Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni. Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Eagles Coach Pushes Back On 'Protection Racket'

Originally posted on Philadelphia Eagles on SI
By John McMullen | Last updated Oct 15, 2025 4:28 PM ET

Nick Sirianni has often discussed his coaching philosophy and the mentors who have helped shape him along the way.

The foundation of it all can be traced back to Sirianni's college coach at Mount Union, Larry Kehres.

While interviewing Sirianni for what turned into his first coaching job, Kehres wanted to know what offense the fledgling coach planned on running if given the opportunity.

Kehres stopped Sirianni before the young coach got caught in the muck, explaining to the current Eagles' chief that he didn’t know who his players were going to be.

The overriding point is that you build an offense around the players you have and that could change from week to week, never mind season to season.

It was at that moment that Sirianni latched onto the mantra of “Players, Formations, Plays,” loosely defined as players being the most important ingredient, followed by scheme and then play-calling.

Players, Formations, Plays

The idea that talent is more important than coaching isn’t exactly a controversial one, but when you’re struggling like the Philadelphia offense is this season, the last narrative you want escaping the NovaCare complex is that the offensive issues can be blamed solely on the players.

“Well, 'players before plays,' but it doesn't mean you're separating out plays,” Sirianni said Wednesday with the Eagles starting preparation for their Week 7 game at Minnesota. “You've still got to think about the defense that they're running and how you get guys open and how you help them get open themselves.

"But it always will come down to players first.”

Welcome to the life of an NFL coach, where every word may be parsed and used against you in the court of public opinion.

“When I say that, that doesn't mean that the plays don't matter either. You know what I mean?” Sirianni asked rhetorically. “It all matters in this game. In the parity of this game, it all matters.”

The idea that “Players, formations, plays,” which rooted itself in Sirianni’s life in 2004, 17 years before he first started coaching Jalen Hurts and 14 years before he was on the same staff with offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo is a tacit defense of the offensive coordinator is ludicrous.

“I think I've been very clear [about] when we need to do a better job of helping the guys be in positions to succeed, and then we have to execute,” said Sirianni. “It's never just one thing. … It's not like you identify issues and then you stay quiet about it, right? That's the accountability piece going in there. It's always going to come down to, 'Did we help them make plays? Did we get our percentage as coaches, and did we execute?'”

This article first appeared on Philadelphia Eagles on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: