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USATSI

Julian Love knows a thing or two about getting beaten badly by the Eagles: He found himself on the wrong end of a deep touchdown in Philadelphia's 48-22 regular-season victory over the Giants, then fell to the Birds again, 38-7, in the divisional round of the 2023 NFL playoffs. But New York's veteran safety isn't willing to give much credit to the man in charge of the Eagles as they prepare for Super Bowl LVII, telling NFL Network's "Good Morning Football" Thursday that Eagles coach Nick Sirianni is on "a free ride."

"He's a guy who really is doing a great job because he's not getting in the way of his team," Love said. "He has an experienced roster from top to bottom -- offense, defense."

Asked his thoughts on viral video of Sirianni's celebratory head-nodding from the Eagles' playoff blowout of the Giants, Love went from backhanded compliments to full-on critique.

"I don't like it," he said. "I don't like it at all. I mean, he's in for a free ride right now. You guys can coach this team."

Love doubled down on his comments afterward, tweeting that "Philly fans don't like this ... but I'm not wrong." He added that "Philly has dogs on the roster top to bottom," saying "it's no mystery why they're in this position." So it's not as if he's unwilling to give the Eagles credit; he's just unwilling to concede that Sirianni has anything to do with Philly going 25-12 in two seasons atop the team's staff, including playoffs.

Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham, Philly's longest-tenured player, was asked about Love's comments later Thursday and dismissed them.

"You know what, people always got something to say when [they're] at home, when they've got some stuff to think about," Graham told reporters. "At the end of the day, it definitely carries no weight, because Coach proves himself each and every day. And if you're not in here, you really wouldn't know that. So it's all lip service."