The Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs have strong ties ahead of Super Bowl LVII.
Andy Reid coached the Eagles for twelve years, leading them to five NFC Championship Game appearances and one Super Bowl.
Then, he joined the Chiefs, where he met now-Eagles HC Nick Sirianni.
However, it’s not like they met under the best circumstances.
Reid didn’t retain Sirianni — who was then a wide receivers coach — for his new coaching staff, bringing David Culley instead.
And while Sirianni acknowledges Reid was very supportive of him and everyone that was let go, he admits that he also held a chip on his shoulder about it for so long:
“Do you always have this little chip on your shoulder? Sure, yeah, you do,” Sirianni told ESPN. “But that’s who I am as a coach and as a person — I want to make sure I’m working my butt off to get as good as I possibly can. And sure, you hold on to some of those things.”
"I was in the press box standing on the [table] like this [waves arms and pumps fist]. I was just so emotional about it."
Nick Sirianni kept chip on his shoulder after not being retained by Andy Reid in Kansas City: https://t.co/XV401E32gy
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) February 6, 2023
Sirianni got a job with the San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers.
He met Frank Reich there and went on to become his Offensive Coordinator when Reich joined the Indianapolis Colts, which eventually paved the way for him to take over Doug Pederson as the Eagles’ HC.
So, while it all worked out great for Sirianni, he admits that beating the Chiefs always meant a little more for him when he was with the Chargers.
Eventually, being let go by Kansas City was the best thing that could’ve happened to Sirianni and his career.
Now, he’ll get to square off against the guy that fueled his competitive fire a decade ago, someone who — one way or the other —helped shape his career.
Will the veteran retain bragging rights over him? Or will Sirianni get his long-overdue vendetta? We’ll have to wait and see.
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