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After $250,000 Fine, Nick Sirianni Says He’s Always Trying to Get Better as a Human Being
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Nick Sirianni was fined $250,000 for “conduct toward game officials,” which presumably means yelling at them and ripping them and probably cussing at them. It was reported first by Sports Illustrated, then followed by T Mac and ESPN on Wednesday. T Mac wrote that the fines are “on hold” and can be repealed with good behavior, which, presumably, means that Sirianni shouldn’t be screaming “YOU’RE A PUSSY!” from the sidelines, moving forward.
He was asked about this topic on Thursday:
Q. The $250,000 fine, did the NFL specify, was that for a specific instance in-game or is that just more general? (Tim McManus)
Nick Sirianni: I won’t get into my conversations with the league. I try to keep everything player related, as far as my conversations with players, in-house. Not try, I do. Same with conversations with the league, same with conversations with the referee’s association. I’ll just keep that at that.
Q. How do you feel you have been with the referees though throughout your time? Has it changed at all? (Dave Zangaro)
Nick Sirianni: Man, what do you think? [Jokingly.]
Q. Do you want my answer? (Dave Zangaro)
Nick Sirianni: No. [Laughing.] No, actually, everything — You are in constant growth. I truly believe that I’ve been in constant growth there in maturity in every phase. You’re trying to get better as a coach on a daily basis. I’m always trying to get better as a human being, as a Christian, as a father, as a husband, as a son on a daily basis. I know that things don’t happen overnight, and there are times where you ‘relapse,’ to say, and you have a moment that you want back. But I can truly see growth, and that happens because, again, my faith. That happens, again, because of the people I have around me. I want to continue to grow as a person and as a coach, but that doesn’t mean we’re perfect. We all fall and it’s about how you get back up.
For what it’s worth, Mike Vrabel and Aaron Glenn were also fined, so it’s not just a Sirianni thing. But it’s really the same thing it’s always been with Nick. The guy gets passionate out there. Sometimes it manifests in a boorish manner. But we all do it. We all yell at the refs – “hey ref, you’re blowing the game!” Stuff like that, though we’re on the couch. Most coaches who experience some level of success have a little bit of dickhead in them. You kind of have to be a dickhead by default. Look at championship winners like Sean Payton, Kim Mulkey, Bobby Knight, etc. It comes with the territory.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com