Nick Sirianni shares why he was emotional after win over Colts

Oct 24, 2021; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni reacts in the second half against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. The Raiders defeated the Eagles 33-22. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts do not have any long-standing rivalry or bad blood, but Sunday’s game still meant a bit extra to one of the coaches.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was emotional after Sunday’s game, admitting there was a bit of extra motivation to beat the Colts because of their handling of coach Frank Reich, who was fired two weeks ago. Sirianni was Reich’s offensive coordinator in Indianapolis from 2018 to 2020.

Sirianni added on Reich: "Yeah, you don’t want to know what I think of if he should be here or not. You guys can probably imagine what I really think. … It was sweet to come here, especially with what happened in this organization the last couple weeks, and get a win." https://t.co/O8jJDe95iZ

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) November 20, 2022

“I’m emotional because I love Frank Reich,” Sirianni told reporters. “He’s one of the best damn football coaches I’ve ever been around. I was hoping he and I would be able to coach against each other in this game.

“You don’t want to know what I think of if he should be here or not. You guys can probably imagine what I really think. … It was sweet to come here, especially with what happened in this organization the last couple weeks, and get a win.”

Points for honesty from Sirianni. He may have been reacting not just to the Colts’ firing of Reich, but the decision to replace him with an untested interim coach in Jeff Saturday. That move had been the source of some anger around the league.

Sirianni has suggested that he might like to have Reich on his staff in some manner. He obviously feels strongly toward his former boss, and is clearly not a huge fan of how his former team handled Reich’s exit.