The day finally arrived.

Nick Sirianni’s introductory press conference.

He seemed nervous, didn’t he? Nervous, but excited and enthusiastic about the job. He played it safe and didn’t give away too much, which, while boring, is what we’d expect a first-time head coach to do in his first presser. We shouldn’t be surprised by that.

There’s not much worth quoting, so we’re gonna write out some observations in a list format and then later on we’ll go back over the presser and pull whatever else is worth analyzing.

Here’s the CliffsNotes for Friday’s media session:

  1. Jeffrey Lurie actually spoke first, delivering opening remarks that rambled on for something like 15 minutes. Seriously. It was like watching a congressional filibuster. He just went on and on.
  2. Eagles head coach interviews typically go 7-10 hours, Lurie said. Elaborating on the process itself, he explained that they started with about 25 names for potential head coaches. “It’s much more about the people and how they conduct themselves and how they surround themselves.” Ultimately they settle on the best “football leader” going forward.
  3. Lurie did mention Duce Staley as a “terrific player and coach.” He says they spoke at length recently and that they both believed it made sense for Duce to work for another organization to “set himself up” to become a head coach at some point in the future.
  4. Lurie said they spent 10-12 hours with Sirianni over the course of two days.
  5. It took Lurie more than eight minutes before he mentioned Nick Sirianni by name.
  6. Sirianni kind of looks like Marc Farzetta and sounds like Geoff Mosher.
  7. In his opening statement, Sirianni was a mess. He referred to Don Smolenski as Don “Slowenski.” He immediately went right to the “passionate fans” cliche. He kept glancing down at notes on the podium. It was like he was delivering an Academy Awards speech.
  8. Sirianni referred to Frank Reich as his “mentor and big brother.”
  9. Lot of pandering in the opening statement. He mentioned Villanova and Jay Wright and Kobe Bryant and culture and all sorts of stuff.
  10. There were 58 people on the Zoom call, according to John McMullen.
  11. Reporter questions? Rob Maaddi says 28 people had their virtual hand raised.
  12. Zach Berman landed the first question. Bang bang! He was a +125 underdog at Crossing Broad sports book.
  13. Dave Zangaro asked the second question, about Carson Wentz’s reportedly “strained” relationship with the team. Sirianni said he can’t speak on that but has talked to Carson and reached out to most players. Wentz has also spoken with new offensive coordinator Shane Steichen.
  14. Sirianni seemed more comfortable taking questions vs. doing that opening statement.
  15. He’s been with defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon for three years and thinks his football IQ is “off the charts… when I want to know something about a defense, he’s the first one I’ve went to.” Says he has a contagious energy and loves football and loves being on the field and in meeting rooms.
  16. He has spoken with Jalen Hurts and is “excited to work with him.” Sirianni didn’t really give away anything about the quarterback situation.
  17. Roob asked about a personal timetable for winning, to which Sirianni replied that they are going through the process and in a current phase of bringing in coaches and getting situated with the players.
  18. Nick Sirianni said “Howie and his staff have put together a talented group,” which is total bullshit. Sirianni is a quick learner.
  19. He didn’t want to answer the question about an offseason quarterback competition, says they’re still evaluating every position on the roster.
  20. On keeping Jeff Stoutland, he said “his tape speaks for itself.” He says they watched a lot of the Eagles’ offensive line and saw that group playing really well. He says Frank Reich spoke very highly of Stoutland. Called the decision to keep him around a “no brainer.”
  21. Why is he ready to call plays? He explained that Indy’s setup was a collaboration and just went all giddy talking about game planning during a typical week. It was football dorkiness, but in an admirable kind of way.
  22. Les Bowen asked a good question about Wentz, and whether or not Sirianni wants to have a quarterback chosen by a specific point in time. He just danced around it and offered a non-answer.
  23. THE KING, Howard Eskin, got a question in. He asked Sirianni what he needs to do as a young coach to gain the respect of players. Sirianni said it was about connecting with those players, coaching hard, teaching, and holding them accountable.
  24. Eskin FOLLOWED UP with a sneaky question asking straight-up if Wentz would be back. Sirianni dodged it and said he can’t answer that question. Classic move from Howard right there. You set up the coach with a macro-level softball question then DELIVER the hard-hitting follow up when they don’t expect it. Check hook followed by the overhand right. Of course, he didn’t get much of an answer, but that was vintage Howard right there.
  25. Jimmy Kempski asked about Sirianni’s involvement with personnel, and he confirmed that Howie Roseman has control over the 53-man roster, while Sirianni will pick the gameday roster. He kept saying he would be “working” with Howie on player-personnel.

That last note was kind of deflating way to end the presser. Howie is in control. It’s his show and Jeffrey Lurie’s show. We’re stuck with Roseman whether we like it or not.

Let’s check Coggin’s final bingo card: