Yahoo Sports Eagles coach Nick Sirianni plays down QB Jalen Hurts' 'straitjacket' comment ahead of Super Bowl
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni doesn't think you should read much into quarterback Jalen Hurts calling his offense a "straitjacket" following the team's blowout victory in the NFC championship game.
Take that for what you will.
The coach issued his response while speaking with reporters Tuesday, smiling when asked about what many saw as a dig from his starting quarterback of the past four years. Sirianni described the comment as Hurts just having some fun after a big win.
"I think he was having fun after the game. We've been winning a couple different ways this year. I think he's just having fun after the game, but I know this. He's said this plenty of times, 'I don't care how we win, I don't care how we win, as long as we win. And we do everything we can do to be able to win.' As we've talked a lot, there's been different circumstances of how games have went and where we've been at late in games, but we've found a way to win and rattle off 15 out of 16.
"So, again, thought he was having fun with that after the game. Just loved how he went out and executed and prepared for this game. I always admire the heck out of him and how hard he works regardless of the situation."
The Eagles defeated the Washington Commanders 55-23 on Sunday to advance to Super Bowl LIX, in which they will face the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 9.
The game was one of Hurts' best performances of the season, with 246 yards on 20-of-28 passing, a passing touchdown and three more touchdowns on the ground. He had posted that many passing yards only once since mid-October. It was a down season statistically for him overall, as he failed to clear 3,000 yards passing, despite leading the Eagles to a 14-3 record.
Hence Hurts' alluding to Sirianni letting him out of his straitjacket on Sunday.
Jalen Hurts chuckled when asked about Nick Sirianni: “He's done a great job. He's done a great job. I guess he let me out of my straitjacket a little bit today.” pic.twitter.com/9DT5SXMr03
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) January 27, 2025
There's a history between these two that is hard to ignore. Their relationship was a major storyline going into this season after an ugly exit in last year's playoffs — ugly enough that Sirianni's job security was an open question.
Hurts certainly didn't help matters when he was asked about Sirianni coming back, as the resulting exchange led to The Philadelphia Inquirer running the headline "Jalen Hurts’ lukewarm endorsement of Nick Sirianni may be the final nail in the Eagles coach’s coffin."
There was more to hash out over the offseason, but the chatter started to die down as the season began and especially once the team stopped losing after a 2-2 start. The straitjacket comment could still loom over the next two weeks, though, and in the offseason if Sirianni and Hurts lose their second Super Bowl together.
