Nick Sirianni reveals Eagles' plan for the night before Super Bowl LIX originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
NEW ORLEANS — Nick Sirianni said he’s likely to go back to the well tonight.
As the Eagles prepare to play the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, Sirianni plans to turn over the floor to his players in the final team meeting of this incredible season at their hotel in New Orleans.
It’s something Sirianni did the night before Super Bowl LVII two years ago and it created some emotional moments those players will never forget.
“What you got to see was just how the guys care about each other,” Sirianni said this week. “The whole conversation was just when guys would get up there just talking about how much they mean to each other, how they’re going to play for each other, all those different things. Again, it’s not the best groups of individuals that win, it’s the best teams.
“It was a good moment for our team and we’ll see how that plays out. But remember a lot of things from that. A lot of different guys talking and it meant a lot. We’ll probably try to recreate that.”
The idea to give his players a chance to speak in front of the whole group stemmed from Sirianni’s time at Mount Union. It was a tradition for the Purple Raiders under Larry Kehres and now it’s becoming a tradition for the Eagles.
On Thursday, several Eagles veterans already knew they wanted to address the team.
“I prayed about it and I think it’ll come to me when it gets there,” said 15-year veteran Brandon Graham, who is expected to play in the Super Bowl, which could be his final game in the NFL.
“But whatever it is, it’s going to be from the heart. I feel that. I’m looking forward to delivering that speech with a bunch of the guys that’s going to be on the podium with me.”
Back in 2023, Jason Kelce stole the show with his raw emotion.
Kelce retired after last season but there are still plenty of veterans to address the team, starting with Graham, Lane Johnson, Darius Slay, Jordan Mailata and more.
“Expecting the same,” Mailata said. “I just remember seeing our leaders at the time show emotion, state their reasons why, remind us of our reasons why, remind us of who we are as a unit. It’s a total team sport and you need everyone. I think that was probably one of the most memorable nights of my career.”
Johnson, 34, is one of just a handful of players left from Super Bowl LII in the 2017 season. He’s the only offensive player who will get to play in all three of the Eagles’ recent Super Bowls.
In his 12th NFL season, Johnson has already said he’s definitely returning to play in 2025. His words hold weight with his teammates but they won’t be planned out.
“I’ll let it rip,” Johnson said. “I usually don’t plan. I don’t like to plan. I just go.”
Slay, 34, has been open about knowing this could be his final year with the Eagles. While he wants to play another season in the NFL, he sees the Eagles’ young corners and knows the way the league works.
Slay said the meeting two years ago was “powerful” because of how much he values the relationships in the locker room.
The veteran corner plans on talking but, like Johnson, he doesn’t plan on preparing any kind of speech.
“Nah, I’ll let it flow, man. I speak from the heart,” Slay said. “Whatever God blesses me with to come out, the wisdom I can give out to others about this game or whatever I need to say. The Lord will put me in great position to deliver a great message to these guys.”
It figures to be an emotional night before the Eagles play for a Super Bowl title on Sunday.
But Johnson expects this Saturday night to be a little different.
“Probably won’t get emotional like everybody did last time,” Johnson said. “It’ll be more, ‘We got business to handle.’”
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