Eagles' Sean Desai Reveals Unique Talks with Jalen Hurts: 'I Love It!'

Philadelphia Eagles new defensive coordinator Sean Desai isn't just helping the players on his side of the football, proof of his conversations with quarterback Jalen Hurts.

PHILADELPHIA - The grind is on in the NFL and new Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Sean Desai was in his office at the NovaCare Complex about to spend the time he should have been sitting down for dinner by watching film when he got a surprise visitor.

It was star quarterback Jalen Hurts.

About 2,400 miles away, former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, now the head coach in Arizona, could have tipped Desai off to expect the pop-in. 

In most NFL buildings, the starting QB is attached at the hip to the offensive brain trust. That's the case in Philadelphia where Hurts and coach Nick Sirianni, offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, passing game coordinator Kevin Patullo, and quarterbacks coach Alex Tanney are in constant communication. But as with most things in the fourth-year quarterback's life, Hurts goes the extra mile when it comes to preparation.

“Yeah, we’ve been able to catch up and talk,” Hurts said earlier in the week when asked if his pow-wows with the former defensive coordinator have continued with the new one. “Kind of tell me some of his philosophical beliefs. Some of his beliefs and just kind of get better and learn that way. I’m a competitor and I want to continue to learn and grow and soak in as much as I can.

"He’s been a resource in that.”

The quarterback picking the brain of the top defensive mind on the staff makes sense in both directions.

“He just started asking questions,” Desai said of the encounter. “I told him I love it. I love it. He’s so sharp, he’s so bright. You see, now being a part of the organization you understand why he’s so special. From afar you see it, but you don’t really know until you’re a part of it."

Desai is obsessed with education to the point that he earned a master's degree in higher and post-secondary education from Columbia University and then went on to get his doctorate in educational administration in 2008 at Temple University where he was also an adjunct professor for two years while also kicking off his coaching career by helping the Owls' defense and special teams units.

"I try to be present," Desai told SI.com's Eagles Today when discussing his coaching style which is rooted in teaching. "... I try to go to all the meetings every day. I want the guys to see me, I want them to be around me, I want them to feel comfortable with asking me questions, I want the coaches to feel comfortable."

The goal is positive reinforcement while encouraging dialogue. For Desai, educating is a two-way street.

"I'm not there to criticize or anything," he said. "I'm there to add whatever I can add to a meeting. Oftentimes, if I can't add something, I won't. I'll just sit there and take notes. I'm learning also. It's about me learning the players and coaches and us being in this together. So, my philosophy is I try to be as present and accessible as I can be to everybody."

In the case of Hurts, that two-way dynamic means Desai gets to generate intel for his defense from a triple threat who dominated the league last season and finished as the runner-up for the MVP award.

“It helps me," Desai said. "I told him that. Those questions are important for me to know because our job is to impact the quarterback. We want to try to do that.

“When you’re a top-level quarterback like he is, I want to get in his brain too and learn what’s actually helpful. Are we doing something that we think is helpful but really isn’t and it really impacted him. So, I think that dialog is great, and he knows he’s got an open door. When he has the opportunity to come and talk ball with me, it’s there.”

A motivated pupil like Hurts is what an educator dreams of.

"He's a stud," Desai said. "...The way his brain works, the questions, the types of questions that he asks, you could tell that he’s just trying to elevate his game to the next level, and really it helps us.”

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-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen