Jalen Hurts’ lukewarm endorsement of Nick Sirianni may be the final nail in the Eagles coach’s coffin

Sirianni could very well be fired after an embarrassing playoff loss at Tampa Bay, but Hurts' regression is among the many issues that plague the Eagles.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in third quarter after getting sacked for a safety against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

by Jeff McLane

Published Jan. 16, 2024, 5:05 a.m. ET

TAMPA, Fla. — Jalen Hurts is often a tough read, but he revealed plenty by what he didn’t say when given the opportunity to endorse Nick Sirianni.

Asked if he wanted the Eagles coach back, Hurts said, “I didn’t know he was going anywhere.”

Told that there has been rampant speculation that Sirianni’s job was in jeopardy, Hurts said, “I didn’t know that.”

And then when asked whether he had confidence in him to fix the Eagles’ late-season free fall — which landed with a thud at Raymond James Stadium — the quarterback said, “I have a ton of confidence in everyone in this building.”

All that was missing from Hurts’ three dodges was a rooster’s crow.

Owner Jeffrey Lurie will have the final decision on Sirianni’s future after the Eagles lost six of their final seven games, lastly a 32-9 embarrassment to the Buccaneers in the first round of the postseason.

But when your $255 million franchise quarterback can’t summon the words to defend his coach, it seems a foregone conclusion that Sirianni won’t be back for a fourth season — just one year after he nearly guided the Eagles to a second Super Bowl title.

The 42-year-old coach certainly had as much to do with his team’s tailspin as anyone. He failed to script an offense that would be ahead of defensive coordinators who spent all offseason studying ways to stop his scheme. He took responsibility for defensive coordinator Sean Desai’s demotion for the even worse Matt Patricia.

And he provided little evidence that a Sirianni-Hurts marriage could be a lasting one. The 25-year-old quarterback regressed and he made it clear he isn’t happy with the offense with his indifferent defense of the coach and an ESPN report ahead of Monday night’s game that said Hurts’ “desired direction for the offense has not materialized.”

Hurts wasn’t attributed directly, but a source close to him was, and when asked about the report, he didn’t deny it.

“We’ve had a ton of opportunities to do great things and we haven’t taken advantage of them,” Hurts said. “And I’ve talked about the ownership of that and me taking ownership for the things that I can control and challenging everyone to take ownership for the things that they control.”

But Hurts hasn’t always taken ownership behind the scenes, and the ESPN report, a team source said, was just the latest overt example of him escaping culpability.

The finger-pointing may be moot if Sirianni is fired. But the question then will become: Who can steer Hurts back to his 2022 form? There’s at least proof that Sirianni can get him to play at an MVP level.

That offense was designed around Hurts’ capabilities. His preferred choice to replace offensive coordinator Shane Steichen was Brian Johnson. He had one of the best offensive lines to play behind, one of best wide receiver pairs in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, a quality tight end in Dallas Goedert, and competent running backs.

The Eagles’ offensive slide can’t all be on Sirianni and Johnson’s play-calling.

Hurts may not have had his coach’s back, but Sirianni was still defending him to the end. The offense had sputtered most of the night, but the Eagles were down only 16-9 late in the third quarter when Hurts dropped back on third-and-6 on his own 14-yard line.

Bucs coach Todd Bowles, to no surprise, had blitzed the quarterback relentlessly. But in this circumstance, he rushed only four. Hurts flushed to his left, pumped once to throw, and before taking a sack in the end zone grounded the ball for an automatic safety.

“He’s trying to make a play,” Sirianni said. “He does so many good things of making plays and when he extends plays when something’s not there. You can’t get really excited when he makes game-changing plays and crush him when something like that happens.”

There was some pressure up the middle, and only one of five routes stopped short of the first-down marker. So there were multiple variables at play, as there is on any given play, but Hurts should have thrown the ball away when he had the chance.

“I got held up in the pocket,” he said. “Was trying to make a play outside the pocket and make a throw down the field and move the chains. … I guess I didn’t get it past the line of scrimmage. So it’s a safety. I’ll have to watch the film to see what actually happened.”

It was a devastating turn of events. Tampa Bay scored a touchdown after the ensuing free kick for a 25-9 lead. And even though a quarter remained, the result was academic. The Eagles have been a dead squad walking for weeks.

Hurts’ final numbers didn’t look so bad — 25 of 35 passing for 250 yards and a touchdown without a turnover — especially considering the injury to the middle finger on his right throwing hand. But he failed to convert nine third downs on pass plays.

On the first — a third-and-2 — Hurts checked to a new play by signaling to Smith and Goedert. But they ran similar route patterns because, Smith said, “It was two different signals and we [saw] one and didn’t see the other.”

Hurts was hit by an extra rusher as he threw anyway and the ball fell short of Goedert. The Eagles, once again, didn’t have enough built-in answers vs. the blitz. It has been a constant issue in Sirianni’s scheme dating back to 2021.

But Hurts hasn’t helped himself either, especially this year, and has sometimes left clean pockets.

“I think the better way to say that is, ‘How do you think the coaching staff and players handled the blitz tonight?’ because it’s not just on one person,” Sirianni said when asked about Hurts. “We didn’t do a good enough job. Starts with me.”

If Sirianni goes, the onus falls further on Hurts, who has five years left on his contract, with his salary-cap number escalating rapidly. Some critiques of the quarterback off the field have centered on his stoic demeanor and apathetic body language in times of distress.

The ESPN telecast caught Goedert, at one point in the second half, apparently voicing frustration at Hurts, who sat on the bench unaffected. (Goedert later downplayed the incident.) Hurts, though, seemed to break his guise during his news conference when he acknowledged the need for possible change.

“The standard changes from year to year because it’s a whole different team. That’s one thing I’ll continue to mature on and continue to learn,” Hurts said. “I think different years require different versions of a person and I’ll just continue to learn to be the best leader for this team.”

He’s still so young despite his “old soul” personality. The Eagles will look much different next season, from the coaching staff to the roster, and possibly much more if a coach like Bill Belichick is hired.

But Hurts is the most likely to be back. Left tackle Jordan Mailata, another one assured to return, said he still has the utmost confidence in the quarterback.

“One hundred and twenty-five thousand percent,” Mailata said. “I have tremendous faith in Jalen and I have tremendous trust in him. The season went wrong for so many reasons — for everyone. Jalen wasn’t the only one who regressed.”