NEW ORLEANS -- The late-season collapse in 2023 was not fun at the time for anyone connected with the Philadelphia Eagles, and certainly not for coach Nick Sirianni.
But Sirianni said Monday he's happy for it now because it set up the Eagles for the 2024 season's Super Bowl championship run.
"I look back on last year and how last year ended and I'm grateful. As crazy as this sounds, I'm grateful how last year ended because it shaped us to who we are today [with] the adversity of the beginning of the year and the adversity through the season, through injuries, through ups and downs, through everything,'' Sirianni said the morning after the Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX.
"I think that when you embrace adversity, it does something to you, right? It does something to you personally, right? Each and every individual on that football team, the adversity does something to you, and it does something to you as a football team as well. So, our guys, I think that could be the biggest attribute. They worked their butts off to connect.''
The 2023 Eagles, after starting the season 10-1, lost six of their last seven games, including a wild-card round playoff matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Sirianni said his pregame message to the Eagles was simple: "Tough, detailed, together.''
"We talked about that all year,'' he said. "My job is not to inspire them. It's just more to just remind them of the things they already know, and I keep it really short. I talk a lot all during the week so before the game, it pretty much is consistent. Week 1, Week 37, whatever, we're on 'tough, detailed, together.' That's our core value. That's what we talk about. And the toughest team wins, usually the most detailed team wins, usually the team the most together wins.''
The Eagles will celebrate their championship with their fans in a parade scheduled for Friday in Philadelphia.
