Jalen Hurts’ recent non-answers to questions about Nick Sirianni have reportedly caused some unhappiness within the Philadelphia Eagles organization.
On the latest episode of the unCovering the Birds podcast (h/t Brandon Lee Gowton of Bleeding Green Nation), Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer said Hurts’ responses to questions about his head coach “disappointed several key figures within the organization.”
For those who are unaware of the apparent controversy that has captivated no one outside of Philadelphia, the situation occurred last week after the Eagles wrapped up mandatory minicamp.
The final two questions of Hurts’ press conference on June 6 were about Sirianni being more open-minded to change the offense going into this season compared to last season (starts at 10:00 mark).
Hurts took a pause after the first question before responding, “Um, I mean, that’s a great question. I don’t know that I know the answer to it.”
When Hurts was asked a simple follow-up about Sirianni’s open-mindedness with the offense, he didn’t really provide an answer: “Um, I think he’s been great in the messages he’s delivering to the team. Trying to be very intentional in what he’s saying.”
In a mailbag on Friday, Jimmy Kempski of the Philly Voice was asked if there is anything to be concerned about regarding the relationship between Hurts and Sirianni.
While Kempski didn’t have a direct answer about that, he did point out that Brian Johnson, who was fired as Eagles offensive coordinator at the end of last season, is a “longtime friend” of Hurts and has known him since the quarterback was five years old.
Hurts signed a five-year, $255 million contract extension with the Eagles in April 2023 after finishing second in MVP voting and leading the team to an appearance in Super Bowl 57.
Even though it would probably be an overreaction to assume Hurts and Sirianni don’t get along, the Eagles have had a strange offseason.
Sirianni was able to keep his job after a late-season collapse that saw the Eagles lose six of their final seven games, including a 32-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the playoffs. They replaced 11 assistants on his staff, including the offensive and defensive coordinators.
Before finalizing their staff, Greg Bedard of Boston Sports Journal said during a Jan. 30 appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Felger & Mazz there were rumblings from NFL people during the Senior Bowl that the Eagles “were very interested” in Bill Belichick “if things didn’t work out with Nick Sirianni and they could be at the front of the line if things again go poorly for him next year.”
Sirianni was evidently able to work out whatever he needed to in order to keep his job for the 2024 season. It’s believed his current contract runs through 2025, so he will almost certainly be under the microscope this year as the Eagles evaluate their short- and long-term future.