Inside Eagles' 2025 friction as Jalen Hurts stands at crossroads

THE PLAY WAS supposed to save the season. Instead, it encapsulated its pain.

The Philadelphia Eagles were teetering, poised for a Jenga-like collapse in front of a fatalistic home crowd scarred from a challenging 2025 season of offensive football.

With 43 seconds left in a wild-card playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers, offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo fiddled with his red pen, scanning the play sheet. Quarterback Jalen Hurts stood in front of him, leaning in to speak to his playcaller. Coach Nick Sirianni was nearby, listening to the chatter. A few assistants and backup Tanner McKee were within earshot.

Patullo addressed Hurts and Sirianni directly, suggesting what appeared to be a playcall for a game-deciding fourth down. Sirianni made eye contact with Patullo, then looked at Hurts as if he was open to input.

A brief deliberation resulted in the simplest of football plans: a play known as "four verts," which the Eagles had just run on the previous play. But this time, the 49ers were all over it, with three defenders collapsing on tight end Dallas Goedert over the middle for a failed attempt to then win and recapture their own playoff magic.

As one team source recalled, Hurts was the one who recommended four verts. A separate source with knowledge of the situation says that though the Eagles' quarterback did suggest it, he was simply responding to a question about his preferences.

Either way, not everyone with the offense was thrilled.

"I was like, 'Oh my God, this is not happening,'" the team source said. "We can't run four verts."

Though it's unclear what other plays were considered, if any, Sirianni ultimately approved Hurts' suggestion. Within seconds, the plan -- and a premature offseason vacation -- was in motion.

The failed play accentuates the crossroads that awaits Hurts and the Eagles' coaching staff in 2026. The passing operation has fallen into deep ruts over the past several seasons, forcing the most expensive offensive roster in football to become overly reliant on the success of Saquon Barkley and the ground game. It has been an ongoing source of angst for some internally -- most publicly expressed by star receiver A.J. Brown, the subject of trade talks this offseason. Some of that growing frustration in 2025 was directed at Hurts, team sources said, including by Brown, whose long-standing relationship with the quarterback has been tested over their four years in Philadelphia.

Close observers point to a lack of creativity and synergy in the Eagles' attack. The pass game wasn't always properly tied to the run, and there's a level of predictability that allows opposing defenses to get a bead on what's coming. Though there is plenty of blame to spread, Hurts has had a hand in the offense becoming calcified, according to several team sources who spoke to ESPN on condition of anonymity.

He has pushed back on changes that would diversify the scheme, sources said, including when it comes to him going under center more. He has shown a reluctance to let it rip at times, particularly against zone coverage. He diverts from the game plan and changes playcalls to what some feel is an excessive degree. His strong preferences, coupled with the coaches' efforts to play to his strengths, which include his deep-ball accuracy and throws to the perimeter, limit the breadth to which the offense can expand -- or at least that's the way it has gone in the past.

Enter new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, who replaces Patullo and is implementing a system more in the Sean McVay/Kyle Shanahan mold -- a scheme that leans into motion and under-center play-action, two facets Hurts and the Eagles have not embraced under Sirianni. It sets up a dynamic in which the Super Bowl LIX MVP will be forced to adapt to strengthen his future in Philadelphia.

Hurts has led the Eagles to impressive heights, working his way from benched quarterback at Alabama to second-round pick, three-time Pro Bowl selection and world champion. He has persevered through constant offensive staffing changes and has established the standard in the building with what coaches and teammates have described as a world-class work ethic.

His steely resolve can be both a benefit and a hindrance as the face of the franchise. Force fields are good for keeping unnecessary distractions out but bad for connectivity and allowing essential items in. Sirianni has compared Hurts' leadership style to that of basketball legend Michael Jordan, and his agent, Nicole Lynn, has likened his obsessive work ethic to that of former Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant. That unrelenting, demanding mentality toward not just himself but his teammates can be met with mixed reactions, especially in a star-studded locker room like Philadelphia's.

"Poor body language, not always bought in, not the most coachable and the players notice," a team source said.

The flip side is that Hurts' steadfastness has helped him and the team through constant turnover at offensive coordinator. The Eagles have failed to give Hurts the level of consistency he has said he "yearns" for, knowing that it can "breed excellence." The one time he had it was with Shane Steichen in 2021 and '22, and it resulted in an MVP-caliber season for Hurts and the team going 14-1 in games he started on the way to an appearance in Super Bowl LVII.

Mannion will be Hurts' sixth playcaller since the QB entered the league in 2020. Patullo was fired at season's end after overseeing an offense that went from eighth in offensive yardage to 24th. Though Patullo was well-liked and respected in the building, there was "a lot of noise that he was not doing a great job and some people started to believe it," according to a team source, who added that there were players who "lost faith in him."

A source close to Hurts said the QB needs coaches who will "check him," opining that Hurts had "too many 'yes' people around him" this past season.

The Eagles declined to comment for this story.

Mannion, 33, is entering his third year as an NFL coach and first as an offensive coordinator. He is expected to lead the most dramatic overhaul of the offensive system since Sirianni became head coach in 2021.

ESPN interviewed more than a dozen sources to pull back the curtain on what's ailing an Eagles offense full of notable talent, including at quarterback.

