SAD NEWS: Philadelphia Eagles HEAD COACH announce emergency leave because….

SAD NEWS: Philadelphia Eagles HEAD COACH announce emergency leave because….

That first conversation led to a long-lasting friendship, and eventually, Sirianni’s first NFL job — which led to Sirianni’s latest — and most surprising — gig: A candidate out of nowhere, he was named head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. This is the story of how that came to happen.

As Sirianni continued his college career, he’d cross paths with Haley every summer. When he transitioned into coaching, the pair would talk shop between workouts, and Haley, intrigued by Sirianni’s football roots, told his protégé that when he had the opportunity to hire him, he would add him to his coaching staff.

When Haley was hired as the Chiefs’ head coach in 2009, he offered Sirianni a role as an offensive quality control coach.

“I kind of took him under my wing,” Haley said.

Sirianni had gained experience coaching linebackers at Mount Union and wide receivers at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, but Haley put him on the NFL map — and a road that led to Philadelphia, where he will replace Doug Pederson, the only Eagles coach to win a Super Bowl.

NJ Advance Media spoke with those who have lived, played and coached with Sirianni to get a better picture of where he’s been and where the Eagles are going.

A football family

Sirianni’s father, Fran, coached high football for 45 years. He’s been inducted in the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame as a coach and Clarion University of Pennsylvania Hall of Fame as a player. During his coaching career, all three of his sons spent time around his teams, even before if they were old enough to play.

“They’d all come to practice,” Fran Sirianni told NJ Advance Media. “They’d run all over the sidelines and the bleachers. They’d jump on the (tackle) dummies and run into the bags and have a good time.”

Fran’s two oldest boys, Mike and Jay, followed in his footsteps. Nick, the youngest, was an impressive prep star in basketball and football. Mike has spent the past 18 years as the head coach at Division-III Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pa., where he has a 156-36 record. Jay spent 12 years as the head coach at Southwestern Central High School, building a 101-26 resume after taking over for his dad.

Like his brothers, Nick was destined for the profession, his father believes.

“I’ve always said that my sons are where they should be,” Fran said. “Our oldest son, Mike, he should be a college coach and he does a good job of it. Jay, our middle son, he’s a great high school coach and teacher and that’s where he should be. I think Nick has fit in just where he is right now as an (NFL) coach. That’s where he belongs.”

While Nick has surpassed Mike and Jay in his coaching career, there remains a raging debate over the best athlete in the family: “Either one has the highest free-throw percentage, or the other one had the most catches or yards,” Fran said. “They’re pretty competitive with each other. We have them keep the volume down a little bit.”

Mike and Nick played wide receiver at Mount Union, roughly a decade apart. Mike admits Nick’s senior season was better than any of his, but the older brother swears he had the better career.

“That’s a big debate,” Mike told NJ Advance Media on Thursday. “I’m still hanging onto my claim that I was the better player for a career. I’ll give him his senior season, but the career, I’m claiming that. He’s not taking that from me.”

Like his brothers, Nick was destined for the profession, his father believes.

“I’ve always said that my sons are where they should be,” Fran said. “Our oldest son, Mike, he should be a college coach and he does a good job of it. Jay, our middle son, he’s a great high school coach and teacher and that’s where he should be. I think Nick has fit in just where he is right now as an (NFL) coach. That’s where he belongs.”

While Nick has surpassed Mike and Jay in his coaching career, there remains a raging debate over the best athlete in the family: “Either one has the highest free-throw percentage, or the other one had the most catches or yards,” Fran said. “They’re pretty competitive with each other. We have them keep the volume down a little bit.”

Mike and Nick played wide receiver at Mount Union, roughly a decade apart. Mike admits Nick’s senior season was better than any of his, but the older brother swears he had the better career.

“That’s a big debate,” Mike told NJ Advance Media on Thursday. “I’m still hanging onto my claim that I was the better player for a career. I’ll give him his senior season, but the career, I’m claiming that. He’s not taking that from me.”

One thing the brothers all agree on is that Fran is the pinnacle of the coaching totem pole in their home, even after Nick’s big promotion to Eagles head coach.

“He can’t claim the coaching (career) yet, because that’s my dad,” Mike said. “He taught us all. He’s No. 1, Nick is No. 2.”

Battling through

Long before Sirianni was coaching in the NFL, his college playing career was in serious jeopardy. During his sophomore season, Sirianni suffered a catastrophic calf injury. He suffered from compartment syndrome and was forced to undergo extensive surgery that led to a staph infection. His mother, Amy, said doctors told Sirianni that he might never play again.

“Nick was really determined that wasn’t going to be (the end),” Amy said. “He worked really hard that summer. I can remember seeing him running up and down our street just doing sprints.”

