles’ first pre-Super Bowl LIX practice on Wednesday, Coach Nick Sirianni urged his players to “focus and refocus.”

“It’s not a normal week,” Sirianni said. “You want to keep it as normal as possible, but the times are different, the obligations are different. The game’s not normal either. … So, just focus and refocus — it’s a good prep for the game.”

The Eagles practiced for two hours in 77-degree weather at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center, the New Orleans Saints’ practice facility. Roughly 20 minutes to stretch and warm up with individual work was followed by 11-on-11 team drills and a special teams period. The latter half of the session was a walkthrough, with a special teams period sandwiched in the middle.

Sirianni said he tried to maintain some sense of normalcy for players, keeping a practice structure that’s similar to what the team would normally have on a Wednesday during the regular season.

“Our goal for right now is how do we eliminate distractions and continue to get better?” he said. “… For a lot of guys, this isn’t their first time here, which I think is really important. I feel like our guys are locked in to what they need to do and are enjoying some time together.”

Four players participated on a limited basis: defensive tackle Jalen Carter (illness), running back Kenneth Gainwell (concussion, knee), wide receiver DeVonta Smith (hamstring) and defensive end Brandon Graham (elbow).

Left guard Landon Dickerson (knee) and center Cam Jurgens (back) were full participants, along with linebacker Zack Baun (groin), receiver Britain Covey (neck), and tight ends Dallas Goedert (ankle) and C.J. Uzomah (abdomen).

Graham and Uzomah were designated to return from injured reserve last week.

“They’re doing everything they can to get themselves ready to go,” Sirianni said. “I’ll never put limitations on them. We’ll see where they are as the week progresses.”

Following the afternoon workout and any post-practice work for players, the team returned to their hotel in New Orleans where coaches planned to review the practice tape before meeting with players.

“We’ll meet with them tonight, review this tape, then sleep, rest, focus and refocus,” Sirianni said. “Again, it’s just constantly coming back to controlling what you can control, which is what we’ve talked about all year — staying focused on your job.”

–Field Level Media, special from Pro Football Writers of America

Jan 26, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) celebrates his touchdown with offensive tackle Lane Johnson (65) against the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Newcomers drive Eagles’ U-turn, Super Bowl return

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NEW ORLEANS — A former head coach with decades of experience, Vic Fangio flipped the Philadelphia defense from weakness to strength with a no-nonsense edge and Super Bowl standards.

“He has a standard of how it’s supposed to look,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said Wednesday at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside before Philadelphia’s first full practice of the week. “And he holds the guys to that standard. He’s not afraid to tell guys when he thinks they don’t meet that standard. He’s been awesome. The way he’s connected with the guys. He’s been great on game day. He’s meant a lot to this team. He’s been awesome this year.”

The Eagles rank first in total defense as the counterbalance to a running game that gained more than 3,000 yards.

Fangio and the Miami Dolphins split as Sirianni was searching for the right blend of play-callers on both sides of the ball. He also wanted to add energy and talent to the roster. Key additions of running back Saquon Barkley, safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, linebacker Zack Baun, guard Mekhi Becton — all at least in their fifth NFL season — made the job easier.

Sirianni said Gardner-Johnson, in his second stint with the team after one season with the Detroit Lions, brings “endless energy.” He also has a big impact on the team’s turnover ratio. Gardner-Johnson led the Eagles with six interceptions, exactly the same as his team-leading total with Philadelphia in 2022, their last Super Bowl season.

More important, Sirianni said, was his instrumental role alongside 34-year-old cornerback Darius Slay in working overtime to keep first-round rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell and second-round defensive back Cooper DeJean up to speed.

Neither ran into the so-called rookie wall, though Mitchell fought a shoulder injury in the playoffs. For safety Reed Blankenship, the defense’s turnaround from 2023 to 2024 has been emotional.

“It was tough last year,” Blankenship said of the Eagles’ 26th-ranked defense and 31st-ranked pass defense in 2023. “It puts it into perspective. How you can make some changes here and there, believe in one another — the sky’s the limit.

“… I was a little teary-eyed after the (NFC) Championship Game. We’ve come so far. From last year to this year, it’s a complete 360, and I couldn’t be blessed enough.”

No player has meant more in a move to complementary team football than Barkley. And he’s showing no signs of slowing down. He has 66 carries for 442 yards — 6.7 yards per carry — with five touchdowns in three January playoff games. Kansas City has 57 carries for 185 yards and four TDs in two playoff games.

“When we talk about the game of football, you can’t be great without the greatness of others. You’re seeing Saquon be able to shine with the offensive line blocking for him, seeing Jalen (Hurts) with his ability to run,” Sirianni said. “He’s around all of these great players, great offensive line, and you are seeing him shine big-time. He’s got himself in great shape. I don’t hear the questions anymore that I got early in the year about ‘can Saquon take this many carries in a game?’ And the answer to that was, ‘What we’re going to try to do is win every single game.’ And this year that meant a lot of carries for Saquon.”

