Saquon Barkley willingly joined the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent in 2024, but he did so despite his past feelings toward head coach Nick Sirianni.
The Eagles’ star running back admitted that he strongly disliked Sirianni when Barkley was still with the New York Giants.
“I couldn’t stand that motherf—er. I could not,” Barkley bluntly told reporters on Wednesday.
Barkley said that his distaste for Sirianni began with the Eagles’ playoff win over the Giants in the 2022 season.
“He just went into the camera and he was like, [nodding his head],” Barkley recalled. “That kind of stuck with me for a very long time. So, I wasn’t a fan of him. I haven’t told this story before.”
Luckily for the Eagles, that impression didn’t scare Barkley away from signing with them when he was a free agent. He had one of the best seasons for a running back in recent memory in his first year in Philadelphia, rushing for over 2,000 yards in the regular season. As Barkley helped the Eagles win the Super Bowl, he posted the most rushing and scrimmage yards in a single season (regular season and postseason combined) in NFL history. Barkley also won Offensive Player of the Year.
Barkley’s numbers have taken a slight hit this season, but he’s still having a productive year. He’s rushed for 1,072 yards on 4.1 yards per carry and seven touchdowns, logging over 120 rushing yards in two of the Eagles’ last three games.
As Barkley has hit a new level in Philadelphia, he credited Sirianni and even called him the best coach in the NFL.
“When people compare who’s the best and who’s not, and for coaches, it’s about winning,” Barkley said. “He would say himself what makes a great coach is having great players. Obviously, the Philadelphia Eagles have been a great team since I’ve been in the league, going against them and now playing with them. But there’s something to his standard that he sets, there’s something to the way he comes to work, just how detailed and how obsessed he is with all the little things.
“There’s a reason why we do a really good job of protecting the ball. There’s a reason why we do a really good job of tackling. That all stems from him. It starts with him, and then he trickles it down to the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, and then all the assistant coaches, and the leaders on team, we gotta all take that message and make it work. But he’s been doing a great job for the last five years, and it’s weird that you wouldn’t hear his name brought up. But I mean, he probably doesn’t care about that either.”
Barkley’s also embracing Sirainni’s demeanor and attitude.
“Being here and seeing how obsessed he is, Hard Knocks and the behind scenes [stuff] that we have, that you guys are able to see with him coaching, it doesn’t really do it enough justice,” Barkley said. “He’s so obsessed with the little things. And there’s a reason why this team has been super successful.
“It’s been pretty cool to be able to go from going against him and not being a fan of him, and then seeing what he’s all about. I think he does a really good job. He’s the perfect coach for Philadelphia, what he stands for and how he operates. I think, literally, when you think of someone in Philly and a Philly fan. If I can picture a coach, and I had to picture a coach, it would be Coach Sirianni.”
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