Can Jalen Hurts and Nick Sirianni Fix Enough to Reach A Championship?
This week, a report from ESPN’s Tim McManus described what we’ve all suspected was coming for quite a while.
A partial fracturing of the relationship between Head Coach Nick Sirianni and Quarterback Jalen Hurts last season.
The piece details the end of a game last year against Seattle. The Eagles were at midfield down 20–17, and instead of seeking more yardage for the tying field goal, they went to the end zone on a pass that was ultimately intercepted. The play was later said to have been “improvised” between Hurts and AJ Brown. Hurts even called former Giants Defensive Coordinator Don Martindale for advice about his approach to defending against the Eagles’ offense.
We suspected it when season-ending press conferences weren’t overly complementary between Hurts and Sirianni. We suspected it when rumors started emerging out of the Novacare complex. We suspected it after a 1–6 collapse that ended the 2023–2024 Eagles campaign and then again when Brian Johnson was let go — someone who has been with Hurts for years.
History has shown us that over the years, the relationship between head coach and franchise quarterback can be tenuous.
Brady and Belichick were at odds despite winning six Super Bowls together with New England. In Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy could only combine for one championship due in part to a sinking relationship. Dan Reeves and John Elway famously feuded in Denver, and over the years, Terry Bradshaw shed light on the rocky relationship between him and Chuck Noll as the Steelers won six Super Bowl Titles.
Although the relationship doesn’t have to be close, it does have to be workable.
The Head Coach is the ultimate responsible party for the team. The quarterback — the ultimate responsible party for the offense. Score at will — everyone thinks both are genius material. Become inefficient, or even worse at odds — and both could be out of a job.
Jalen Hurts was not Nick Sirianni’s pick. He was an insurance policy selection in the COVID-shortened 2020 NFL Draft. After a former Eagles #1 pick meltdown, that insurance policy became the face of the franchise.
Suppose the Eagles return to the NFC Championship Game with a defense that delivers crushing blows without mercy, an offense that dominates with an aerial attack that is unstoppable, and a running game that gains yards in bunches. In that case, however, it wants — both will be heroes in Philly once again.
If not, it won’t be Jalen Hurts who is out of a job. It could be Nick Sirianni.
PHOTO: —
The post A Coach and His Quarterback appeared first on Philadelphia Sports Nation.