The Jalen Hurts-Nick Sirianni relationship has gone from awkward to afterthought as Eagles begin camp
A year ago, it was the talk of training camp. But any division between the Eagles head coach and quarterback is long gone after a Super Bowl title.

If Nick Sirianni’s response to the notion that Jalen Hurts was just along for the ride when the Eagles won the Super Bowl last season started with “I don’t agree” instead of “Yeah, that’s bull—," the rest of the words offered to beat reporters during a camera-free interview session in June would have likely been deemed rather banal.
It was not the first time Sirianni was asked to defend his quarterback. It probably won’t be the last.
But the comments also happened to be made public on the same day ESPN released a survey of executives, coaches, and scouts that ranked Hurts as the ninth-best quarterback in the NFL. So Sirianni’s words, said a month earlier, proved to be rather timely.
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“I mean, he plays the most important position in all of sports,” Sirianni said. “And it’s the most ultimate team game there is. And what I admire about him is his selflessness of doing anything we need to do to win.
“It’s a nice debate thing that people like to have, and I get it. There’s a lot of hours that TV shows and radio stations have to fill to be able to fill that debate. I understand that, but we’re talking about the most ultimate team game there is, and he does whatever he needs to do to win each and every game. You name me a team that wins, and wins consistently, that doesn’t have good players around. Speak on my end. You name me a coach that doesn’t have good players around him that wins.
“You don’t win with bad players. And it’s the same thing. You don’t win with bad players if you’re a quarterback either. It’s a team game.”
ZzzZZzzzZzzZZzZ.
Good teams with good players win. Bad teams with bad players don’t. Football is a team sport. Good quarterbacks need good players.
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Sirianni isn’t wrong with any of that, but what he’s probably most right about is the filling of the airtime. It is listicle season as training camp begins around the NFL. Who’s the best quarterback? Who had the best offseason? Which teams are primed to take the next step? Which teams are trending downward?
It is all relatively meaningless fodder to get football fans through the dog days of summer.
As it pertains to Hurts and the Eagles, whether he’s ranked ninth or fifth or first on the list of the best quarterbacks in the NFL is another relatively senseless thing to spend a lot of time on. The Eagles have a top-10 quarterback, one of the best offensive lines, a top receiving tandem, arguably the best running back, and a defense that, despite undergoing a bit of change in the offseason, has one of the game’s best teachers leading it. They are among the favorites to win the Super Bowl.
» READ MORE: Mike Sielski: Come on, ESPN. Jalen Hurts is not the ninth-best QB in the NFL. He’s the worst.
But lost in the ranking and colorful language of it all is the reality that the most discussed topic around the Eagles from one year ago is one that seemingly no longer exists. The relationship between Hurts and his coach — arguably one of the most critical connections in pro sports — has gone from awkward to afterthought.
Consider where things were at this time last year. After the Eagles unraveled at the end of the 2023 season, Hurts offered up measured remarks about Sirianni’s future on multiple occasions. It wasn’t until the first week of training camp that Hurts finally made things appear somewhat normal between he and his coach.
But then an ESPN report last August revealed that Hurts sought advice from a rival coach as the Eagles geared up for the playoffs, and the awkwardness of the most important relationship at the NovaCare Complex emerged after a brief hiatus.
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The rest, of course, is history. The Eagles, after a rocky 2-2 start, became the best team in the NFL and rolled the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. But along the way, a dominant defense and historic rushing season from Saquon Barkley ruled the narrative. Hurts was just a game manager, many said, even if that characterization was used as a positive.
The Chiefs decided to put that moniker to the test in New Orleans. They shut down Barkley and forced Hurts to beat them. Hurts responded by completing 17 of his 22 pass attempts for two touchdowns (against one interception). He rushed 11 times for 72 yards while adding another score. And it was Hurts’ arm that was featured in the game’s signature play, a 46-yard touchdown throw to DeVonta Smith that gave the Eagles a 34-0 lead and proved to be the dagger.
The clock wound down in the fourth quarter and Sirianni pulled his starters. Cameras and microphones caught Hurts asking his coach if he was sure. “Yeah, I’m [expletive] sure,” Sirianni said.
“I love you, man.”
“Love you, too,” Hurts, the game’s most valuable player, responded.
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As for the relationship now, as the Eagles prepare to open training camp and defend their title ...
“I think we both have this will to improve, and this will to win, and that works for us,” Sirianni said. “We’re both so committed to getting better and committed to winning. He loves football. I love football. Sometimes, with relationships, the first thing that you try to do is find your common bonds with people. Ours is football. Great, it’s about football. We both love the game. We both grew up in the game as little kids going to practice and we have this love for the game. I really value the relationship I have with him.
“Hopefully he sees the same in me. That’s our common bond.”
Right now, they also share a common bond of winning. Little else — especially where Hurts ranks on a random list of the league’s top quarterbacks — should matter.