Sirianni breaks up a heated sideline moment with Carter and Hurtt that originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Nick Sirianni on Monday provided more details about a somewhat heated sideline incident that was caught on camera during the Eagles’ 27-13 victory over the Steelers on Sunday at the Linc.
After Jalen Carter was caught for unnecessary roughness in the fourth quarter — the Eagles were lucky that would happen after the punt — Sirianni called out the talented defensive tackle on his way back to the sideline.
And then he wanted to make him hear it a little more.
Ultimately, a heated argument took place, captured by the broadcast cameras, with Sirianni, Carter, defensive line coach Clint Hurtt and head of security Dom DiSandro all involved.
Sirianni gave a detailed explanation of everything that happened on Monday:
“We correct everything. When Jalen left the field, I was kind of chasing him there. I think there was a part of me that wanted to go back. I kind of made my point when Jalen left the field and then I went back. And what Clint said was, ‘Coach, I get it, I already dealt with it.’ So I had said something to him, Clint had said something to him and knowing Clint and how he coached him the last six months he was here, I knew he had it. And so it kind of disappeared.
“As you can see, Jalen came back to me and then we had a moment. I know how good Jalen Carter wants to be. I know how aggressive he plays. My message to him and all our players is always: we want to be aggressive, we want to be physical, we want to do all those things, but we want to do it all within the rules. And it’s the same thing I say to these guys when they celebrate after a big play, because we want to have fun together, we want to show our personalities, I want them to be everything and show who they are, within the rules. There was approximately the same message. We have to do things within the rules. Because you want them to be physical and you want them to be ruthless, but we have to be better and he knows that. And from this moment on we will be better.”
You can understand why Sirianni was upset. This was a pretty blatant penalty. Fortunately, the Eagles retained possession and were backed from their own 6 to their own 3-yard line. They then went on a drive that lasted the final 10:29 of the game, running down the clock to a win.
A few minutes after the first exchange, on that final drive, Carter moved over to Sirianni on the sideline and the two hugged him.
The Eagles hired Hurtt this offseason as their defensive line coach and Hurtt has Carter playing at an extremely high level in 2024. Carter is playing like an All-Pro in his second NFL season and the former Seahawks defensive coordinator seems like a good fit for him .
Of course, Carter plays with an edge and there have been moments where he almost boiled over. There was a scene that took place in New Orleans in Week 3 where Hurtt had to calm Carter down as Carter continued to talk back and forth with Saints on the field.
Carter, 23, has played in all 14 games this year and started 13 games. He missed one start for disciplinary reasons after arriving late to a meeting. This season, Carter has 4 1/2 sacks, 39 tackles, 12 TFLs, 15 QB hits and 5 passes deflected. He has been productive while seeing a ton of double teams and playing 84% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps.
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