They pushed him out there like he was supposed to know.
Nick Sirianni did not know, nor was about to speculate publicly what happened to his quarterback, Jalen Hurts, whose season was over when it was announced on Monday due to blood clots migrating to his lungs. Sirianni was out there front and center looking relatively helpless while being asked about a serious medical situation during Monday’s press conference, which was dominated by a barrage of questions about Hurts’ condition—as it should have
been.
The assembled media asked the necessary questions. They did their jobs.
The Eagles did not.
Sirianni should never have been out there answering medical questions about Hurts. It was incredibly unfair to Sirianni.
It was another botched play in a season full of botched plays for the Eagles.
They’re 2-4. They’ve lost four-straight games for the first time in Sirianni’s tenure. Half the team seems like it is on the injured reserve list. The Sean Mannion experiment is failing. The quarterback under center is failing. The Eagles are 30th in the NFL in offense (255.5 yards a game). They are 29th in points per game (17.7)—and last in second half points per game (5.0), last in average points in the first quarter (0.5—yes, less than one point a game), and last in average points in the third quarter (1.0/per game).
Hurts, 28, has a five-year, $255 million contract that runs through 2028. This is the caveat in the deal: His guaranteed salary falls from $51.5 million this season to $22 million next year, to zero in 2028.
“I’m a football coach,” it seemed Sirianni kept repeating.
Sirianni is a football coach, not a hematologist.
“The health of our players are as always at the forefront of our mind and leave that up to the medical experts, but we always, always care deeply about our players, and that’s when you are completely focused on together and connection,” Sirianni said. “You’re always thinking about the wellbeing of your guys and that’s where we were in that situation.”
Eagles’ general manager Howie Roseman was nowhere to be found. It is Roseman who oversees the medical department. Roseman should have stood next to his man Sirianni when all of this went down on Monday.
Instead, Roseman and the Eagles’ franchise left Sirianni out there hanging in the wind.
Sirianni was pressed about the team decision to allow Hurts to fly to and back from London with the blood clot injury. Sirianni hardly ever delves into injuries to begin with.
“Again, I’m not a medical expert,” Sirianni said. “Same deal there. We get medical information from our guys, and we always put players’ health first and foremost in every situation. That’s where we were there.”
You believe Sirianni genuinely cares about his players. And, it seems, his players genuinely care about him.
“I’m a football coach,” Sirianni said. “I lean on our medical experts in every situation. I have full trust and full faith in them. It’s not just me who has major care for our players. It’s them as well. I’m glad to be part of an organization that cares about the guys the way our guys do.”
Based on their actions, the Eagles do not seem to care right now too much about their head coach. Like him, dislike him, trust him, do not trust him, think he is a good coach or a bad coach, Sirianni deserved better—by his own team.
