Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni addressed the media on Friday and, although he was not specifically asked about the upcoming game against the Giants, he spoke at length about Jalen Hurts’ ability to check plays and the freedom he has to do so. Sirianni also discussed how the coaching staff takes responsibility for correcting mistakes when these plays do not work out.
A.J. Brown had previously expressed his gratitude for Sirianni’s loyalty, citing an instance in the Seahawks game where the head coach took the blame for an improvised play. Sirianni, in turn, emphasized that protecting his players takes precedence over his own pride, as he values the coaches who did the same for him when he was a player.
When asked about the extent of Jalen Hurts’ freedom to improvise plays, Sirianni stated, “Yeah, he has total freedom to do what he needs to do to make a play. Sometimes that’s going to work and sometimes that’s not going to work.”
Sirianni went on to explain that there have been instances this season where they observed different things in-game compared to what they saw on tape from an opponent. In such cases, adjustments must be made on the sideline or by the players on the field.
“That’s what you work so hard through the training camps and OTAs, here is what we like versus this, versus this. Yes, this has answers versus this or this has answers versus everything, but this is an ideal thing to get to in these scenarios.”
“So, you constantly talk about those things. Like I said, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it’s the right time to do it and sometimes it’s not the right time.”
The head coach also relayed a piece of advice he received from Frank Reich, who told him that a quarterback is likely to make four to five game-changing plays using his mind. Sirianni emphasized the importance of recognizing when it is the right time for a check and how Jalen Hurts has excelled in this aspect.
“So, I think Jalen does a really good job of that — has done a lot of good things with that.
When it doesn’t go right, like in particular in that game, you have to be able to say, ‘Okay, we’ll fix it. This might not have been the time to do it, or this was the right time to do it.’
No one is going to bat a thousand within those decisions. I know this: He’s doing this a lot more and it’s working [more] than it’s not working in that particular case.”
Sirianni further discussed the importance of not solely focusing on the result of a check from a coaching perspective, as doing so may hinder the quarterback. Instead, they analyze why a check did not work in specific situations and when it might be better utilized.
Regarding Jalen Hurts’ productivity this season compared to last, Sirianni acknowledged that there have been more turnovers and less success running the ball. However, he defended Hurts, stating that the coaching staff takes ownership of any regression, not just from the quarterback, but from all players on the team.
“If any player of ours plays bad, we take onus on that.
Hell yeah. That’s our job to make them play well and help them play well. We are there to serve the players. That’s why I say — I know you think maybe at times when I say blame me for that, I truly believe that if a player is not playing to the best of his ability, that’s on me.”
Sirianni emphasized that holding players accountable and correcting mistakes are essential, but ultimately, if a player has a bad game, it falls on the coaching staff for not adequately preparing them or putting them in a position to succeed.
Sirianni also expressed the coaching staff’s desire to help players achieve their goals, acknowledging that it is a special experience to assist them in their journey.
“If we’re going to be so excited when they do something right, and know that we served them to help them get there, then it has to be the other way around, too, when it’s not the right way and what could we have done better in that scenario.”
