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The 'r' word Eagles, Nick Sirianni won't use about the Super Bowl. They use this instead
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- The 'r' word Eagles, Nick Sirianni won't use about the Super Bowl. They use this instead
PHILADELPHIA − The final vestiges of the 2024 season, perhaps the greatest one in Eagles history, will be put to rest on the night of July 18.
That's when the Eagles , in all of their multi-carated, diamond embossed splendor, are holding their extravagant ring ceremony. That is serving as the culmination of five months of celebrating the 40-22 demolition of the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59, the raucous parade that followed, and the victory laps throughout much of the offseason.
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Then on July 21st, the Eagles are reporting to training camp, with designs to ...
The natural word to use would be "repeat." But Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni won't. Neither will any of the players.
Instead, they're focusing on a different phrase. One that signifies the Eagles' expectations for excellence lasting well beyond the 2025 season, even though the Eagles are considered odds-on favorites to, ahem, repeat.
Let Sirianni explain.
"Going back to common mistakes of teams trying to sustain success − and notice I said 'sustained success' and not 'repeat.' And we've had an element of sustained success throughout these four years. There's no doubt."
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That is true. The Eagles have reached the playoffs in all four of Sirianni's seasons as a head coach, and seven of eight going back to their first Super Bowl victory in 2017. They have reached the Super Bowl in two of the last three seasons.
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And the Eagles are loaded again this season, with 10 of 11 starters returning on offense, including Saquon Barkley , who had 2,005 yards rushing; star wide receivers in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and tight end Dallas Goedert ; an offensive line considered to be the best in the NFL; and of course, quarterback Jalen Hurts , the MVP of the Super Bowl.
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Sure, the Eagles lost four key players on defense, but still have the core of Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith , Zack Baun , Quinyon Mitchell , Cooper DeJean and Reed Blankenship back, not to mention first-round draft pick Jihaad Campbell , a linebacker; and second rounder Drew Mukuba, a safety.
So yes, the Eagles are built for "sustained success." A large majority of the aforementioned players are either still on their rookie contracts or already signed to multi-year contracts.
That means the proverbial window should be open for at least the next three seasons.
So let Sirianni continue.
"You go back to 'sustained success,'" Sirianni said. "You either can be right where you are, or you can look at it like, 'How are we going to get back to the Super Bowl?' Error.
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"Man, resting on your laurels, and resting on your past accomplishments? Error.
"(Past success) builds your confidence and stuff like that. But I think it's just again, being right back into (what you're doing now). That doesn't mean that it's easy. You're in the building, and everyone has the common goal of getting better. But then you go outside, and there are things pulling you in different directions because of the success.
"And that's where it becomes tricky. It's just making sure that you're focused and locked in of where you are in each individual day. I know that's boring. But success takes what it takes."
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni holds up the Vince Lombardi trophy during the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl celebration in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025.
Nick Sirianni and Olympian Michael Johnson
It's not like Sirianni just came to this realization.
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Rather, he studied how teams sustain success perhaps as intensely as he has the Eagles' offensive strategy. He has looked closely at the Chiefs' run of success of getting to five Super Bowls and seven straight AFC Championship games, or the Patriots' run of winning six Super Bowls during the Tom Brady era.
Sirianni has also sought the advice of other coaches, star athletes and pretty much anyone who can provide insight in how teams become dynasties.
There was former Villanova coach Jay Wright, South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley, as well as Olympic champion Michael Johnson, who spoke to the team during a spring practice.
Hurts did this as well, saying that he has spoken with basketball legend Michael Jordan and Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter.
"Michael Johnson was great," Sirianni said. "Of all the people I talked to, and it was a lot, similar themes kept coming back on sustained success and the themes were really ... it was thinking about the past too much and resting on your laurels was one mistake, or looking too far ahead.
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"Both are very dangerous. Being where you are each and every time because if you're going to do anything special again, it's going to be the work. It's going to take the work you need to do day in and day out to get there. Nothing you did in the past is going to help you. Thinking about the future isn't going to help you. It's about being right here (in the present)."
And that's how the Eagles approached the offseason workouts.
Barkley, for one, was feted throughout the offseason , and understandably so, for shattering several Eagles rushing records, for his backwards hurdle against the Jacksonville Jaguars , and for setting the NFL single-season rushing record, including playoffs, with 2,504 yards.
Barkley golfed and a te dinner with President Donald Trump , and was featured on the cover of Madden NFL 2026 , among other things.
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As he said, "I got to do a lot of cool things."
Then he added this: "But the best part is getting back in here, training with the guys, meeting the new guys, and trying to get right for the regular season."
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni joins quarterback Jalen Hurts atop one of the team buses during the Super Bowl 59 victory parade along South Broad Street in Philadelphia, on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025.
Jalen Hurts, AJ Brown have the right approach
And there are things that have to change.
It would be foolish for the Eagles to expect Barkley to duplicate last season, when he by far set his career-high in touches with 388 in the regular season, eclipsing his previous record by more than 100.
Opponents will adjust, and the Eagles will have to adjust back. And they'll have to do it with their fourth different offensive coordinator in five seasons as Kevin Patullo, formerly the passing game coordinator , takes over for Kellen Moore, who became the New Orleans Saints ' head coach.
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"I can't predict how the offense will look next year," Brown said. "But I do know we have to evolve as a team, evolve as an offense."
Or as Hurts put it: "It's very early. We're laying the foundation, still filtering through things. But obviously, the biggest thing is what will this iteration of the team be. I don't really care how it looks, as long as we find ways to win. So that's the competitive edge, and the competitive nature that I want to have, that I have."
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No one mentioned the word "repeat." Rather, it was all about the present, being in the moment, working hard to prepare for the upcoming season.
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"I think when you say repeat something, that's not where I want to go," Sirianni said. "We're going to put our best foot forward every single day, and we know that if our processes are right, the results will take care of itself.
"That doesn't mean you win every game. That doesn't mean you win at all. The result puts you in the best position to do that. So the word 'repeat', you're not going to hear that come out of my mouth at all."
And that is how the Eagles plan to have sustained success, which in turn will give them a chance to repeat.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Read his coverage of the Eagles' championship season in "Flying High," a new hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Eagles 2025 training camp: The one word they won't use about Super Bowl
