Eagles Jalen Hurts vs. Nick Sirianni dubbed one of NFL’s most controversial storylines in 2024

Is it really nothing but brotherly love these days between Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and franchise quarterback Jalen Hurts? Or has their “fractured” and “unhealthy” relationship, as ESPN detailed in this exposé last month , too far gone to repair?

Although Sirianni has said all the right things publicly, speaking profusely while lauding Hurts’ work ethic, leadership and play throughout training camp, it’s fair to wonder where things really stand between the coach and quarterback as the Eagles get set to kick-off their season against the Green Bay Packers in Brazil on Friday night.

Frank Schwab of Yahoo! Sports recently laid out 10 brewing controversies in a preview for the 2024 season, and Hurts vs. Sirianni made his list. Here’s Schwab’s take on the situation entering Week 1:

An ESPN story this offseason put a different light on the Philadelphia Eagles' struggles late last season. It described a disconnect between quarterback Jalen Hurts and head coach Nick Sirianni. The root of it, a team source told ESPN, was Hurts' "lack of full respect for Sirianni's X's and O's chops."

It's not good when a quarterback and coach are at odds. Both men have downplayed that, but it's bound to come up again if the Eagles start slow. Maybe Sirianni giving up offensive control to new coordinator Kellen Moore will ease tensions. But don't think that the story has been forgotten.

Hurts’ comments to reporters on June 6 , about a month before the ESPN story dropped, raised eyebrows on the final day of minicamp. Asked what he noticed about Sirianni "being open-minded enough" to turn the offense over to Moore, Hurts paused before giving a somewhat awkward answer:

“I mean, that’s a great question,” Hurts said. “I don’t know that I know the answer to it.”

Pressed a bit further, pausing once more to find the right words, Hurts said: “The messages he’s delivering to the team, he’s trying to be very intentional with what he’s saying.”

Sirianni took full responsibility for the team’s 2023 collapse behind closed doors, per ESPN, and he’s been making an effort this season to be a better leader. Again, he at least looked and sounded the part throughout the summer, especially whenever he was asked about Hurts.

To Schwab’s point, should the Eagles get off to a slow start this season, every interaction between the coach and quarterback will be blown up and hyper-analyzed to an annoying degree.

Has the hatchet really been buried? We’ll find out soon enough.

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