After Eagles playoff win, Nick Sirianni had some words for WIP’s Angelo Cataldi

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was all smiles following the Eagles’ rout of the New York Giants in Saturday night’s divisional round playoff game.

But the second-year head coach, now just one win away from a trip to the Super Bowl, took time following the game to lay into 94.1 WIP and soon-to-be-retired morning show host Angelo Cataldi.

At issue was Cataldi’s season-long criticism of Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who has received interest from multiple NFL teams looking to fill head coaching vacancies. Cataldi isn’t the only pundit in town who has been highly critical of Gannon’s defensive approach, but he has been among the loudest.

“The Eagles’ defensive coordinator spent much of last season as a convenient scapegoat for a defense that simply did not have the personnel to compete at a championship level,” wrote Inquirer columnist David Murphy. “Against the Giants, he showed exactly why his bosses never lost confidence.”

Speaking to reporters following the game, Sirianni specifically called out Cataldi by name in a rant on the coverage Gannon has received following a season where the Eagles defense was second only to the San Francisco 49ers in terms of yards per game allowed (301.5 yards) and set a new franchise record with 70 sacks.

“This guy is an unbelievable coordinator. The fact that he doesn’t get respect from our radio station blows my mind,” Sirianni said, pointing the finger at WIP, which airs Eagles games.

“As a matter of fact, coaches from other teams ask me, ‘Does Jonathan Gannon get s— here?’ I’m like, ‘Somehow, yeah,’” Sirianni added. “This guy’s incredible. He’s gonna be a football coach in the National Football League because of what he does. This guy’s a stud.”

Sirianni is scheduled to appear on Cataldi’s morning show Monday.

“I can’t wait to talk to Angelo,” Sirianni said.

Speaking of Sirianni, during the second quarter of Saturday night’s rout of the Giants, he was captured by Fox’s cameras spouting out some colorful language to a referee during a two-point attempt.

“I know what the f— I’m doing. I’m allowed to be down here,” Sirianni said.

Sirianni explained the outburst to reporters following the game.

“I was looking to call a timeout, and he told me to get back,” Sirianni said. “I don’t have the burst like I used to have at Mt. Union where I could sprint 30 yards to get a timeout, so I needed to be down there because I didn’t want to tear a hamstring off the bone.”

Rob Gronkowski is one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history, but he has a lot of work to do if he wants to match those skills as a broadcaster.

Appearing on Fox’s NFL pregame show Saturday ahead of the Eagles game, Gronk was attempting to credit Birds offensive coordinator Shane Steichen. He came close.

“Their offense is the real deal, led by head coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Shane Spikeman.”

Gronk brings a lot of energy when he shows up on set for Fox, but the information he presents is often lacking. Though he did offer an update from his vantage point about the future of his longtime teammate and friend, Tom Brady.

“He’s probably getting some treatment on his arm as we speak right now, so he’s gonna be ready to go next year,” Gronk said, adding he thinks Brady will end up with a team “that makes him the most excited to play the game of football.”

Brady will join Gronk at Fox whenever the seven-time Super Bowl champ decides to retire. Brady is expected to jump into the No. 1 booth as the long-term replacement for Hall of Famer Troy Aikman, who left Fox after two decades during the offseason to become the lead analyst on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.