Sirianni returned to Mount Union after the surgery and was forced to change the dressing on his open wound three times a day by himself.

“He battled through that,” Amy said. “I just give him so much credit. I think some of the stuff that’s happened to him has made him a stronger person, and I admire him for that.”

Zac Bruney, head coach at Wheeling University, was Sirianni’s quarterback for his final three years with the Purple Raiders. Bruney can still remember watching Sirianni’s miraculous comeback.

“It wasn’t as bad as what Alex Smith had to go through, but it was pretty tough,” Bruney said. “He worked his way back, kept working and had a decent year when I was a sophomore and he was junior, and then he worked his way back to full strength. You felt bad for him, because he had a ton of ability, but he persevered through that and had a really good senior year.”

Fellow wide receiver Jason Candle, now the head coach at Toledo, was also impressed by Sirianni’s resolve.

“Anytime you get hurt with an injury of that nature, it really makes you appreciate what you have and take a step back and understand that the things you really love can be taken away from you in the blink of an eye,” Candle said. “What I really appreciated with watching him, was the day-to-day process of having to prove to (himself) that (he) can fight through this.”

Sirianni caught 52 passes for 998 yards and 13 touchdowns in his final season at Mount Union and was named to the All-Ohio Athletic Conference team. His comeback “is kind of a microcosm of his career really — as a player and certainly as a coach to this point — to keep fighting through and to keep going,” Candle said. “Not really worried about the event, but really the importance of the response to the event.”

Fran and Amy believe their son’s battle allows him to empathize with players, a trait several people have pointed out. On his game-day visor, Sirianni often wears decals with the numbers of injured players — a gesture to show that they’re in his thoughts and unforgotten members of the team, even if they can’t be on the field. As the offensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts this past season, Sirianni wore Nos. 15 and 25 decals for wide receiver Parris Campbell and running back Marlon Mack, who missed the majority of the year.

“He has developed a compassion for injured players,” Fran said, “because he’s gone through it and knows what they are going through.”

Attention to detail

Sirianni’s work ethic and coaching ability were put on display early with the Chiefs, and when Haley was fired in 2011, his replacement, former defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, promoted Siranni to wide receivers coach for the 2012 season. It was a foreshadowing of how his career would unfold: When head coaches above him were fired, Sirianni stuck around or landed on his feet somewhere else.

When Crennel’s staff was let go the next season, Sirianni’s NFL guardian angel was there to support him: “He asked me if I could help,” Haley said. “I knew Nick loved football, he was into it and it was easy for me to recommend him to anybody. Whenever you do that, you want that person to make you proud and he’s done that.”

Haley linked Sirianni with Mike McCoy, who was head coach of the San Diego Chargers. Sirriani started as an offensive assistant in 2013 before being promoted to quarterbacks coach, working directly with offensive coordinator Frank Reich and Pro Bowl quarterback Philip Rivers.

In Sirianni’s two seasons as quarterbacks coach, Rivers threw for 9,078 yards and 60 touchdowns. Sirianni was moved to wide receivers coach in 2016 and kept his job when McCoy was replaced by Anthony Lynn in 2017. In that role, he developed Tyrell Williams and improved the performance of Pro Bowl pass-catcher Keenan Allen.

Randy Mueller — a former GM with the New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins, who was the Chargers’ senior executive of football operations at the time — said Rivers, Williams and Allen succeeded because of Sirianni’s dedication.

“If you know Nick, you know his attention to detail,” Mueller said Thursday. “Players develop when they know what they’re doing. His players always know what they are doing, so they have a chance. He can communicate and teach (his methods) to where they are confident enough in what they are doing, so they can develop as players. That, to me, is coaching.”

Sirianni has worked under five NFL head coaches: Haley, Crennel, McCoy, Lynn and Reich. Mueller believes each of those systems will help Sirianni build his own program.

“It helps to have a wide perspective,” Mueller said. “You’ve seen what works, you’ve seen what doesn’t work. I think he’s clearly experienced enough in the NFL to develop his own philosophy. It’s not like he’s only been around for 4-5 years, he’s been around a long time.”

Haley believes Sirianni’s program will only be as good as the players he develops. Haley has often told Sirianni that the most important aspect of coaching is to focus on the talent over the system.

Sirianni has shown throughout his career that he’s taken Haley’s advice to heart. Haley believes that outlook will help Sirianni as he begins his journey as the Eagles’ next head coach.

“He’s a very likable guy, first and foremost,” Haley said. “But, at the same time, he’s not afraid to voice his opinion — whether it’s to coaches or players — and I think that’s the key.”