The Philadelphia Eagles began their 2025 season with a 24-20 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Before the game, Head Coach Nick Sirianni held his annual meeting with players at the NovaCare Complex to discuss each player’s role for the season.
Sirianni emphasized that while roles can change throughout the year, he believes it is important for every player to understand what is expected of them before Week 1. “Roles change, talks change, you try to keep things fresh, but I think that’s an important meeting for multiple reasons,” Sirianni said before the season. “One, I think it’s very important that everyone’s job description is very clear, and it’s very clear of what we expect from our players.
“It is tough to hold somebody accountable if it’s not clear. I want their teammates to hear what that is, too, so they can encourage them and hold them accountable as well within their role.”
The team’s internal process was featured in a recent episode of All-Access presented by Lincoln Financial. The program provided a look inside Sirianni’s address to key players in the auditorium.
Sirianni addressed offensive leaders such as A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert about the reality that some games may offer fewer opportunities based on how plays develop. In the opening win against Dallas, Brown had only one target but was recognized by Sirianni for maintaining focus even when not receiving passes—a point highlighted during his preseason meeting.
“This is something that we constantly talk about in the roles talk is, ‘Yeah, A.J., DeVonta, Dallas, the pass game runs through you, but there are going to be games like this where you might not get the touches that we want you to get and we know that you want to get because it can help us win the football game. In those moments, what are you doing to change the football game without the ball in your hands?'” Sirianni said on Monday. “On the touchdown run by Saquon (Barkley), you get two great blocks by A.J. and DeVonta that allowed him to get to the third level of the defense.”
Safety Reed Blankenship has seen his responsibilities evolve since joining Philadelphia as an undrafted free agent in 2022. Now a starter and team captain under Sirianni’s leadership, Blankenship described his experience with these meetings.
“It’s very unique. I’ve never been around a coach that specifically gives people their roles,” Blankenship said. “It’s cool to see and it’s cool to see how people react to it, whether it’s negative, positive whatever, but I feel like we got the guys in the room to react as positive as possible because they know that their opportunity is coming and they got to start somewhere. That’s how it started with me. I got a start somewhere, just give me that one chance and then roles can change.” — Written by Matt Ryan
