Super Bowl coach with roots at local college

ALLIANCE, Ohio (WKBN) – Larry Kehres is one of the winningest coaches in college football history, with 332 career victories and 11 National Championships at Mount Union.

He’s also coached a few wideouts that have reached the N-F-L, including the current head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. Nick Sirianni was a three-year starter for the Purple Raiders and the youngest of three brothers to attend Mount Union.

“I really expected Nick to be good, having had his older brother,” says Kehres. “So he had some pressure on him brought by me. It’s like, ‘Hey, your brother was really good, let’s go.’ And, probably, those expectations helped. He had to rise up and meet those expectations.”

Sirianni lived up those lofty expectations. He caught 52 passes for 998 yards and 13 touchdowns during his senior season and helped lead the Purple Raiders to three consecutive national championships.

Sirianni also started his coaching career at Mount Union. He joined the staff in 2004 and won another national title as an assistant coach the following season.

“That’s the group (of young coaches) shaped Mount Union football for the last seven, eight years that I was head coach,” Kehres added. “One goal of this place is to produce people that want to be lifelong learners. And if you want to be a successful football coach, you have to be that. You have to constantly seek to improve. Nick understands that process, and I think that he’s applying that process daily with his team.”

Sirianni has spent the last 14 years in the NFL. He became head coach of the Eagles in 2021 and quickly turned a four-win franchise into a Super Bowl contender.

This Sunday he’s got chance to bring the Lombardi Trophy back to Philadelphia, but win or lose, he’s always got a fan in Coach Kehres.

“I’m proud of Nick,” says Kehres. “How proud I am of Nick won’t change regardless of the outcome of the game, not one bit. I’ll be happier if he wins because he’ll be happier. But the pride that I feel and what he’s accomplished won’t be diminished one bit, regardless of how his team plays.”