Nick Sirianni Addresses Kenneth Gainwell's Halftime Fan Incident

Philadelphia Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell was a hot topic after the team's Week 8 game for more than one reason. Aside from his poor performance, which included a fumble at the goal line, the RB was also outed for messaging a fan on Instagram at halftime.

While Gainwell probably would've liked this slip-up to avoid getting back to the coaching staff, that clearly didn't happen.

Head coach Nick Sirianni addressed Gainwell's Instagram interaction on Monday. He noted the coaching staff talked to the running back, who obviously knows better as a third-year pro. Sirianni's message was more about keeping the RB focused on the mission at hand, however, rather than scolding the veteran.

""Should he respond to somebody that’s DM’ing him? No, he shouldn't respond to that guy or that girl at all. And so, yes of course we talked to him about that, to be locked in and focused and not worried about outside noise.""

- Nick Sirianni

While Gainwell's lapse in judgement was a bad look on a day where he didn't help the team, it's obvious Sirianni doesn't want to kick a player when he's already down. By instead using this moment to warn the 24-year-old by the distractions of "outside noise," he's helping him continue to grow as a pro.

Sirianni deserves a ton of respect for the way he handled his RB acting out. His understanding that sometimes emotions can get the best of a person shows why players rave about him as a coach.

If Philadelphia doesn't make any outside moves at the trade deadline, the team will be looking at Gainwell to step up in the second half. Hopefully he learns from this rock-bottom day and uses it to fuel him down the stretch.

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