Nick Sirianni Sees 'a Leader Who Loves Football' in Jalen Hurts

The first-year Eagles coach spoke about his presumptive starter after the Carson Wentz trade became official

PHILADELPHIA - Carson Wentz to Indianapolis is official with both the Colts and Eagles confirming the trade of the former face of Philadelphia's franchise minutes after the NFL's new league year started at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

And that means the page can officially be turned to the new era featuring a head coach and quarterback barely out of the shrinkwrap.

Nick Sirianni, Frank Reich's former offensive coordinator with the Colts, was pegged by Jeffrey Lurie as Doug Pederson's replacement and named the Eagles' new head coach on Jan. 24.

Sirianni's introductory press conference was five days later and since that time the 39-year-old offensive-minded mentor has been silent, ostensibly because he couldn't speak on the record about the Wentz trade, which was agreed upon in February.

With the I's dotted and the T's finally crossed, Sirianni did speak through the Eagles' website on the player expected to be his on-field leader moving forward in Hurts, the second-year signal-caller who started the Eagles' final four games last season as a rookie.

The 2019 Heisman Trophy runner-up to Joe Burrow, Hurts was the No. 53 overall selection in the 2020 draft and replaced Wentz at halftime of Philadelphia's Dec. 6 game at Green Bay. 

Wentz was never heard from again, but he will talk to reporters on Thursday with one caveat. The Colts will not allow Eagles media to ask questions.

Hurts essentially finished the season, other than sitting at the end of the meaningless Week 17 affair against the Washington Football Team in favor of Nate Sudfeld.

The second-year QB delivered good and bad over the final month.

He gave what was a moribund offense some juice with his ability to extend plays but was inconsistent as a passer, connecting on just 52.0 percent of his passes.

"There's a lot of things to be excited about with [Hurts'] tape and so we're so excited to work with him and get going with him and talking ball with him," said Sirianni. "Right now, we're in a period where we're talking and just getting to know each other. I look forward to the day when we can talk and really dive into football."

Hurts has been working hard in the offseason with his personal QB coach Quincy Avery as well as some of his teammates like receivers Jalen Reagor and Greg Ward to take advantage of his opportunity.

"What we saw [on tape] is a player who can really extend plays and create on his own," Sirianni said. "... we saw his ability to create when things weren't there. That's an unbelievable asset to have as a football team. You can see his toughness on tape and how he carried himself. ... He is a leader who loves football. There is no substitute for that."

A recent report from ESPN's Chris Mortensen claimed that Lurie has instructed his personnel department to move forward with the intent of building around Hurts but GM Howie Roseman claimed quarterback is still an option at No. 6 overall in the 2021 draft, presumably Ohio State's Justin Fields or North Dakota State's Trey Lance.

Roseman said the Eagles "won't put a cap on what we're going to do at that position."

Eagles.com also paraphrased Roseman as saying that the team will consider every option as they address depth and competition at quarterback, claiming they will be performing their due diligence at every position on the roster.

The organization did send offensive coordinator Shane Steichen and quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson to Lance's Pro Day last week but that's a far cry from 2016 when Lurie, Roseman, and Pederson traveled to see Wentz at the same school.

John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Monday and Thursday on The Middle with Eytan Shander, Harry Mayes, former Eagles OT Barrett Brooks streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and SportsMap Radio. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s EagleMaven. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.