PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LIX last season. Walking around the NovaCare Complex on the first two days of training camp, you wouldn’t know it.
There isn’t any reference regarding the Eagles’ latest Super Bowl championship on the buildings. In the fan zone to enter training camp, there’s a photo of a Super Bowl championship ring — the one from Super Bowl LII seven years ago.
Perhaps that’s intentional, perhaps it’s not (the Eagles did just receive their Super Bowl rings last week). If there are any recollections of the Super Bowl LIX championship, you’d be hard-pressed to find them.
“Whatever we did last year, that’s in the rearview mirror. We’re not defending nothing. We’re not the defending champs. We’re the 2024 World Champions. That’s it. We’re not defending shit. We’re not,” said Eagles team captain Jordan Mailata. “So I don’t like hearing, ‘Oh, we’re the defending champions.’ We’re not defending nothing.
“We just won the title, and now we got to go win it again. Prove it all over again, and that’s the mentality this team is gonna have. We’re not gonna prove anything to anyone else, but ourselves.”
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The message is loud and clear just looking around the NovaCare Complex. The only remnant of “world champions” anything is the 2024 world champions banner that hangs on the outside of the Eagles weight room in between the second and third practice fields. It’s placed with the other championship banners in Eagles franchise history, right next to the 2022 NFC Championship banner and not far from the 2017 world champions banner.
There are photo opportunities with the Vince Lombardi Trophy in the fan zone, although admittedly I haven’t seen the actual trophy before or after the two practices there. This season is a new challenge, even with 10 of 11 starters back on offense and the championship core still intact on the second-youngest roster in the NFL.
“It’s a new journey. It’s a new season. Those things are far behind us. The past is behind us and the future is too far away,” said Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. “We have to stay in the present and worry about right now. This is a new team, a new journey.
“Ultimately, we’re here for the same collective. It’s about finding ways to win, and right now, it’s the time to build the foundation to do so. And continue to build that chemistry as a team.”
Repeat is one of the words the Eagles aren’t using. They focused on that back in 2018 when they were trying to repeat as Super Bowl champions, embracing the challenge ahead of pursuing that accomplishment. The pressure got to them early in the season, and they had to rally in the final weeks just to make the postseason.
The stress of repeating from that 2018 season carried over to the 2019 season and continued until the franchise bottomed out in 2020 — prior to Sirianni taking over as head coach and Hurts being installed as the starting quarterback.
Mailata was only a rookie in 2018, but he was part of that pursuit of trying to repeat that season. This year is different — way different than 2018.
“It’s about the culture that we set. It’s about upholding the values that we had,” Mailata said. “Tough, detailed, together. It’s the same, it’s the same recipe. But now we have to do a better job at leading by that example. Doing extra, leading the guys through the walkthroughs and the gym. And even in the locker room, just talking plays — and being a good example of that tough, detailed, together. It’s that simple.”
“We know the mission and mission focused. That’s our approach. I’m so proud of everyone here because they are buying into what we’re selling.”
The message of the Eagles not defending shit? That isn’t coming from the top down.
“Oh yea that’s me. That’s just me. Nick (Sirianni) would never swear,” Mailata said with a laugh. “It’s a team, most of the leaders feel the same way. Most of the leaders are on the same page with moving on. That was more me, we’re not defending nothing.
“I hate hearing that. I think it contributes to the Super Bowl hangover. I’m not trying to be hungover. I’m trying to move on. When I hear ‘These are the defending world champs.’ Man, we ain’t shit. We ain’t nothing.”
The Eagles Super Bowl championship was awesome to remember for the 2024 season. The players in the locker room have moved on, and so has the organization.
It’s a franchise that is used to winning now. Two Super Bowl titles and three conference championships in seven years proves that.
There’s no need to flex muscles. For this Eagles team and this organization, it’s all business.
“The 2024 Philadelphia Eagles were a great team, that team no longer exists,” said left guard Landon Dickerson. “It’s in the history books and a lot of those guys are still here, but that team is no longer together. This is the 2025 Philadelphia Eagles.
“Right now, we have accomplished nothing. We are 0-0 and we’re here to work.”
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