Sirianni still has chip on his shoulder over being fired by Reid
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni will not only get a chance to win his first Super Bowl title Sunday, but he'll get to do so against the man who fired him 10 years ago.
Sirianni was the Kansas City Chiefs' wide receivers coach when Andy Reid took over ahead of the 2013 campaign. With Reid bringing along David Culley from Philadelphia, Sirianni was among those staffers let go.
While the Eagles coach has no hard feelings toward Reid, he still uses his exit from his first NFL home as motivation.
"Do you always have this little chip on your shoulder? Sure, yeah, you do," he said, according to ESPN's Tim McManus. "But that's who I am as a coach and as a person - I want to make sure I'm working my butt off to get as good as I possibly can. And sure, you hold on to some of those things."
Sirianni commended Reid for how he handled the transition in Kansas City after taking over for Romeo Crennel, who went 2-14 in his lone full season in charge.
"Andy came in because we weren't good enough in Kansas City. And he stepped in and did an unbelievable job," Sirianni said. "What I appreciated is that he brought everyone in and talked to them.
"I didn't coach with Andy, but he gave me a good example of what to do with a hard part of the job of: 'Hey, I got a guy here.' He was complimentary. He knew I would be down, so he gave me strength when I was down. I appreciated that, and it sounds like that's who he is as a person and a coach."
Sirianni next spent five seasons with the then-San Diego Chargers before leaving to become Frank Reich's offensive coordinator with the Indianapolis Colts. His success in Indy led to him landing the top job in Philadelphia in 2021.
The 41-year-old has helped turn the Eagles into a juggernaut in just his second season in charge. Philadelphia earned an NFC-best 14-3 record before blowing out both the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs to set up a Super Bowl matchup against the Chiefs.
Reid will also have a chance at revenge in Arizona on Sunday. He was fired by the Eagles in 2012 after 14 years at the helm of the NFC East club.