Eagles coach Nick Sirianni uses the late Bob Knight to deliver his message ahead of Cowboys game
At Friday's news conference, Sirianni held up a picture of Knight with a poster on the wall behind him that reads, “Victory favors the team making the fewest mistakes.”
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Eagles coach Nick Sirianni displayed a photo of late college basketball coach Bob Knight as inspiration during a team meeting this week with the Eagles preparing to host the Dallas Cowboys at 4:25 p.m. Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.
Sirianni held up the picture — which shows Knight sitting against a wall with a poster behind him that reads, “Victory favors the team making the fewest mistakes,” — during his press conference Friday morning. Knight, the longtime Army, Indiana, and Texas Tech men’s basketball coach, died earlier in the week at age 83.
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“[My message is to] just play clean football,” Sirianni said. “That’s why I have this picture here … I thought that was cool in the light of him passing this week.”
Sirianni, 42, often uses different types of videos to emphasize his message on a weekly basis. He enjoys this educational approach due to his background. Both his parents were teachers and Sirianni majored in education at the University of Mount Union. Some of his past examples used in team meetings have included a wide array of motivational speakers and athletes from Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant to competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi.
Regarding this week’s message on “making the fewest mistakes,” the Eagles currently rank in the bottom half of the league in turnover differential (minus-3). They have 10 takeaways compared to 13 turnovers, including 11 from quarterback Jalen Hurts (eight interceptions, three fumbles). Meanwhile, the Cowboys are tied for the third-best turnover differential in the NFL (plus-6).
“It’s about playing clean football,” Sirianni said. “What does that mean? That’s our football IQ — coaches’ and players’ football IQ — our fundamentals, our detail. So that’s been the message. Because when you play a good team like we’re about to play, then you better make sure you’re playing clean ball.”
The Eagles host the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Lincoln Financial Field.