SWCS Grad Sirianni Continues Rapid Ascent Up NFL Coaching Ladder

Fran and Amy Sirianni are in the midst of quite a football weekend.

On Friday night, they were at Charles A. Lawson Field, watching their middle son, Jay, coach Southwestern, the state’s 19th-ranked Class C team, in a non-league game against No. 17 Cleveland Hill. The Trojans won, 37-18.

On Saturday, they hopped in the car, drove to Washington, Pa., watched their granddaughter play a soccer game in the morning and then rooted on the Washington & Jefferson Presidents, coached by their oldest son, Mike, to a 48-30 victory over Carnegie Mellon in a Division III encounter in the afternoon. It was the school’s 700th win in school history.

But Fran and Amy’s gridiron odyssey – a rite of fall each year for the West Ellicott couple – was just getting ramped up.

After W&J’s win, Fran and Amy, headed north to Buffalo, rendezvoused with their youngest son, Nick, and caught up on how life was for him and his wife, Brett, who was back home in southern California.

And sometime before 1 p.m. today, the Siriannis will find their way to their seats at Ralph Wilson Stadium to prepare for their their third game in less than 48 hours.

But with all due respect to the Buffalo Bills’ new ownership, the team’s 2-0 start and the notion that it will reside in Western New York for good, Fran and Amy won’t be swept up in all the Pegulaville euphoria. Instead, they’ll be rooting like crazy for the San Diego Chargers. Their love for the team on the West Coast is no passing fancy.

That’s because Nick, the 1999 Southwestern Central School graduate, is the Chargers’ quarterbacks’ coach.

“We have a vested interest,” Fran said. “We have to root for San Diego. We wish the Bills the best, but next week.”

The Chargers arrived in Buffalo this weekend fresh off an impressive home victory over defending Super Bowl champion Seattle.

In that game, San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers completed 28-of-37 passes for 284 yards and three touchdowns against arguably the NFL’s best defense.

“He’s an outstanding pro,” said Nick who was promoted to quarterbacks’ coach after spending last year as the Chargers’ quality control coach for the offense. “Obviously, he’s a great player and has done it for so long. … Anytime you can work with a player of that caliber it’s good for you as a coach. You pick things up from him, too. It’s a good relationship and it’s one that I value.”

Apparently the feeling is mutual.

“Nick’s been awesome,” Rivers said in a conference call with Western New York media earlier in the week. “Nick’s a great young coach. … He’s super smart and it’s been fun working with him. He has a lot of energy. That’s been a good transition.”

Nick is not the only member of the Chargers who is experiencing a homecoming this weekend. General manager Tom Telesco grew up in Buffalo and attended high school at St. Francis. Meanwhile, offensive coordinator Frank Reich and tight ends coach Pete Metzelaars played for the Bills during their Super Bowl years.

“I’ve been with a lot of coordinators in the NFL,” said Nick, who spent one season as wide receivers coach at Kansas City and three as the Chiefs’ quality control coach, “and Frank is right up there. He does an outstanding job. People know about his leadership skills and his knowledge of football, but he’s also just a top-notch person. Not only is he a good football coach, but he’s a great leader and a great person, too. When you have a guy like that, you always want to go over the top (with your work ethic).”

That’s apparently never been an issue for Nick, who has aspired to be an NFL coach virtually his entire life.

A native of Jamestown, Nick, 33, won three NCAA Division III National Championships (2000-02) at the University of Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio. A three-year starter, he earned All-Ohio Athletic Conference honors as a senior after a career-high 13 touchdown catches. Nick spent one season (2005) playing arena football in the Atlantic Indoor Football League with the Canton Legends before transitioning into coaching. He coached defensive backs at Mount Union during the 2004-05 seasons, helping lead the Purple Eagles to another national title in 2005. He also was the wide receivers coach at Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

But don’t think his buddies back home are going to let Nick’s impressive collegiate and professional resume change the relationship they’ve shared for decades.

Jamestown High School football coach Tom Langworthy has been a friend of Sirianni since they were kids. They played football together at Southwestern, they graduated together and they have both carved out quite a coaching resume at a young age.

“Nick is a such a student of the game,” Langworthy said. “He sits in the film room and dissects plays and he’ll debate with you. He’s worked so hard at it as a player and as a coach. As a player, learning how to compete and move up the depth chart at Mount Union gave him a foundation of how to work as a coach.”

Nick took over the Chargers’ quarterbacks’ coach job that was held by Reich last season.

“It was a well-deserved promotion,” according to the Chargers’ media guide, which declared that Nick assisted an offense in 2013 “that racked up 6,293 total yards, including 4,478 through the air.”

“He’s talented,” Langworthy said, “but he’s also dedicated his professional life to that. He’s a football coach. Nick laughs about it, but he could not work a 9-to-5 job. He couldn’t work crunching numbers. He’s a football coach. That’s what he does. Because he’s passionate about it, and he loves it, he’s been able to work himself up (the ladder).

“For him to be such a young age in comparison to other NFL coaches it’s exciting. He deserves it. Nobody’s given him anything.”

And Langworthy is not about to this weekend either.

Although his lifelong friend will be working closely with Rivers today, Langworthy isn’t going to compromise his allegiance for the Bills.

“One of these days, you know what?” Langworthy asked rhetorically, “(Nick) will be playing deep into December and our (JHS) season will be over and I’ll ask about those tickets. And if (San Diego) isn’t playing the Bills I’ll have all the Chargers gear on.”

Jay Sirianni hoped to get to Buffalo on Saturday to meet his younger brother. Although they’re bonded by blood and football, they don’t have an opportunity to enjoy each other’s company very often, so Jay was in hopes they could get together between Nick’s meetings.

“It’s nice to be able to see him,” Jay said. “They live in San Diego, so he is the furthest he could be in the NFL away from us right now. … On Sunday we’ll go up and I’ll be in my Chargers’ gear at Ralph Wilson Stadium, getting heckled and all that kind of stuff.

“It will be a special experience for our family. Nick has coached (at Ralph Wilson Stadium) before a few years ago with Kansas City and they got crushed, so we are hoping for a different result. … Go Chargers!”

Post-Journal sportswriter Jay Young contributed to this report.