If the multiverse was real, the upcoming 2024 Philadelphia Eagles season could spawn an 8-episode Disney+ Marvel series.

With training camp about a week away, they are a team with both great potential for success and failure and I have no idea which direction this season is going to go. In 2022, they were a Super Bowl team that came within a whisker of being world champions. For most of last season, they looked like a juggernaut. They then collapsed like a house of cards, with locker room chaos and coaching mayhem spilling out onto the field during an epic 1-6 finish.

There are reasons to believe a Super Bowl team still lives inside this roster, but there are also reasons why this team could stumble once again. For today, here are my five biggest reasons to be optimistic that the Eagles are once again Super Bowl bound.

Jalen Hurts

Hurts did not seem to be himself for much of 2023. I continue to blame the shortened off-season, increased responsibilities (media interviews, charity events, demands on his time, etc.), and contract negotiations as the main reasons why he didn’t seem as physically or mentally prepared for the start of last season. If there truly was no injury slowing him down last season (he started all 17 games), that’s really the only logical explanation for his lack of explosiveness in the run game. Something was just off.

All that said, Hurts wasn’t bad for most of 2023. He threw for 3,858 yards and ran for 605. He scored 15 TDs on the ground, most of them through the Brotherly Shove, with a passer rating of 89.1 that wasn’t awesome, but also wasn’t terrible. And he is capable of having games like this anytime he wants.

The issue with Hurts last season was the thing that made him so incredibly good the season before — turnovers. In 2022, he threw just 6 INTs. Last year, he threw 15. He was also done in by play calling (which we’ll get to in just a minute) and an inability to beat even the simplest blitzes, both of which will likely be addressed in 2024.

I don’t know if Hurts is going to be an MVP candidate once again, but I think it’s more likely than not he’s back to being a more effective runner and, as a result, a top-5 QB. If he is, the Eagles are going to win a lot of games.

Real Coordinators

Last summer, one of the questions constantly being asked was how much the loss of Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon would hurt the Eagles. I didn’t want to believe it would have a huge impact and, for much of the season, it seemed like OC Brian Johnson and DC Sean Desai were handling things OK.

Then, the bottom fell out. Desai was demoted and replaced with the incompetent Matt Patricia as the team lost six of their final seven games. Trudging off the field following their humiliating 32-9 loss to Tampa in the wild card round of the playoffs, any doubt that the Eagles were done in by their coordinators were etched in stone.

Nick Sirianni was also deserving and has received a lion’s share of the blame, too.

Sirianni is still around, but general manager Howie Roseman and owner Jeff Lurie prioritized experience when going after replacements at offensive and defensive coordinator. Kellen Moore should be a massive upgrade over Johnson, who simply wasn’t ready to be an NFL play-caller. Moore’s had success as the former Dallas coordinator and will hopefully add elements to Sirianni’s offense (pre-snap motion, blitz beaters, hot routes, etc.) that was woefully missing last year.

As for the defensive side of the ball, the Eagles are no longer employing coaches who emulate the style of Vic Fangio. They went and hired the architect himself. While Fangio’s defenses have rarely been top-five units, they usually have been competent. After what we saw last year, competent would be a very nice improvement.

Jeff Stoutland

We’re all concerned about some of the changes and question marks on the offensive line this year. Jason Kelce’s retirement leaves a gaping hole at one of the most important spots along the line, with Cam Jurgens slated to slide into the spot he was initially drafted for. Like Kelce, Jurgens is an above average athlete at that position and has shown in his brief glimpses at center an ability to get downfield in run blocking like his predecessor did.

That also means a change is coming at right guard, Jurgens’ previous position. We’ll see how it all shakes out during training camp, but at the moment, former third round pick Tyler Steen and free agent signee Mekhi Becton are the leaders to take over that spot.

Becton and Steen are both athletic and strong, but unproven. Becton was a former first round pick from the Jets but has disappointed in his brief NFL career. That’s where the magic of offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland comes in. His ability to get the most out of virtually everyone he coaches is enough to inspire confidence that the O-line can survive and, dare I say, even thrive without Kelce holding down the middle.

Improved Secondary

Last year, the Eagles featured the worst secondary in the league. QBs threw through them like Papier-mâché. So Roseman made it a point to target the secondary in both the draft and free agency.

C.J. Gardner-Johnson is a huge addition to the safety position. First round pick Quinyon Mitchell could be a starter from the first snap. Second rounder Cooper DeJean is also expected to contribute right away. Isaiah Rodgers impressed in training camp at corner, with Kelee Ringo also looking pretty good.

With Darius Slay still an effective No. 1 corner, it’s entirely possible James Bradberry will be released and Avonte Maddox’s future with the team is uncertain, too. Sydney Brown and Reed Blankenship should also be healthy for the start of the season, giving Fangio a surplus at an area that had been a huge issue last season.

Longer View of History

We all remember how last season ended. It was the worst collapse by an Eagles team we’ve ever seen. But there were real, tangible reasons that it happened, so much of it coaching-related. Many of those issues have been addressed and, hopefully, corrected.

It should not be lost on anyone that, prior to their 1-6 finish, the Eagles had gone 26-5 in their previous 31 games going back to the start of the 2022 season. They started 10-1 last year. They beat the Chiefs in Kansas City and the Buffalo Bills in OT. They beat the Dolphins in Miami, the Bucs in Week 3, the Rams in Los Angeles and the Cowboys at home.

Should we define the Eagles by their brutal finish or the success the team had under Sirianni and Hurts since midway through the 2021 season? Empires fall, but maybe it’s too soon to throw dirt on the Eagles’ empire just yet.