Mike Missanelli joined the chorus of media personalities that were critical of Eagles coach Nick Sirianni Monday morning.
"The issue is whether he is an adequate enough coach to lead an NFL team to some kind of a lofty plateau. And to that, I think NOT," Missanelli declared Monday on 97.5 The Fanatic.
"It is such low-hanging fruit ... it's so obvious to rip into Sirianni for how he handled the aftermath of yesterday's win over the Browns," Missanelli continued. "Taunting fans who gave him crap with an ear cup? What is he, 14 years old?"
Nick Sirianni Strikes Again…
-@MikeMiss25 #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/z3vDtuUMNJ
Missanelli also took issue with Sirianni bringing his three kids to the podium with him for his postgame press conference.
"And then he brings his kids as some sort of an emotional shield to the postgame press conference? It's weak ... it's fake ... it's insulting to the reporters in there, who are supposed to do their job, which is to ask the tough questions to this coach related to the subject."
At this point, virtually everyone agrees that Sirianni jawing with fans on the sideline at the end of the game was juvenile. However, the second part of Missanelli's critique of Sirianni does seem to be more up for debate.
It is true that Sirianni has often brought his kids to press conferences, and there wasn't this level of criticism for doing that when the Eagles were winning a ton of games. At the same time, it still was unnecessary. No one is asking him not to love his family, but why do his kids need to be at the podium after the game? In what other line of work do your kids get to come to important meetings? Reporters aren't allowed to bring their kids to press conferences, nor should they be. This is a workplace.
On top of that, there is a difference between bringing your kids to a press conference following a 40-3 win, as opposed to after you narrowly beat one of the most dysfunctional franchises in professional sports and you know you are about to get asked about shit talking fans. Frankly, it's a weird position to put your kids in to have them up there watching their dad get peppered with difficult questions.
#Eagles HC Nick Sirianni on his interaction with fans:
"Just excited to get the win. ... It's hard to win in this league." pic.twitter.com/DwM5XsOi4L https://t.co/mMVCR4Vmli
In any event, this should have been a pretty lousy sports radio day. Yeah, the Eagles played down to their competition, but they still won and are 3-2. It would have been hard for hosts to resonate this morning if they were angry on air. But Sirianni's antics gave talk radio and the sports media ecosphere — not just in Philly — a gift. That's not really what the head coach is supposed to do.
