Jalen Hurts said nice things about Nick Sirianni on Wednesday afternoon.
That probably shouldn’t be breaking news.
But if you’ve been paying attention to the dynamic between the Eagles’ head coach and starting quarterback, it kind of is. Hurts on Wednesday said he and Sirianni shared some “great moments” together during the team’s Week 5 bye week.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
What prompted those moments?
“We’re the two leaders of the team,” Hurts said. “I’m happy and fortunate that we were able to come together in harmony and have the same goal in mind, trying to get this thing right. I got a ton of confidence in him, a ton of confidence in what he brings and everything he’s been able to accomplish.
“Just continue to press on, on that. Everybody goes through different moments, everybody experiences adversity but we’ve experienced different levels of adversity together. We’re excited for what’s to come.”
It’s probably no mistake that Hurts referenced the “moments” that he and Sirianni shared during the bye week. Because before the team broke, Hurts was asked after the loss to the Buccaneers in Week 4 if he and Sirianni would talk about a singular message to deliver to the rest of the team.
News
Hurts’ short answer raised some eyebrows: “We have our moments.”
That comment was dissected for the next week and maybe that’s unfair. The Eagles just got walloped on the road at Raymond James Stadium, which has become a house of horrors for Hurts. But the starting quarterback also knows there are already a ton of questions about his relationship with Sirianni, which all came to the surface when an ESPN article in August detailed the fracture in their relationship in 2023.
“I feel like it was something that just happened,” Hurts said about his moments with Sirianni during the bye week.
It was obvious that on Wednesday, the calculated quarterback walked into the NovaCare Complex auditorium ready to talk about the productive meetings he had with Sirianni during the bye.
What was the motivation for that plan?
There are plenty of theories. Maybe it was all just the truth; they really did have good moments and are ready to lead the 2024 Eagles in lockstep the rest of the way. Maybe it was good work by the media relations staff to get Hurts to say something nice about the coach. Maybe it was a directive from higher.
In any case, the best outcome would clearly be that the franchise quarterback and head coach are able to lead together after a 2-2 start. After all, they’re the two most important leaders of the team and if they’re going in different directions, this isn’t going to work.
“I think this was probably, I’d say, one of the most efficient bye weeks I’ve been a part of in my career,” Hurts said. “Just being able to, like I said, share those moments and talk through some things and build.”
Subscribe to Eagle Eye anywhere you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | YouTube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube