If there is one thing you can say about the Philadelphia Eagles, it is they are good for content.
On Wednesday, ESPN released a new report revolving around QB Jalen Hurts and “friction” during the 2025 season. To be clear, reporters Tim McManus and Jeremy Fowler did an outstanding job of reporting information that was presented to them by Eagles “insiders.” Some fans have gotten into the bad habit of assassinating the character of reporters who share information passed along to them by leaks inside the organization, but it is not fair to shoot the messenger because you don’t like the message.
At the end of the day, ESPN’s article painted what I felt was a fair assessment of Jalen Hurts’ 2025 season. It offered critiques and some praise. But praise is hard to come by with an offense that was expected to be one of the best in the league yet struggled throughout the season to find consistency. In the end, there wasn’t a lot reported that we didn’t already know.
- Jalen Hurts is stubborn. Yep, that tracks.
- Hurts’ stoic personality sometimes alienates him from teammates and coaches. Yep, knew that, too.
- Hurts’ personality can also be beneficial to blocking out the noise, including articles like the one released by ESPN this week.
- Hurts didn’t trust a gameplan authored by first-time offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo. No one did.
- Hurts resisted certain offensive changes, like more snaps under center and pre-snap motion.
- Hurts often changed calls at the line of scrimmage, and often played out of structure, frustrating teammates.
None of these items were surprising, although they confirmed some disturbing trends about the franchise QB. Perhaps the biggest revelation was that it was Hurts who suggested the Eagles run “four verts” on their final 4th down play at the end of the Birds’ wild card loss to the 49ers. That assertion has since been backed up by other reputable sources.
Even if Hurts wanted that call in that spot, the offensive coordinator and the head coach both should, and do, have the ability to overrule their quarterback. Neither had any better ideas, apparently. So, blame Hurts if you must, but when the OC and the head coach have no idea what to call, and they leave it up to their quarterback to make the decision in that moment, it speaks to a larger issue that one hopes has been addressed with the firing of Patullo and the hiring of Sean Mannion to take his place.
The Eagles have been a running soap opera for a few years now, and perhaps that goes with the territory of being one of the most popular and successful franchises in the league. They are what the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots used to be, a team loaded with stars and intriguing people. The public wants to know what’s going on and what’s being said behind closed doors, because much of what we watched last season was inexplicable.
But it’s not just because last year ended in an unpalatable way. People inside the organization have been whispering anonymously to the press since the 2022 season.
Anytime you see a story like the one ESPN published this week, or ones published by The Athletic about A.J. Brown, or any other story by another outlet, the people behind the scenes who are sharing that information with reporters have a motivation. Again, it is not the reporters who are to blame if you don’t like what’s in the story. Reporters are allowed to use anonymous sources when appropriate. As long as those reporters have deemed those sources to be passing along reliable information, they are free to use it. They wouldn’t be doing their jobs if they didn’t.
The people responsible for the drama surrounding the Eagles are not the reporters. It is the people inside the building who are trying to further some kind of agenda by sharing these nuggets of information. One can’t help but look at a story like ESPN’s and see that, whoever was talking to them was trying to paint Hurts in a mostly negative light. It may have been mostly true, but that was the motive. There have also been stories in the last few years that have done the same thing to Brown, Sirianni, and others.
Sometimes, it’s necessary to remain anonymous as a source. Whistleblowers often remain anonymous, both to protect their livelihoods and their safety. Reporters generally use multiple anonymous sources when doing their reporting in order to verify what they’re being told. And in this case, I am reasonably certain that what the anonymous sources inside the Jefferson Health Training Complex were telling McManus and Fowler was, at least in some measure, truthful.
But as a reader and fan of the team, it’s understandable to find these stories both informative and annoying, because who does it help? What does it accomplish? Who is benefitting by this story coming out about Hurts? It only leads to speculation and further discontent in the locker room. It is awful for team chemistry for people inside the organization to be running off to the side and leaking information to reporters without putting their name on it.
I’m sorry, but professional football isn’t the same as national security. It’s time for whoever is doing this to stop running off to the media and sharing information in secret. The fanbase is exhausted. In this case, Hurts is made to look bad with no attribution from those casting aspersions. And the same holds true when Brown or Sirianni or anyone else is made to look bad without attribution.
If the Philadelphia Eagles want to get back to the Super Bowl in 2026, they cannot continue on like this. As the CEO head coach of the team, Sirianni needs to get a handle on what’s happening here, and if anyone within his inner circle is responsible, they need to be told to stop or to be let go. Same goes for anyone else on the inside. Sirianni must get everyone on the same page heading into this exceedingly important year of Eagles football, because one thing the ESPN article got right was that the ‘26 season is a crossroads for this team.
Everyone needs to be rowing in the same direction with this being the only goal in mind: winning the Super Bowl.
If there is any player on the roster for whom that is not the most important goal, they need to be shipped out of Philadelphia. If there is any coach or front office executive for whom that is not the most important goal, they need to be sent packing, too. And the only way for this team to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in the wake of this drama is to stop the drama now.
No more leaks. No more anonymous running to the press. No more stories aimed at making certain players on the roster look bad.
The 2026 season is going to be a challenge no matter what. A new, first time offensive coordinator and playcaller is going to be at the helm of an offense with enormous amounts of pressure on it. There is a real chance this season could be a disaster. It could also be brilliant. The range of outcomes is vast. It’s going to be hard enough to get back to the Super Bowl without all the ancillary noise accompanying it.
Get it together. Be adults. Work together. Stop the backbiting.
Play time is over. It’s time to go to work.
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