Nick Sirianni calls Andy Reid one of the two best coaches in NFL history — even though Reid once fired him
Sirianni never worked for Reid, whom he’ll face in the Super Bowl for the second time, but he said he has “total respect” for the Chiefs coach.
![Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid (left) and Eagles coach Nick Sirianni after a game in 2023.](https://www.inquirer.com/resizer/v2/IH62L33TZVGERGBVBSRYHV4VNM.jpg?auth=2bf64e28bfc4bf598616b14939d019318c0ed0868cf9f9b31374f1502e9aa463&width=760&height=507&smart=true)
Nick Sirianni never coached alongside Andy Reid, but the two share a bond as coaches who have led the Eagles to a Super Bowl. Reid managed to make only one in 14 seasons with the Eagles, while Sirianni is already in his second in Year 4.
Reid went on to win three Super Bowls in Kansas City and has a chance to win a fourth on Feb. 9. While Sirianni doesn’t count Reid among his mentors, he did share the tremendous respect he has for the future Hall of Fame coach during his Wednesday appearance on the 94 WIP Morning Show.
“I didn’t ever coach for Andy, so maybe I’ve gotten a text message from him here and there after a win, I’ve given him a text here and there after a win,” Sirianni told WIP, explaining his relationship with Reid. “But I didn’t coach for him, we don’t have that history. I know he was here. You don’t tend to share information with guys you don’t know as well. So I have my other mentors that I reach out to. But, man, looking at, watching Coach Reid, I’ve got a lot of respect for everything he’s done. Obviously he’s one of the best, I would say, and Bill Belichick, the best coaches of all time, ever, as I look at it and as I study it. So a lot of respect there.
“I’d love to be able to talk to him about stuff, but this is the second time we’re competing for a world championship. I don’t know if either of us are willing to give information to one another. I don’t know if I’d have any information to give him, but I know I’d get a lot from him. I just can’t tell you how much respect I have for him and the way he leads a football team, his offensive mind and just total respect for everything he’s done in his career.”
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With so much respect, it’s funny to think Sirianni was once fired by the coach he’ll be opposing in New Orleans.
After the 2012 season, the Chiefs hired Reid when he was fired by the Eagles. Once Reid got settled in with Kansas City, he cut Sirianni from the staff, replacing him with former Eagles wide receivers coach David Culley.
“He pulled me into the office and asked to meet with me, and told me he had a guy but had heard good things about me,” Sirianni said leading up to the Super Bowl in 2023. “I appreciated that and his honesty, and his ability to get to me as soon as he possibly could so I could move on and find another job.”
Sirianni went on to join the coaching staff of the then-San Diego Chargers, and moved to the Indianapolis Colts to become their offensive coordinator in 2018. Seven years later, he’s coaching the Eagles in his second Super Bowl.