How do you know when a football coach is lying? If he’s good at it, you don’t.
Because they all do. Particularly in so-called “must-lie” situations.
There’s an art to it. A way to conceal a lie with another lie. On Friday, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni opted not to lie about the fact that he lied on Monday when he told reporters that quarterback Tanner McKee would not be benched.
“Tanner’s our guy,” Sirianni said. “We’re not making any changes there.”
On Wednesday, the Eagles made a change there, elevating Joe Milton over McKee. The move was announced after Sirianni had his midweek media availability, which prevented him from being asked questions about the change in position from “Tanner’s our guy” to “Tanner’s not our guy.”
On Friday, Sirianni finally faced the music regarding his comments from Monday. In lieu of coming up with an explanation premised on the idea that what he said was true when he said it and circumstances changed, Sirianni surprisingly admitted that he wasn’t telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth to reporters and, in turn, the fans.
“I was going to hold onto that as long as I possibly could, every second, every minute,” Sirianni said. “Again, I’m not real shy with you guys. I’m going to tell you what I want to tell you guys. I respect the job that y’all have to do, but I’m going to tell you what I want to tell you guys because I’m always going to protect the team first and foremost.
“Every second that goes by in a situation like that, that you can hold onto information as long as you possibly can, is a little less time for the opponent to get ready for the game. I know there’s a lot of interest in everything that you all want to hear, the fans want to hear. My job is to win football games, do everything we can do to help win football games, protect the guys here on this football team, and handle everything that I can inside.”
In an industry where the truth is only told when it’s coincidental to strategic interests, it’s jarring that Sirianni told the truth that he was lying. It would have been easy to say, “We took a more careful look at the situation after Monday.” Or, even more simply, “We changed our mind. Shit happens.”
Instead, Sirianni opted to say, essentially, “Bullshit happens.” Instead of bothering to concoct a cover story regarding his lie, he said, essentially, “Yeah. I lied. I’ll do it whenever I feel like I have to.”
That’s the most important thing to remember. Coaches lie whenever they feel like they have to. Despite that fact, reporters and fans routinely take their words at face value, swallowing the bullshit while saying, “Thank you, sir, may I have another?”
So thank you, Nick, for making my job a little easier. In my first week of law school, one of the professors said, “The most important thing I can do for you is to give you a good crap filter.”
Because crap is everywhere. Usually, the people spewing it don’t admit it. When they do, it provides a tangible reminder as to whatever they say in the future.
For Sirianni, that’s the most problematic aspect of his decision to tell the truth about lying. There’s now an “Exhibit A” to which anyone and everyone can point as to anything and everything he says when assessing whether he’s being straight with reporters and, in turn, with fans.