Eagles coach has strong warning for Jalen Carter as Nick Sirianni refuses to discuss internal discipline

The Philadelphia Eagles learned on Tuesday that star defensive tackle Jalen Carter will be fined but not suspended for spitting on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott before the first snap of the regular-season opener on Sept. 4. 

While speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio made his feelings about Carter's actions at Lincoln Financial Field quite clear. 

Vic Fangio reminds Jalen Carter what's important

"You’ve got to be focused on the job at hand, and all extracurricular stuff needs to not have any importance to you," Fangio said about Carter getting ejected from the Week 1 contest before he played a down, per Reuben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia. 

Shortly after Philadelphia surrendered back-to-back touchdown drives and then back-to-back field-goal drives to open what became a 24-20 win over Dallas, Carter acknowledged he made a "mistake" that "just won't happen again." ESPN's Tim McManus and the Associated Press noted that the NFL Players Association notified the league that Carter has waived his right to appeal his $57,222 fine after it was determined that he essentially had already served a one-game suspension.

"The first thing that happens is now you're down to four D-linemen and everybody's rep counts got to go up," Fangio said about not having Carter versus the Cowboys. "So to me, that's the biggest adjustment. Obviously, you lose the player, which is no good on multiple fronts. But it's a rep thing, too." 

Will Philadelphia Eagles discipline Jalen Carter internally?

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was asked Tuesday if he will punish Carter, perhaps by benching the 24-year-old for a drive or two during this coming Sunday's matchup at the 0-1 Kansas City Chiefs.

"I'm going to keep everything that I do with him private, regardless of if you see it on Sunday or not," Sirianni said, according to Zach Berman of The Athletic. "Everything, every conversation, whether it's a personal conversation, a disciplinary thing, all those things will always be handled privately. I just think that's the way to go about doing team business, and when you're doing things with a football team."

Sirianni may keep the nature of such chats confidential, but Fangio sent quite a public message to Carter on Tuesday. 

"Well, to be considered a leader, actions speak louder than words, and he's got to lead through his actions," Fangio added about Carter.

As of Wednesday morning, ESPN BET had the Eagles as 1.5-point road favorites against the Chiefs. Carter should have an opportunity to make up for his miscue during the upcoming Super Bowl LIX rematch.