Nick Sirianni wasn’t pacing. Wasn’t yelling. Wasn’t giving some Hollywood-style pregame speech. Nope. Just minutes before kickoff in the biggest game of his life, the Philadelphia Eagles head coach was chilling. His head was bobbing to music, and he was soaking in the electric vibes of the crowd. If you didn’t know better, you’d think he was waiting for an Uber while listening to music on his headphones.

“I wanted the guys to see me like that,” Sirianni said later when his team was officially Super Bowl champions. “I wanted them to feel it. We’d been here before.” And that’s the thing—because they had been here before. Two years ago, to be exact. And back then? Sirianni was a mess. Overcome with emotion. Tears during the anthem. Heart pounding. And ultimately, walking away empty-handed. This time, though? A very different picture. Because deep down, he knew.

For Sirianni, this win wasn’t just about proving doubters wrong. It was personal.

You see, before he was leading NFL teams to championships, he was just a scrappy college football player at Mount Union, a Division III school in Ohio. And for over a century—132 years, to be exact—no head coach from that program had ever won a Super Bowl. Until now. When asked about it, Sirianni didn’t brag. “Mount Union taught me how to win, that’s for sure, so grateful to everybody at Mount Union. Coach Kehres, all my teammates there. You know everyone that’s that helped me kind of develop from there,” he said.

Nick played for Mount Union from 1999 to 2003, winning three national championships. He returned as a defensive backs coach from 2004 to 2005, working under the legendary Kehres, who won an astonishing 92% of his games over 27 seasons. The HC has often credited Kehres for shaping his coaching philosophy. “He was like a dad away from home,” Sirianni once said of Kehres. “I learned everything about preparation, discipline, and how to build a winning culture from him.”

Now, the Mount Union connection finally has a Super Bowl-winning head coach to add to its legacy. Nick had acknowledged this Philly win had been a team effort like it always is. And even God was there in his support.

After heartbreak, Nick Sirianni’s prayers getting answers

In 2023, it was all agony and pain. Losing a Super Bowl to a field goal scored with 10 seconds left on the clock can be so unfair. Nick Sirianni and the Eagles were on the wrong end of this outcome. But the strong-willed don’t give up. And they know hard work gets divine appreciation. Now, in 2025, the Eagles have been rewarded for not giving up.

When the result was almost confirmed, the Super Bowl Gatorade ritual was in order. And Nick Sirianni did get showered. Immediately afterward, the Philly HC looked up at the sky and thanked God for this moment. It was the Gatorade ritual that finally convinced him that they had crossed the winning line, and he knew how important God’s graces have been.

When asked about the moment, Nick expressed how God made this all happen: “All glory to God. You know, he gives us the talents to be in these situations, and you know, blessed our team with talents, blessed myself to be able to coach football and the opportunity to be able to coach football. So, just gratitude there.”

The Eagles worked for it, no doubt. But luck always plays its part. Things could have gone wrong with injuries and whatnot. But such circumstances which are out of the coach’s and players’ hands didn’t come in the way of the Philly Super Bowl charge, Nick and the team worked on what they could.

And all that came together in synergy on February 9.