PHILADELPHIA — Dawn Staley was talking about the balance of management and expectations when Nick Sirianni joined his team’s most high-profile players in the room. The decorated coach of the South Carolina women’s basketball team, who’d begun her Hall of Fame playing career at Dobbins Tech High in North Philadelphia, had spoken with Sirianni while attending a 76ers-Knicks playoff game and agreed to visit the NovaCare Complex in June.
Staley met with players who belonged to the Philadelphia Eagles’ leadership council. Among them: Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Saquon Barkley. They talked about the team’s desire to win. They talked about motivating teammates, how praising others aloud in the locker room can inspire others to also step up. They talked about how it’s really the little things that produce winning in a high-stakes environment.
It was “a very engaging session” that lasted about two hours, Staley told The Athletic. She left encouraged — both by the discussion and that one had happened at all. Others might have considered it “ludicrous” to speak with a woman in relation to “such a rough and tough sport,” Staley said. But they’d understood “success is relatable.”
Sirianni, too. He’d equated their teams. Their athletes. Their…