Hurts said he doesn’t mind taking a step back for the team to achieve success, noting he “is not the one game-planning” or deciding how to approach an opponent. The team leader with 14 rushing touchdowns, Hurts threw 361 passes in the regular season — down from 538 in 2023 and 460 in 2022.

“I’ve said it before, but we keep the main thing the main thing. Winning is the only motivation,” Hurts said.

–Jeff Reynolds, Field Level Media

Feb 3, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni speaks during Super Bowl LIX Opening Night at Ceasars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images

Eagles’ Nick Sirianni embracing emotional label: ‘It’s who I am’

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NEW ORLEANS — Eagles coach Nick Sirianni knows what losing a Super Bowl feels like.

As he prepares Philadelphia and quarterback Jalen Hurts for a rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, Sirianni believes his team wouldn’t be here without the pain of their Super Bowl LVII defeat. Hurts said the loss lit a fire in him to get back to the league’s championship game.

“Adversity does something to you. If you embrace adversity it can shape you to who you are,” Sirianni said. “Obviously that’s been the case with Jalen and through his career. This game is not easy. This game has it’s ups and downs. … Nobody in the NFL pitches a perfect game. That doesn’t exist in the NFL. You’re going to have bad plays. You’re going to have good plays. It’s about focusing on the next. Going back to the 2023 season, we’re grateful for that. We’re thankful for that. As bad as it (stunk), I’m grateful for that.”

The Eagles are hitting their stride seven months after training camp began, long removed from a 2-2 start to the regular season. They’re 15-1 since, losing only to the Washington Commanders in a game Hurts left in the first quarter.

“This game and anything worthwhile in this world is not instant gratification. It takes commitment to the work,” Sirianni said Tuesday at the Hilton New Orleans. “We felt like we had a great training camp. It didn’t start the way we hoped. But I think we’re playing our best ball right now.”

A self-admitted “emotional” coach, Sirianni said his core values and the team’s principles haven’t changed.

“Toughness, detail, together,” Sirianni said. “Those things don’t change. It doesn’t mean you don’t grow. If you start to be somebody and act like somebody you’re not, players start to see through that. You have to be genuine. … To say I’m going to stop being excited when we score a touchdown or after a win after everything we lay on the line to do so; or I’m not going to yell to correct or yell to praise, that’s not who I am. … There’s 43 years of habits that sometimes are hard to break.”

Sirianni said the Eagles had a great week of practice last week and has the entire game plan installed for their second look at the Chiefs in a Super Bowl.

“We’ve every year since I’ve been a head coach we’ve played Kansas City. What I see on tape is just the detail, again I have so much responded for the players that they have and coach (Andy) Reid,” Sirianni said, praising the amount of detail evident in Reid’s team preparation. “You have to be ready to prepare for everything knowing they have one of the best players of all-time in (Patrick Mahomes). It’s always going to be about stopping the run. Limiting the (big) plays. I see two teams that are highly detailed and highly skilled.

“I do like to study great coaches. And I’ll ask, ‘What would Andy have done in this situation?’ to guys who’ve been around him. He’s had a lot more success than I have. Three-hundred wins. That’s wow. It’s an honor to go against him. Nothing but respect for Coach Reid and everything he’s accomplished.”

–Jeff Reynolds, Field Level Media

Dec 29, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) walks from the tunnel for a game against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Eagles undecided on Saquon Barkley’s record pursuit

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The status of Saquon Barkley’s pursuit of the NFL single-season rushing record remains up in the air.

Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said during his weekly radio show with 94WIP on Tuesday that he will meet with players and team brass before deciding whether Barkley will play in Sunday’s regular season finale against his old team, the New York Giants, at Lincoln Financial Field.

The NFC East champion Eagles (13-3) are locked into the No. 2 playoff seed in the NFC, turning the contest against the Giants (3-13) into an ideal opportunity to rest their starters for the postseason.

Barkley, 27, needs 101 yards to break Eric Dickerson’s hallowed mark of 2,105 yards set during a 16-game season in 1984. Barkley has rushed for at least 101 yards in 11 games this season, including Sunday’s 41-7 rout of the Dallas Cowboys when his 167 yards made him the ninth player in NFL history to reach 2,000.

“I’ll talk to our staff, I’ll talk to the players, I’ll talk to (general manager) Howie (Roseman), I’ll talk to (owner) Mr. (Jeffrey) Lurie. I’ll talk to everybody to try and make sure that I’m making the best decision for the football team,” Sirianni said Tuesday.

Sirianni’s next media availability is Wednesday, when he is expected to announce the playing status for Barkley as well as quarterback Jalen Hurts (concussion protocol) and other starters.

