“Wish I’d Been Able to Do This in 2022”: Nick Sirianni on What Was Going On in His Mind at Super Bowl LIX Parade

The Philadelphia Eagles held leads of 24-14 at halftime and 27-21 near the end of the 3rd quarter of Super Bowl 57 against the Kansas City Chiefs. Fifteen or Sixteen minutes away from glory. But then, Patrick Mahomes went on a 17-8 run to close out the game, handing Philly head coach Nick Sirianni and his squad a heartbreaking 38-35 defeat.

Some say in sports, you need a short memory. Be a goldfish, as Ted Lasso puts it—it only has a ten-second memory. But you can bet that phrase was not being repeated in the Eagles’ facility over the last two years. They did not let it go, even for a second. And, two years later, that stubbornness and grudge-keeping created the right combination of anger and determination within the team to make the Eagles Super Bowl champs again.

Sirianni was particularly hot about that 2022 loss. It’s understandable since the head coach has received a ton of criticism since then. Some even said that he should have been fired following the 2023 season or after Philly’s uneven start to the 2024 campaign.

One would think that proving all the doubters wrong would give him peace. But Sirianni says he was still thinking about the 2022 loss during his 2024 team’s Super Bowl parade.

“The whole time during the parade… it was like.. I don’t know, it’s just the way it is sometimes, you’re like, ‘Man! I wish I would’ve been able to do this in 2022.’ You’re enjoying it, and the parade was awesome, and the people of Philadelphia are unbelievable, and the celebration was great, players, everything,” the HC said before recalling some moments when that regret hit him the most.

“But there are moments where you have the beer in your hand, you gotta point it over to the crowd like, ‘Man, I wish I would’ve been able to go through this two years ago.'”

There were 22 players and 7+ coaches who won Super Bowl 59 with the Eagles this past season and were also there for the heartbreak in 2022. It was clear that loss weighed on a lot of these guys. So much so that even rookies, like Cooper DeJean, felt an increased responsibility to make amends for a loss two years ago that they weren’t even a part of.

“It just inspired me. Even though it was the night before the game, I was ready to go. Ready to play right at that moment. Just seeing how the last game made those guys feel and not wanting them to feel that again. And I think everybody knew. We knew what we had.”

QB Jalen Hurts, who played out of his mind in that Super Bowl in 2022, was hit especially hard by that defeat. His phone screensaver since that game has been a picture of him walking off the field as Chiefs confetti rained down on him. When asked if he would finally change the screensaver, he said he had no intention of doing so.

Hurts has also been vocal about how competitive he is. How much it hurt to get so close to the pinnacle, only for a pass interference call to bring everything crashing down. As with most top athletes and competition junkies, Hurts hates to lose way more than he loves to win.

“The joy of winning the Super Bowl didn’t compare to the pain of losing it. I learned how to process everything after that game, I understood where my heart was, and it changed my soul. All the hard work, blood, sweat, and tears made this year even more meaningful.”

Philadelphia looks poised to continue contending for Super Bowls for years to come as well. They are likely to lose edge rusher Josh Sweat, and they’ve already cut 34-year-old CB Darius Slay. But other than that, they will likely be running it back with the same elite group.

Nick Sirianni didn’t even lose any of his coordinators! Not to mention that, despite the insane level of talent on the roster, they still have about $18 million in cap space to improve the squad even further.