Damien Woody and Rex Ryan eviscerate 'clown' Nick Sirianni on ESPN over Eagles behavior

Damien Woody and Rex Ryan tore into Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni for his "clown behavior" in the aftermath of Sunday's victory over the Cleveland Browns.

Sirianni's team survived a huge scare against the listless 1-5 Browns, claiming a 20-16 victory at Lincoln Financial Field. Throughout the game, the head coach and his players were subjected to boos from the stands, with "Fire Siriani" chants also raining down.

The 43-year-old decided to fire back when his team was in victory formation, trash-talking Eagles fans sat behind him on the sideline. He followed that by taking his three children into the postgame press conference, with many accusing him of using them to deflect from the tough questions he would face.

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Sirianni has come under huge pressure in Philly after last season's disastrous collapse, going 1-6 in to finish the campaign – being routed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wildcard round playoffs – after a 10-1 start.

Two-time Super Bowl champion and former New England Patriots star Woody was disgusted by Siriani's conduct, launching a brutal rant on ESPN's "Get Up" on Monday.

"It's clown behavior," Woody said. "Nick Sirianni looked like an absolute clown doing all of that. The fact you're going to sit up there and argue with people who spend their hard-earned money to come watch you play.

"If you don't put out a good performance, guess what? They have every right to boo you and you need to take that because it's part of your job as a head coach. You can't have it one way or the other, it's an all-encompassing job.

"And then to have your kids in the postgame to kind of deflect from reporters trying to come after you, it's lame, it's weak, he's a clown. It just looks ridiculous. Oh, by the way, you barely beat the Cleveland Browns at home, so don't give me any of that."

Sirianni's team moved to 3-2 on the season with the win, and they were boosted by the return of star wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith from injury. But the fact remains the Eagles have been wholly unconvincing over the past 12 months and scrutiny of Sirianni's position is inevitable.

After Woody's withering rant, former New York Jets and Buffalo Bills head coach Ryan mocked the way Siriani conducted himself after beating one of the worst teams in the league.

"How the hell are you going to challenge your own fanbase? By the way, as a head coach, you're supposed to be connecting with your fanbase, which is the opposite of what you're doing right here," Ryan said.

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"I can understand why he's feeling so good and puffing his chest out because, let's face it, they played the Browns. The Commanders beat the Browns by 21 points; the Cowboys beat them by 16 – yes, the Cowboys – the Giants beat them by six, and you beat them by four.

"Hell yeah, stick your chest out and be proud as a peacock and be [like] 'I don't need the fans, I'm so good I don't need the fans'."

Sirianni said fans' boos were counter-productive in his postgame press conference. "We thrive off the crowd when they cheer for us. That's all I'll say," he said. "We hear them when they boo. We don't necessarily like it. I don't think that's productive for anybody. But when they cheer for us and when we've got them rolling, we love it."

Sirianni is entering a make-or-break period of his tenure, with the Eagles' first NFC East matchup of the season coming on Sunday against the New York Giants. Clashes with the Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars follow before pivotal showdowns with old rivals the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders.