How the country club training camps of Nick Sirianni abruptly became challenging
Nick Sirianni spoke to reporters on Wednesday morning and was asked about meeting with the team this spring to take accountability for the Eagles’ 1-6 finish to last season.
They practiced for over two hours on Thursday. Then they practiced four days in a row from Sunday through Wednesday, with two of those sessions in full pads. They’ve practiced for the last two weeks in brutal heat and humidity, and Nick Sirianni has yet to cut any of the sessions short.
Training camp this summer has actually felt like training camp.
And that’s a departure for Sirianni, whose first three training camps were marked by short practices, numerous days off or walkthroughs and a country club vibe.
Things have definitely changed.
“It’s something we needed, for sure,” said Kenny Gainwell, one of 16 position players who’s been here for all four of Sirianni’s training camps. “You know coming out of the season last year, it’s something we needed and something that’s going to (help us) be ready for this year.”
The Eagles have gotten off to very good starts the last two years despite light training camps. They were 8-0 and 13-1 on the way to the Super Bowl in 2022 and 5-0 and 10-1 before their late-season collapse last year.
They’re one of only five teams in NFL history to open consecutive seasons at 10-1 or better, joining the 1941 and 1942 Bears, 1947 and 1948 Browns, 2005 and 2006 Colts and 1972 and 1973 Dolphins.
But the way last year ended meant major changes were mandatory. You can’t put the team through an easy training camp when you finished the previous year 1-6 with the losses coming by an average of 15 points per game.
Nick Foles retires: 10 stats that are hard to believe
The theme of this preseason has been exorcising the demons of December and January.
The Eagles open their three-game preseason Friday against the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
“It’s been good, good work,” Darius Slay said. “We need it, getting in better shape. So it’s good for us. Yeah, weather with the practice, you know, because we already practice hard. So the weather has got a lot to do with it too. …
“Doing this in this kind of weather and competing, going hard every day. Days get tough, they keep adding on, you know, your body ain’t gonna be as good as it was when you first came into camp. So all it’s doing is just getting sore and sore and you’ve got to fight through it.”
The heat and humidity have been ferocious during camp, and it’s notable that Sirianni hasn’t shortened any of the sessions. It’s not quite 2-a-days in the steamy valley of the West Chester practice fields.
“Yeah, it’s getting guys in shape,” Nolan Smith said. “Get guys in shape and get guys running. And it’ll be just so fun to get everybody just in shape, running, flying around to the ball so when it cools down it’s nothing.”
Dallas Goedert is in his seventh training camp with the Eagles and said this summer has been one of the toughest.
“It’s up there,” he said. “We’ve been going really hard all the time that we’re out there. The main thing is speed and execution. It seems like we’re competing really well. The defense has given us a tough time. We’re giving the defense a tough time. So it’s been good battles all throughout camp.
“And, yeah, it’s up there, but I think we’re doing a really good job. I think we’re setting ourselves up really well for the season.”
The Eagles’ Tuesday practice may have been the toughest one yet. It was insanely humid, the pads were on and practice lasted about an hour and 45 minutes. And it was the third day in a row out of four days.
This is uncharted water for Sirianni.
“Basically, it’s just been more tempo, more reps, everyone getting more reps in,” Gainwell said. “Coach is keeping us on the field as long as he can. It’s just tougher.
“You know, every year it gets tougher and tougher, the older you get. But, hey, if you prepare for it, man, it’s a breeze.”
Slay was asked if this was the toughest camp he’s ever experienced and he laughed and recalled his three camps under former Bill Belichick assistant Matt Patricia, who was briefly the Eagles’ defensive coordinator last year.
“I said that’s as an Eagle,” he said. “But I played in the Patriots system. That’s hard. That’s real hard.”
