Eagles Jalen Hurts, Nick Sirianni "In A Great Place" After Not Being On Same Page

The quarterback admitted he and his head coach werne't on the same page, but called it a learning experience.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts talks with reporters following the first practice of training camp on July 24, 2024. / By Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

PHILADELPHIA – Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was on one page, Jalen Hurts was on another last year during the Eagles' epic collapse, at least according to the quarterback. Now, months later everything between the two is just fine. Maybe.

“I think we’re in a great place,” said Hurts following the first practice of training camp on Wednesday. “I think any time you have any frustration, any time you have any adversity that you have to overcome, it’s supposed to test you.

“I think it’s a matter of being on the same page. I think if you’re on the same page, then maybe we would have accomplished the things that we would have. But we didn’t. But that’s a learning experience.”

A report from The Athletic’s Dianna Russini alluded to that, reporting that the coach and quarterback relationship is “still a work in progress” due to their different personalities, with Sirianni being fiery and emotional and Hurts being more reserved. That, Russini offered, led to a disconnect at times last year.

Hurts’ answer – being on a different page than his coach - seems to confirm that, but the QB is moving on.

“I’m excited to go through this journey, and go through this season with everyone here,” he said, pointing out that he trusts owner Jeffrey Lurie, general manager Howie Roseman, and his coach.

“I trust coach Sirianni to lead us in the right direction. I know there are different roles in place. Everyone has different responsibilities. There may be more demands from some than others. But I think to win championships, to be the team you want to be, everyone has to buy into that role, and everyone has to be fully committed to doing their part in helping the team.”

Jalen Hurts ready to take a snap at practice on July 24, 2024 / John McMullen/Eagles on SI

This will be the fourth season Sirianni and Hurts have worked together. Sometimes familiarity can breed contempt, and maybe that’s the case here, though Sirianni isn’t going to come out and say that.

Instead, he said this: “Jalen and I's relationship is good. Again, you just can judge it based off what your personal interactions are.”

And the report of them being a work in progress?

“When you hear a report like that, you don't put much stock into it because quite frankly not everybody sees that. I’m so excited for him and I to get into our fourth year together. We've done some pretty special things and I'm really excited for him”

The perception is that Sirianni decided to have this well-chronicled 30,000-foot view because of Hurts. The coach isn’t going to devote most, if not all of this time, to Hurts or the offense anymore. Instead, he will bounce from meeting room to meeting room, to position group to position group. That will limit his time with Hurts and the other quarterbacks, Kenny Pickett, Tanner McKee, and Will Grier.

“I'm not in that quarterback room all the time anymore, so it's like some of those times you would have the natural relationship because you're always in there, but what I think has been beneficial for that, is that everybody needs that time with me,” said Sirianni. “Not just me being in the quarterback room. Me being able to be in the defensive end room, me being in the linebacker room.

“So naturally when you're not just with the quarterbacks, you have to carve out a little bit more time to talk to them that you wouldn't get when you're in there all the time. So, yeah, I do that for every position, and now I just have to do that a little bit more with the quarterback position because I'm not in there full-time.”

And maybe that will help this relationship work better, and both coach and QB can get back on the same page.

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