PHILADELPHIA – Jalen Hurts was pumped after his exit meeting two days after the season ended.
“We’re going to fix everything we’ve done and we’re going to grow together. Coach Sirianni, Brian, everybody,” the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback said.
A few days later, Brian Johnson was gone, the victim of a 1-6 finish after a promising start to the season.
Nick Sirianni will be back, but there will be changes in how he coaches the offense. Like he said since he got here, it’s not his fault anymore. As he said Wednesday, it’s the Eagles’ fault.
“The new coordinator is not only going to be very involved, but he’s going to come up with a plan that’s actionable and something that we can work on together, and that plan has to be something that our players can work with, and our quarterback is on his way to to be the best you can be.” A very humble Sirianni said this at the season-ending press conference on Wednesday.
“I’d like to see who comes and does that.”Of course, Hurts will remain at quarterback and they will have a new offensive coordinator.
This is not news. He had eight COs in eight years before Shane Steichen, who stayed for two seasons before leaving to become the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, but how does it feel to lose not just another CO, but a friend?
Sirianni didn’t want to guess.”They are clearly related,” he said. “If you ever get a chance to talk to Jalen, make sure you ask him. But every time we have to let people go, we all suffer when we have to let people go. Each of us. That’s the worst part of this job. “We have to let people go.”As a sophomore at Steichen, Hurts was an MVP candidate in year 2 and finished as the runner up.
This year was a decline. He struggled against the blitz, threw 15 interceptions, stole bases too often and didn’t make plays often or effectively enough.
“You want to be comfortable with Jalen and whoever the new coordinator is. Obviously, I talked to (Eagles running backs coordinator/head coach) Kevin Patullo about it, just like I talked to Howie. I’ll talk to Jalen about it as well,” Sirianni said.
“You’re always in contact with the players, especially the defender, so we go through everything.
“It remains to be seen how comfortable Hurts will be without Johnson. The two have dated since Hurts was 4 years old, and Johnson played quarterback in high school for Johnson and his father, who later coached Hurts.
As a coach, having no friends is probably a good thing. Maybe Hurts needs someone to push him and train hard, which he and Sirianni said they enjoy.
Maybe Johnson didn’t push hard enough. Either way, Hurts appears to be deciding who his next OC will be, and the Eagles have $255 million to chase.
“I’ll keep him posted on what he needs to know. Because he is ours. It is very important that you two work together. We’re back to where we need to be,” Sirianni said. GM Howie Roseman seemed to be in denial about how deep the QB cycle was.
“It’s not fair to Jalen either,” he said. “He is 25 years old. Jalen is growing and getting better and what you see at 25 will be different than what you see at 26… We don’t ask players to make these decisions. We don’t ask others who work for us to make these decisions. “We’re trying to be informed and make the best decisions so that the confetti falls on our heads again and we’re world champions again because that’s the only agenda.”For his part, Hurts seems to be doing well.
“I’m not the player I was when I got here as a freshman, I’m not the player I was as a sophomore, I’m not the player I was as a freshman, I’m not the player I we used to be last year,” he said. “You have to keep improving, not only as a player, but as a person and a leader.”
