Eagles have thrived after bye weeks since Nick Siranni got advice from Chiefs’ Andy Reid
As one of the greatest coaches in NFL history, Andy Reid has found success in a number of subsets: division games, postseason contests and coming off bye weeks.
The latter two are noteworthy, because the Chiefs will face the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX after having a two-week break.
Reid has a 32-6 record in games following a bye week, according to the Eagles website. Philadelphia coach Nick Sirianni has done well, too. The Eagles are 7-1 after a bye week under Sirianni.
During his second season with the Eagles in 2022, Sirianni sought advice on dealing with bye weeks from Reid.
“I thought that was very cool and I’m not sure I would do the same, to be quite honest with you,” Sirianni told the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane in 2023. “I would do it for (defensive coordinator Jonathan) Gannon if he got a job because he lived it with me. But to do it for somebody he didn’t really know, I think that’s special.”
That story noted that Reid took 15 minutes out of his preparation during a Chiefs game week to talk with Sirianni.
When asked this week what Reid told him that day, Sirianni declined to offer specifics.
“Yeah, obviously always will keep my conversations with other coaches, players privately,” Sirianni told reporters. “Always so appreciative of any coach that is willing to help in scenarios and situations.
“I’m always so appreciative, and so many of these coaches have so much good knowledge to be able to share, and just hopefully I can pay it forward to other coaches that ask me questions that I can help them with at some point.”
A different bye week
Sirianni did say that the bye week before a Super Bowl is unlike what a team faces during the season.
“I think the one major difference is that in the season you might not practice that week, right?’ Sirianni said. “The guys will be off. They have to have a certain amount of time off. This is a little different, because you’re going into a week next week, that’s a little unusual with some of the things. So you’ve got to get a lot of the game plan done.
“You’ve got to get practice in, the practices against the stuff. But you also want to get guys rested and healthy and ready to go. So there are definitely differences. One by the rules of it, and then two, just about what the following week looks like. So it’s handled a little bit differently.”
