INDIANAPOLIS – Southwestern Central School graduate and current Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni has become a young coaching stud in the NFL.
During an interview Wednesday morning with WNYNewsNow, The Fan 1070/ESPN Radio Colts beat reporter Kevin Bowen said he believes Sirianni isn’t quite ready to become a head coach.
“Part of me thinks to probably pump the brakes just a little bit (on becoming a head coach),” Bowen said. “It’s hard for me to say when you aren’t 100 percent sure what he’s doing Monday through Saturday with all of those preparations. I know it’s a collaborative effort here in Indianapolis.”
Bowen alluded his take to the fact that Sirianni is relatively young, and he’s in his first year as a coordinator. According to yardbarker.com, the average age of an NFL head coach heading into the 2018 season was 49.47 years old. LA Rams head coach Sean McVay is the youngest coach, and he’ll turn 33 this month.
“The guy is really young, and not just age wise, but he’s also young in coaching experience at a high level,” Bowen said. “He’s only been a coordinator for one year, and he’s not calling the plays.”
“How do you handle in-game pressure? Now you’re calling the plays and managing challenges and time outs, and all the decisions that go into a 60-minute football game week in and week out.”
Bowen said that Sirianni is very candid with the media in how his unit operates.
“When he talks to the media, and when you ask him very specific questions, he’s not afraid to offer some nice candor on his players, their decision making and philosophical beliefs,” Bowen said. “(Andrew) Luck will always group Frank Reich (Colts Head Coach), Nick Sirianni, all those names together when he’s talking about why the offense has had success.”
Bowen pointed out that Browns General Manager John Dorsey was impressed with Sirianni’s work as a low-level assistant in Kansas City when Dorsey was a member of the Chiefs front office.
The Colts reporter explained how he believes that Sirianni has gained respect from players and coaches from his stops in Indy, Kansas City and San Diego. Sirianni has, over his career, helped coach and further develop players such as quarterbacks Alex Smith and Phillip Rivers.
Bowen further stated that other highly respected players, like NFL running back Danny Woodhead, considered him one of the smarter coaches that he’s played for.
“Another year or two of learning under Reich, and throwing more responsibility on Sirianni’s plate year in and year out, maybe in 2020-21, Sirianni becomes a more legitimate coaching candidate.”
Bowen said it appears Reich trusts Sirianni with interacting with the players, especially as Siranni is more of an outgoing person than Reich. Bowen added that Reich has previously mentioned that, when he was looking to become a head coach, that he’d want to hire a guy like Sirianni to become a coordinator on his staff.
Bowen believes that Sirianni, if hired by the Browns as their head coach, would help tremendously with developing further an up-and-coming Cleveland offense, which includes quarterback Baker Mayfield, running back Nick Chubb and wide receiver Jarvis Landry.
Bowen said, if Sirianni was to be hired as the Browns coach, he’d most likely handle the bulk of the offense’s preparation, and would allow his defensive coordinator to focus on the Monday-Saturday “D” preparation.
The Browns must ask the Colts for permission to interview Sirianni, as Indianapolis is currently in the playoffs.
Leave a Reply