Nick Sirianni has officially reached his breaking point with the Jalen Hurts criticism — and he’s holding nothing back.
The Eagles head coach recently unleashed on critics who continue to question his quarterback’s elite status, calling their arguments “bulls***” in no uncertain terms. It was a passionate defense of a player who just delivered Philadelphia its second Super Bowl championship in franchise history while earning MVP honors in the process.
“I think that’s bulls***,” Sirianni told local media when asked about the persistent narrative that Hurts was somehow carried by his supporting cast. “I mean, he plays the most important position in all of sports. And it’s the ultimate team game. What I admire about him is his selflessness of doing anything we need to do to win.”
The outburst felt like years of frustration finally boiling over. Despite Hurts posting a 46-20 record as a starter, leading the Eagles to two Super Bowl appearances in three years, and becoming just the second Super Bowl MVP in franchise history alongside Nick Foles, the criticism persists. Media personalities continue to debate whether he’s truly elite or simply the beneficiary of elite talent around him.
Sirianni’s response cut straight to the heart of what makes football unique among major sports.
“You name me a team that wins and wins consistently that doesn’t have good players around you,” he fired back. “You name me a coach that doesn’t have good players around him that wins. You don’t win with bad players — and it’s the same thing with quarterbacks.”
The coach didn’t stop there, rattling off examples that should silence the doubters.
“You can go ahead and start naming great quarterbacks, I’ll tell you their great receivers and their great defenses,” Sirianni said. “Whether it’s Brady with Gronkowski or Brady’s defenses early on, Mahomes with Kelce, Steve Young with Jerry Rice — the list goes on and on.”
What seems to frustrate Sirianni most is the failure to recognize Hurts’ ultimate weapon: adaptability. When the Eagles stumbled to a 2-2 start, they shifted their offense to lean heavily on Saquon Barkley and the ground game. Did Hurts complain about throwing fewer passes? Demand the spotlight? Not according to his coach.
“Obviously, anybody who plays quarterback is going to want to throw it 50 times a game,” Sirianni said. “But he’ll do anything. If he has to throw 50 times a game, he’s ready to do that. If he has to hand it off 50 times a game, he’s ready to do that.”
That flexibility helped Philadelphia go 12-1 down the stretch, with Hurts finishing the regular season with his lowest attempt total (361) and passing yards (2,903) since becoming the full-time starter. Critics pointed to those numbers as evidence of his limitations. Sirianni sees them as proof of his quarterback’s championship mentality.
When the biggest stage arrived, Hurts silenced every doubt with one of the most complete Super Bowl performances in recent memory. Against Kansas City, he completed 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns while adding 72 rushing yards and another score on the ground. His rushing total broke his own Super Bowl record, and he became the first quarterback in Super Bowl history to lead both teams in rushing yards since Steve Young in 1995.
“He was poised the whole game, he was in control, he made checks and he threw dimes,” A.J. Brown said of his quarterback’s Super Bowl performance. “He just gave us opportunities, and when we were covered a little bit, he took off running.”
Sirianni acknowledged that the constant debate generates content for television and radio shows that need to fill airtime — but his patience has clearly worn thin.
“Anytime I hear that, it’s cool, it’s like a nice debate thing that people like to have,” he said. “I get it, there’s a lot of hours that TV shows and radio stations have to fill. But we’re talking about the ultimate team game, and he does whatever he needs to do to win each and every game.”