Eagles coach calls out “lazy” footage of AJ Brown after he’s caught reading a book during game

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni came to the defense of wide receiver AJ Brown over criticism of him reading a book on the sideline during Sunday’s playoff game.

Brown was seen reading “Inner Excellence” by Jim Murphy and explained after the fight that he always reads the book to help his mental focus. Sunday night against the Green Bay Packers was only the first time the cameras caught him doing it.

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Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni leaves the field after an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Sirianni called the critics in an interview that Sports Radio 94 WIP.

“I’m definitely OK with that,” he said Tuesday. “The crazy thing is, he’s been reading this book on the sidelines for a long time. It just happened that a camera saw it this week. Some guys pray in between, some guys mediate in between. AJ reads in between.

“Whatever these guys have to do to put their minds in a place where they can play with great detail and great effort, I fully encourage them to do it. I love AJ He’s such a great teammate. I saw Jahan Dotson say something that defended AJ and I thought that was great too.Another example of our teammates defending each other.

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown, #11, during warmups against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on December 29, 2024. (Eric Hartline-Imagn Images)

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“We don’t do any research and we jump to a conclusion of, ‘Oh, he must be unhappy.’ That to me is lazy. Everybody needs to find out why he’s doing it before they judge the man, because the man, AJ Brown is a great, great person. The man AJ Brown is the best receiver I’ll say without hesitation – the best receiver this city has ever seen… It’s hard for me to see when people get on him without making the proper research of who the man is and what he does in the first place.”

Brown’s reading escapade helped the book jump to the top of Amazon’s bestseller list overnight. All that on top of the win over the Packers.

The Eagles could probably use a little more from Brown on the field. He had one catch for 10 yards in the game. He hasn’t had more than five catches since Dec. 22.

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown, #11, celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the first quarter against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland on December 22, 2024. (Peter Casey-Imagn Photos)

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Philadelphia welcomes the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round on Sunday.

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