Article written by Peter Sirianni Editor of the New Castle News
After the Philadelphia Eagles punched their ticket to the Super Bowl, thousands of fans flooded the city’s Broad Street in celebration.
The Birds were back in the Super Bowl for the second time in four years, but this time in an altogether different manner — a tumultuous 2-2 start followed by a 10-game winning streak. They are led by head coach Nick Sirianni — who is either the hot-headed coach propped up by the NFL’s most-talented roster or a detail-oriented leader who wears his emotions on his sleeve.
On that night there was no debate as City Hall glowed midnight green — signs of a proud city during a celebration.
Just like some 100 years earlier on Pennsylvania’s other side when a light glowed on the porch of the Sirianni family.
•••
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni never knew his grandfather.
He never met his great grandfather, either. It’s a shame because to know Papa and Nana Sirianni is to really explain how Nick ticks as a coach who, despite a league-best winning percentage, was seen as coaching for his job before the winning streak catapulted Philadelphia to a second Super Bowl appearance in his four years manning the sidelines there.
Nick’s great grandfather, like countless Italians his age, passed through Ellis Island from the Old Country in 1899 as a poor teenager who couldn’t speak English. After a few years of work, he returned to Italy, brought back his wife and started a family on Kane’s 200 block of Bayard Street.
Frank and Peter. Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni is the grandson of Frank, who died in
1982.
Life on the railroad was tough, backbreaking work. Or perfect for poor immigrants. At home, Nana ran the show as the stern, tough leader of the family. Together, they raised 6 children — Peter, Frank, Tony, Louie, Rosie and Joseph.
When electricity became more common, Papa Sirianni was the first on the block with the power to light a room.
That came with a decision — which room does the lightbulb go? The kitchen to cook later in the day? Or the parlor? How about the bathroom?
That’s how an American might think. The Siriannis, remember, were first-generation off the boat.
Papa Sirianni opted to place the lightbulb on the front porch where everyone could see it.
•••
Nick Sirianni, the grandson of Frank, likely didn’t spend much time in Kane where the rest of his father Fran’s side of the family grew up.
Nick was under a year old when he was babysat by his cousin Paula while the rest of the family attended Frank’s funeral. That was 1982.
If you’ve followed any of his story since, you’ll know a lot has happened since then. There were the days as a star athlete playing for his dad’s Southwestern Central High School teams before following in his older brother’s footsteps to Division III Mount Union. From there, he worked his way up from a college position coach to an unheralded Kansas City Chiefs assistant before breaking in as a quarterbacks coach with the San Diego Chargers, as offensive coordinator in Indianapolis before taking the Philadelphia job in January 2021.
With winning in Philadelphia comes praise. Losing means hours upon hours of angry callers into sports radio stations.
So when the Eagles win — and they’ve done quite a bit of that in his four years at the helm — Nick’s sideline antics and brashness are celebrated, like when he yelled at an official during a playoff game that he knew “what the f— I’m doing, and I’m allowed to be here.”
When Philadelphia collapsed down the stretch in 2023 then started this year 2-2, every loss was an indictment of a coach who was caught taunting his own fans after a game the Eagles won.
It’s the Sirianni paradox. Is it brash and bold? Or is it cocky and unprofessional?
Think of the lightbulb.
•••
I had first heard the lightbulb story in my Uncle Jim’s high school history class. It had the makings of a good anecdote — a bit of family history to explain who this coach is. However, 2-2 starts are where good Super Bowl stories go to die.
Two weeks ago when Philadelphia pulled away from Washington, 55-23, to win the NFC title and earn another trip to the championship, it seemed like as good a time as any to revisit. A lightbulb went off, so to speak.
I brought it up to my dad Mark, who ran it by Uncle Jim (To finalize the family tree — Nancy, Jim, Mark and Paula are the four children of youngest Sirianni sibling Joseph. They are first cousins to Fran and second cousins to Nick.). While I termed it as being a little cocky, they had a different take.
“Papa Sirianni didn’t put the lightbulb on the front porch to be cocky,” Dad wrote me. “He put it there as a sign of pride. Look where we are and where we came from. He wanted to show the world what he has accomplished.”
A poor immigrant teenager who made a life for himself, went home, found a wife and returned to raise six children. That’s something worth celebrating.
•••
Sunday’s task will be Philadelphia’s toughest yet. A second Super Bowl in franchise history will mean denying the Chiefs a record third in a row and stopping the NFL’s best player, quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Sure, the Eagles are talented, and so is Kansas City. And sure, Nick shows more emotions on the sidelines than his contemporaries.
If it works out to plan, Philadelphia will glow green once again. Fans will flood the street and more than a few tears will be shed. A parade will lead to a ceremony atop the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s famed steps.
And on Bayard Street? In the 100 block, a light will shine.
Article written by Peter Sirianni Editor of the New Castle News
Mark Sirianni
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Kane, PA. 16735
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Charley
2012-2024