There is a precedent for playing Barkley. In the Eagles’ 2021 season finale against Dallas, Sirianni rested several key players but gave wideout DeVonta Smith a chance to break the franchise’s rookie receiving record held by DeSean Jackson. Smith had 41 yards to finish with 916, topping Jackson’s 2018 total of 912.

“If you think back a couple of years ago to 2021, Smitty was going for the rookie receiver record. Everybody else was resting, but we wanted for everyone else — whatever it was — we didn’t play some other guys in that game, but we went and got him that record,” Sirianni said. “Every situation is a little different. Not saying one way or the other or how that’s going to play out or even that I made a decision yet.”

Barkley told reporters on Sunday that he will respect Sirianni’s wishes.

“Whatever his decision is, I’m all for it,” Barkley said. “If his mindset is, we’ll go out there and try it, I’ll go out there and try it. If his mindset is, let’s rest and get ready for this run, I’m all for that, too … I came here to do something special. Breaking a record is special, but I want a banner up there. I think we all do.”

In his first season with the Eagles, Barkley leads the NFL in rushing attempts (345), rushing yards (2,005) and yards from scrimmage (2,283).

–Field Level Media

Sep 29, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Nick Sirianni sorry for jawing with Eagles fans

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Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni changed course Monday and apologized for getting into it with a group of fans as his team finished off a win over the visiting Cleveland Browns.

The Eagles had trouble pulling away from the woeful Browns, and fans were heard booing the team and chanting “Fire Nick” at certain points of the game.

As Philadelphia (3-2) ran out the clock on a 20-16 victory over Cleveland (1-5), the FOX broadcast caught Sirianni walking in the direction of the stands. With a smile, he was yelling and pointing to one ear, as if to say he couldn’t hear them booing anymore.

Sirianni said postgame that he was “having fun” and “just excited to get the win.” He sang a different tune Monday during a conference call with reporters.

“I was trying to bring energy and enthusiasm (Sunday), and I’m sorry and disappointed at how my energy was directed at the end of the game,” Sirianni said. “My energy should be all-in on coaching, motivating and celebrating with our guys. And I’ve got to have better wisdom and discernment of when to use that energy and that wasn’t the time.”

Sirianni, who has interacted with opposing fans at road games before, said football is an emotional game but he needs to check himself in certain situations.

“I don’t think there’s a playbook for that, but I think at the end of the day it is OK if you want to be passionate and have energy just like I did in there today with the guys, you know, when we watch film together, but again it’s having that discernment of when to do that,” he said.

Philadelphia sports fans have a reputation for being particularly boisterous and quick to boo. Sirianni, 43, is in his fourth season on the job and has taken the Eagles to the playoffs in each of his first three years, including a Super Bowl appearance, but the team is just 4-8 in its past 12 games (regular season and playoffs) after a 10-1 start to last season.

“We have the best fans in the world,” Sirianni said. “There’s no place like this.”

–Field Level Media

Sep 16, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) talks with head coach Nick Sirianni during a timeout in the first quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni not second-guessing FG decision despite one-point loss

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Head coach Nick Sirianni and the Eagles put themselves in a position similar to the Week 1 win over Green Bay as the final minutes played out against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday.

Sirianni already knew what he was going to do based on an analytics study he led the team through entering the season. The Eagles kicked a field goal to go up six and wound up losing by one when Kirk Cousins drove the Falcons 70 yards in six plays for the 22-21 win.

“Is every decision I make going to be successful? No,” he told reporters Wednesday. “I’m responsible for all of it.”

The Eagles beat the Packers 34-29 in Brazil in Week 1. With a five-point lead entering the fourth quarter, the Eagles tacked on two field goals in the fourth quarter and held on as Green Bay had a last-gasp chance in the final minute.

Sirianni knew the situation would come up again, but it’s one he studied closely with an internal league review of similar situations and analytics analysis.

“I asked (our staff) for every time it was 1 point to 5 points the team was up,” Sirianni said of reviewing late-game situations around the league.

“I come back and I re-evaluate it (after Week 2), right, and I’m even more convicted, to be quite honest with you, because of just everything that goes into that … As an offensive coach, there’s a stress having to have to score a touchdown when you’re giving the ball back to a team… There’s a different stress being down six as opposed to being down three.

“This game always comes down to players and plays. That’s where your confidence is coming from in going for that. We’ve went for it more in our plus territory than anybody else.”

Sirianni cited two home wins against the Cowboys in 2022 and 2023 and the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers two years ago when the team converted a 4th-and-3.

In the regular season, the Eagles are 3-for-4 on fourth down this season, and went 19-of-26 in 2023 and 22-of-32 in 2022.

