Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and Washington Commanders tight end Zach Ertz needed to be separated after an altercation following their Week 16 matchup last Sunday, according to a report from the Philadelphia Inquirer.
After Washington pulled out the 36-33 victory over the Eagles, Sirianni and Ertz reportedly got into a spat during postgame handshakes. Ertz went to initially shake Sirianni’s hand but, upon realizing the coach was still irked by his team losing, opted for a high five. Sirianni apparently took exception to Ertz’s gesture, which led the head coach to chastise him for having just a single catch and told him he essentially did not contribute to the winning effort.
That’s when Ertz got in Sirianni’s face, which inserted chief security officer Dom DiSandro (better known as “Big Dom”) into the situation as he separated the two.
The report adds that Sirianni later called Ertz via Zoom to apologize. However, after the game, he was asked about the exchange and said, “We just say congrats like congrats, both of us say congrats to each other.”
As for Ertz, he told the Inquirer postgame, “I’ll let him comment on what was said. To me, we just exchanged holiday pleasantries and kept it moving,”
Ertz spent the bulk of his NFL career (2013-2021) with the Eagles and currently ranks second on the franchise’s all-time receptions list. The now 34-year-old also was on the team’s Super Bowl LII championship team in 2017, so while he may be playing for a division rival, he is a well-revered player for Sirianni’s franchise, making the ordeal even more noteworthy.
Sirianni has been known to be fiery on the sidelines and recently even got into it with Eagles defensive line coach Clint Hurt following a penalty committed by Jalen Carter during the team’s Week 15 matchup vs. Pittsburgh.
