Nick Sirianni explains his sideline exchange with Baker Mayfield

Sunday’s Week 4 clash featuring the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers was tough on all of us. Gosh, that was intense. Those of us who are getting older would like to request a few more blowout wins.

We aren’t certain how many psychological thrillers we can handle. Nerves are still frayed, you know? Forty-eight hours later, the adrenaline is still coursing. Heart rates haven’t slowed. That being said, Sunday was a bit of a blur.

Some things we remember better than others. We know Nick Sirianni met with the media after the game. It’s hard to remember much of what he said. Then, after rewatching the game, we noticed something. FOX’s broadcast caught a shot of a sideline exchange between the Eagles’ head coach and Baker Mayfield.

What was going on there? Coach was asked about this during his postgame press conference. He cracked a smile as he offered the following response.

“Baker and I, you know, go back to when we practiced against him when we were in Indy, when he was at Cleveland (with the Browns. His quarterback coach, Ryan Lindley, who was there then as his quarterback coach, played for me when I was a quarterback coach. So I got to know Baker. I got a lot of respect for him. (i) think he’s really a competitive dude. So, (we were) just talking a little bit back and forth right there because, you know, we know each other and, like I said to him, besides our guys, (he’s) one of my favorite guys to watch in the NFL.”

Sirianni has been criticized for his emotional coaching style. Some would rather he reeled it in. He seemed to be trying last season. Eventually, his players confronted him about it.

They told him to be his authentic self. He obliged, and that was on full display during Philadelphia’s run to glory. Coach Sirianni knows only one way to coach, and that’s at 100 miles per hour. The results have proven that he knows what his team needs better than anyone else.

Those who believe that ‘teams take on the personality of their head coach’ aren’t huge fans. They think players won’t play under control if it appears the head coach has lost his.

Through it all, he has said the same thing. “We’ve got to play within the rules of the game”, and he’s right. The league is cracking down on taunting. Coach knows that. It will be interesting to see how he balances being authentic, being a good example, and being one of the emotional leaders of a great football team that again has lofty ambitions.