On Monday, Sirianni said he referenced his trusted “chart” for guidance on what to do in the late-game situation — attempt a field goal or go for a first down — and it read “kick it.”

Atlanta’s defensive look with pressure up the middle on second down prompted the Eagles to go outside on third down. On 3rd-and-3 with the Eagles leading 18-15 from the Atlanta 10-yard line and 1:46 on the game clock, three yards ends the game. The Falcons were out of timeouts. Rather than run the ball, quarterback Jalen Hurts attempted a pass to Saquan Barkley. He bobbled and dropped the pass, stopping the clock, and Sirianni went for the field goal.

“Be ready, be willing to pass it,” Sirianni said. “We’ve done it and we’ve won games that way. We’ve also lost being too conservative.”

–Field Level Media

Toledo Rockets cornerback Quinyon Mitchell poses with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected by the Philadelphia Eagles as the No. 22 pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Eagles’ inside intel aided selection of Toledo CB in first round

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Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni made a call no other NFL coach or general manager could before the final decision was made to select Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell in the first round Thursday night.

Sirianni called his old college roommate Jason Candle and soon knew his pairing with Mitchell was a perfect match.

“Their personality match is perfect,” Candle, the head coach at Toledo who maintains a close bond with Sirianni years after they roomed together at Mount Union, said Friday of the Eagles drafting Mitchell.

What some in the NFL viewed as a risk because of his small-school production in the MAC (Mid-American Conference), the Eagles viewed as a decided edge. Sirianni knows the small-school, prove-it mentality when he sees it, and Mitchell starred in every phase of the pre-draft process. He was the best player on the field at the Senior Bowl by their estimation, then ran in the 4.3s at the NFL Scouting Combine and smashed position drills and private meetings.

Candle was able to ease some of those concerns for Philadelphia, telling Sirianni how Mitchell turned down Power 5 options — including Alabama, Georgia and Florida State — to stay with the Rockets four years and all about how he sees Sirianni’s personality and competitive mentality in Mitchell in everything from team meetings to pickup basketball games.

The game tape and production — 45 pass break-ups the past two seasons — spoke for itself.

“We think we have an extremely talented, hard-working outside corner,” Eagles president Howie Roseman said. “He’s got the right mentality, all the tools in his body. He had a great process. He had a chance to transfer out of Toledo; he stayed there and came back. He got better, he went to the Senior Bowl, and he checked all the offseason process boxes one by one, which is important.”

Mitchell walks into a loaded secondary with James Bradberry and Darius Slay at cornerback and 2023 draft pick Kelee Ringo, Josh Jobe and Eli Ricks are in the running for more time this season.

“He’s got a lot to prove as a small-school player. The MAC isn’t the National Football League. We understand that … so to take a player like this, he has to be special. We think he is a special person,” Roseman said.

–Field Level Media

Dec 25, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni (L) and quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson (R) talk during the second quarter against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Eagles planning ‘aggressive’ approach to free agency

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INDIANAPOLIS — Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman plans on “aggressively” pursuing free agents who can help erase the sting of last season’s second-half collapse.

“The end of the season didn’t go how we wanted it to,” he said at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday. “I don’t know that I think about it other than how do we improve, how do we get better as quickly as we can.”

One way to do so is by “aggressively going after” veterans on the market, he said, which presumably includes many of the Eagles’ own 20 pending free agents.

Philadelphia has $27.4 million in salary cap space to work with to help fix a team that lost six of its last seven games in 2023, including a wild-card playoff loss at Tampa Bay.

“The standard is trying to compete for world championships,” said Roseman, 48, who helped build the team that won Super Bowl LII and fell just short in Super Bowl LVII.

Roseman reflected on losing several key defensive players from that 2022 Super Bowl team in free agency last year, including defensive tackle Javon Hargrave and safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

“Looking back, we certainly missed some of those guys and that starts with me and making those decisions,” Roseman said.

In addition to preparing for April’s draft, where the Eagles have the 22nd pick in the first round, Roseman said that his offseason to-do list includes a potential contract extension for wide receiver DeVonta Smith and waiting to hear whether two veteran anchors — center Jason Kelce and defensive tackle Fletcher Cox –decide to return for another season.

Entering a quarterback-heavy draft, head coach Nick Sirianni said the Eagles have not lost faith in signal-caller Jalen Hurts or his leadership ability despite the second-half slide.

“Everyone has to lead their own way. Jalen has special qualities that people will follow and will want to follow,” he said. “He’s gotta do what he needs to do to lead in that way. Some people’s leadership style is loud and aggressive, some people’s leadership style is by example, and some is a mixture of both. And so Jalen needs to lead how he needs to lead.”

Hurts will be working with new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who replaces Brian Johnson. Vic Fangio is the new defensive coordinator tasked with improving a unit that ranked 30th in scoring defense and 31st against the pass last season.

–Field Level Media