‘Not a good look at all’: Former Eagle and NFL players react to Nick Sirianni’s postgame chirps

One of the biggest stories after Sunday’s Eagles win against the Browns wasn’t anything that happened on the field. It was Nick Sirianni jawing in the direction of the crowd, which had chanted for him to be fired after a blocked field-goal was returned for a touchdown to end the first half.

“Just excited to get the win, and appreciate the Linc support,” Sirianni said of the interactions. “It’s damn hard to win in this league.”

But that attempt at an explanation wasn’t enough to satisfy many Eagles fans, and even some former NFL players, who felt that Sirianni’s chirps toward the fans were a bad look.

Given the circumstances — the Eagles struggled to beat one of the NFL’s worst teams — former Eagles backup quarterback and FS1 analyst Chase Daniel felt Sirianni was not amused.

ESPN analyst and former Pro Bowler Damien Woody went even harder on Sirianni on Monday on Get Up.

“What’s this clown behavior, bro?” Woody said on the show. “This dude’s a clown. Seriously, you’re going to seriously talk trash to the fans? Your own fans? Listen, people come out here and pay big money to come out and watch you put a product out on the field. When you don’t perform well, they have every right to boo you. And you’re going to get all in your feelings because fans are booing you because your team stinks? Like, bro, come on.

“Then you’re going to bring your kids into the postgame to soften the blow from what reporters might ask you. This dude is a straight clown, bro. I just don’t have any respect for what this man is doing. You barely beat the god-awful Cleveland Browns and then you want to talk trash to the fans. Get the hell out of here.”

Sirianni said postgame the team feeds off the crowd’s cheers, and asked the crowd not to boo the team, saying it’s not “productive” for anybody. ESPN analyst Mike Greenberg responded to Sirianni’s request on the show.

“If you’re not ready to be booed, don’t take the job as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles,” Greenberg said.

On First Take, Dan Orlovsky cited Sunday as an example of how much the Birds miss Jason Kelce, who was one of the best at handling the boo birds in the city. Former Inquirer columnist Stephen A. Smith said that while he agreed it wasn’t a great look, Sirianni was

» READ MORE: SIELSKI: Nick Sirianni tried to deflect criticism after the Eagles’ ugly win. It was nothing but a cynical ploy.

just doing what he needed to to hype himself up.

“Whatever it takes for you to get that little something extra, you do it, because they’re already down on you,” Smith said. “They already consider you suspect. They already had a whole bunch of question marks. They’re already throwing stuff at you. If you think that gets the best out of you, you exhaust whatever means necessary to try to pull it off, because nothing else you’ve done over the last year and a half has sufficed.

“... If that’s what you feel that the players are telling you, and that’s going to get you sparked up where you’re going to level up your level of play as a coach, go ahead and do it, because nothing else is working for you. ... I don’t agree with it, but that’s what he thinks.”