2023 Super Bowl: How coaches in their first trip to the big game, like Eagles' Nick Sirianni, have fared

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2023 Super Bowl: How coaches in their first trip to the big game, like Eagles' Nick Sirianni, have fared

Sirianni is looking to lead the Eagles to their second Super Bowl championship in five years

 

By Tyler Sullivan

 

Getty Images

Legacy is an overarching theme to any Super Bowl. A win puts you in an exclusive club consisting of the few who have reached the NFL's mountaintop. For some, it can also be the crown jewel for how they are viewed in league history compared to some of the game's best. While plenty of that legacy talk will center around both quarterbacks in Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts, there's also a lot on the line for the head coaches of the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles as well. 

In the case of Philadelphia's Nick Sirianni, he has reached the Super Bowl for the first time in his head-coaching career. The 41-year-old is in just his second season with the Eagles and off to quite the start leading the team. Philly earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC this season and has dominated throughout the postseason, outscoring its opponents 69-14. 

After digging into the NFL history books to see if Sirianni will have any beginner's luck on his side, it looks more like a coin flip for the Eagles head coach. 

In the previous 56 Super Bowls, there have been 59 head coaches reaching the big game for the first time in their careers. Combined, those coaches are just below .500, owning a 28-31 record. Of course, it is a bit more difficult to parse through those stats, particularly in the early years of the Super Bowl, as multiple head coaches were playing in the game for the first time. However, even when you look at recent history, it does appear to be more of a 50-50 shot. Since the 2000 season, coaches reaching the Super Bowl for the first time are 13-14.

History of first-time Super Bowl coaches

SUPER BOWL	HEAD COACH(ES)	RECORD
Super Bowl I	Vince Lombardi, Packers (W), Hank Stram, Chiefs (L)	1-1
Super Bowl II	John Rauch, Raiders (L)	1-2
Super Bowl III	Weeb Ewbank, Jets (W), Don Shula, Colts (L)	2-3
Super Bowl IV	Bud Grant, Vikings (L)	2-4
Super Bowl V	Don McCafferty, Colts (W), Tom Landry, Cowboys (L)	3-5
Super Bowl VII	George Allen, Washington (L)	3-6
Super Bowl IX	Chuck Noll, Steelers (W)	4-6
Super Bowl XI	John Madden, Raiders (W)	5-6
Super Bowl XII	Red Miller, Broncos (L)	5-7
Super Bowl XIV	Ray Malavasi, Rams (L)	5-8
Super Bowl XV	Tom Flores, Raiders (W), Dick Vermeil, Eagles (L)	6-9
Super Bowl XVI	Bill Walsh, 49ers (W), Forrest Gregg, Bengals (L)	7-10
Super Bowl XVII	Joe Gibbs, Washington (W)	8-10
Super Bowl XX	Mike Ditka, Bears (W), Raymond Berry, Patriots (L)	9-11
Super Bowl XXI	Bill Parcells, Giants (W), Dan Reeves, Broncos (L)	10-12
Super Bowl XXIII	Sam Wyche, Bengals (L)	10-13
Super Bowl XXIV	George Seifert, 49ers (W)	11-13
Super Bowl XXV	Marv Levy, Bills (L)	11-14
Super Bowl XXVII	Jimmy Johnson, Cowboys (W)	12-14
Super Bowl XXIX	Bobby Ross, Chargers (L)	12-15
Super Bowl XXX	Barry Switzer, Cowboys (W), Bill Cowher, Steelers (L)	13-16
Super Bowl XXXI	Mike Holmgren, Packers (W)	14-16
Super Bowl XXXII	Mike Shanahan, Broncos (W)	15-16
Super Bowl XXXIV	Jeff Fisher, Titans (L)	15-17
Super Bowl XXXV	Brian Billick, Ravens (W), Jim Fassel, Giants (L)	16-18
Super Bowl XXXVI	Bill Belichick, Patriots (W), Mike Martz, Rams (L)	17-19
Super Bowl XXXVII	Jon Gruden, Buccaneers (W), Bill Callahan, Raiders (L)	18-20
Super Bowl XXXVIII	John Fox, Panthers (L)	18-21
Super Bowl XXXIX	Andy Reid, Eagles (L)	18-22
Super Bowl XLI	Tony Dungy, Colts (W), Lovie Smith, Bears (L)	19-23
Super Bowl XLII	Tom Coughlin, Giants (W)	20-23
Super Bowl XLIII	Mike Tomlin, Steelers (W), Ken Whisenhunt, Cardinals (L)	21-24
Super Bowl XLIV	Sean Payton, Saints (W), Jim Caldwell, Colts (L)	22-25
Super Bowl XLV	Mike McCarthy, Packers (W)	23-25
Super Bowl XLVII	John Harbaugh, Ravens (W), Jim Harbaugh, 49ers (L)	24-26
Super Bowl XLVIII	Pete Carroll, Seahawks (W)	25-26
Super Bowl 50	Gary Kubiak, Broncos (W), Ron Rivera, Panthers (L)	26-27
Super Bowl LI	Dan Quinn, Falcons (L)	26-28
Super Bowl LII	Doug Pederson, Eagles (W)	27-28
Super Bowl LIII	Sean McVay, Rams (L)	27-29
Super Bowl LIV	Kyle Shanahan, 49ers (L)	27-30
Super Bowl LV	Bruce Arians, Buccaneers (W)	28-30
Super Bowl LVI	Zac Taylor, Bengals (L)	28-31

More recently, first-time Super Bowl coaches have been in a bit of a slump, losing four of their last six appearances, including Zac Taylor with the Bengals a year ago. That said, Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians was able to get the win in his first crack just a couple of seasons ago, so it's certainly within the realm of possibility for Sirianni. 

Meanwhile, Sirianni's contemporary, Andy Reid, lost in his first trip to the big game back in Super Bowl XXXIX when he was the head coach of the Eagles. Reid manned Philadelphia's sideline from 1999 to 2012 and is the winningest coach in franchise history, going 130-93-1 over his tenure. While he never was able to win a title with the Eagles, he finally hoisted the Lombardi Trophy a few years ago with a Super Bowl LIV victory as head coach of the Chiefs. 

Super Bowl LVII will kick off on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 6:30 p.m. ET.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/2023-super-bowl-how-coaches-in-their-first-trip-to-the-big-game-like-eagles-nick-sirianni-have-fared/