Jalen Hurts Addresses Relationship With Head Coach Nick Sirianni Ahead of Eagles Camp

The Philly quarterback addressed reports surrounding his relationship with Sirianni.
Oct 22, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA;  Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) celebrate touchdown against the Miami Dolphins at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 22, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) celebrate touchdown against the Miami Dolphins at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
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It's a new season for the Philadelphia Eagles as training camp gets underway, but the shadow of last year's catastrophe looms. Philly went 10-0 to start the 2023 season before completely falling apart down the stretch, eventually losing in the Wild Card round to the Baker Mayfield-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

One of the many elements of the organization under a microscope in the aftermath of the collapse is the relationship between head coach Nick Sirianni and star quarterback Jalen Hurts. It became a talking point this week after The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported it was a "work in progress" due to the differences in the pair's personalities.

Hurts took time in his first media appearance of camp on Wednesday to address that report and the general noise surrounding the topic.

"I'm excited to be back," Hurts said after he was asked about his connection with the head coach. "Excited to go through this journey and go through this season with everyone here. Everyone. I trust Mr. [Jeffrey] Lurie, I trust Howie [Roseman], I trust coach Sirianni to lead us in the right direction. I know there are different roles in place. Everybody has different responsibilities. There may be more demands from some than others.

"I think, to win championships, to be the team we want to be, everyone has to buy into their role and be fully committed to doing their part and helping the team. I'm excited to go on the journey. I feel like for me, as a player, as a leader, everything we went through last year, I just feel like I'm equipped to handle whatever is to come."

It's not necessarily a strong statement that puts everything to rest, but that's not really Hurts' style. For the Eagles QB this is as close as we'll get to hearing him bluntly state everything is fine. He trusts Sirianni and clearly that's enough for Hurts.

Regardless of how much Hurts trusts everyone, though, a lot is riding on this season. Sirianni was spared the chopping block but that probably won't happen again if Philly is a letdown this season. Hurts is entering what is effectively the first year of his five-year $255 million contract with the Eagles so much is expected of him.

If both men cannot work together to lead Philadelphia to a deep playoff run this postseason, it seems all but certain one of them won't be around to try again in 2025.


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Liam McKeone
LIAM MCKEONE

Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.