LESS THAN 14 months ago, Hurts was enjoying a star turn that will live in Eagles folklore. His fourth-quarter moon shot to DeVonta Smith in Super Bowl LIX -- hanging in the air for a good three seconds and dropping seamlessly into Smith's outstretched arms -- punctuated a season for the ages in Philadelphia. It also served as a reminder of how well Hurts handles big stages. Through 10 playoff games, including two Super Bowls, Hurts has a passer rating of 93.4 with 1,981 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions.

He has thrived in high-wattage settings, and his deep shot to Smith was the kind of play that inspires sneaker ads.

But, even in the midst of a championship season, Hurts' penchant to resist change showed up at times in the building.

Kellen Moore, the Eagles' offensive coordinator in 2024, had tried to implement new offensive concepts that Hurts did not always embrace, per multiple team sources. One of the sources said they believed the changes concerned motions and shifts, recalling that Hurts was not receptive to the idea. A third team source said Hurts was willing to experiment with the new wrinkles in 2024, but if they were not paying off immediately, he was quick to pivot and express his discomfort.

A source close to the QB stresses that Hurts understands motions and shifts help the quarterback and doesn't dissuade coaches from using them.

Moore and Hurts seemed to find a compromise, successfully implementing 279 plays with motion during that 2024 season, good for 11th most in the league. Moore ran them much more often in 2025 as the New Orleans Saints head coach, with 373 motion plays, sixth most in the league, compared to the Eagles' 237 this past season, which ranked 26th.

Those talks did not seem to affect Philadelphia's running game. Barkley broke off 17 rushes of 20 or more yards and seven of at least 40 yards on his way to eclipsing the historic 2,000-yard mark. But Philadelphia's passing game was not diversified, finishing with a pedestrian 3,517 yards, third worst in the NFL in 2024.

Multiple team sources described the relationship between Moore and Hurts in 2024 as "tense" at times.

Moore's work with Philadelphia earned him the Saints job, which meant another coordinator for Hurts, his fourth in as many years.

The Eagles promoted Patullo, the pass-game coordinator who had developed good relationships with key players in the building, Hurts included. Sirianni decided it was Patullo's time. The two maintained a close relationship dating to their time together in Indianapolis.

The Eagles' offense under Patullo in 2025 never found its footing. Patullo was under heavy scrutiny almost immediately. The offensive line wasn't as good, partly because of injuries. The running game suffered as a result, with Barkley breaking off four runs of 20 or more yards on the season.

"We didn't look fast as an offense compared to '24," a team source said.

During his charge toward the rushing title in '24, Barkley acknowledged that "if you ask any running back, they'll probably say under center runs, pistol, it's a lot easier, you're able to get downhill quicker" but said "the beauty of this team is we have Jalen Hurts," whose running ability kept defenses honest and freed up more space for Barkley with the zone read looks out of shotgun. Hurts, though, set a career low in 2025 in carries (105) and rushing yards (421) since taking over as the full-time starter in '21.

The reasons for Hurts' dip in rushing attempts last season vary, depending on who is asked. One team source said keeping Hurts healthy over the long term, both for the season and his career, was a factor. Another cited defenses that adjusted to spread formations, loading the box and daring Hurts to throw.

Without big Barkley runs to keep safeties in the box, Hurts often had to try to win games with his arm, to mixed results. He faced zone coverages -- long considered a Hurts weakness by some scouts and defensive coaches in the league -- on 56.2% of the Eagles' offensive plays, the second-highest rate of his career. His completion percentage against zone (69%) was significantly better than against man (59%). It was the impact plays that changed dramatically in the other direction: Hurts threw 19 touchdowns to three interceptions against man compared to six touchdowns and three interceptions against zone. That holds up over his career, with 77 of his 110 TDs coming against man.

Brown said he knew he had a chance to be prominently featured when facing a man-heavy team. But when defenders forced tight-window throws via zone coverage, "A.J. disappears," a team source said. Brown's yards per reception (11.7, down from 14.1) and yards per target (7.3, down from 9.1) dipped substantially when facing zone, and he caught only two of his seven TDs against the coverage.

Hurts' rigid preferences became an issue again this past season, multiple sources said, citing Patullo's desire to get Hurts under center more often for rushing efficiency and play-action purposes. Playing from under center is something Hurts "continually fights" inside the building, one source said. Hurts doesn't like to "turn his back on the defense" and prefers to process coverages with everything in front of him, the source said.

To be sure, a source close to Hurts hints that he prepared during the offseason for a specific Eagles offense -- the traditional Eagles attack, reliant on the shotgun formation -- only to be asked later to implement more under-center work. Hurts is unafraid to advocate for himself or the offense in those settings, the source added, because players need to get on the same page throughout the offseason. Coaches broached some of the no-huddle concepts during training camp and had to embrace it after the first six weeks of the season, when it became clear the running game was struggling.

Hurts will change plays when he sees fit. Though many established quarterbacks have such freedom, especially at the line of scrimmage when noticing a defensive tendency, some within the team consider his changes excessive at times. A key example came in the closing seconds of a 10-7 win against the Green Bay Packers in November. Sirianni's questionable decision to go for it on fourth-and-6 from Green Bay's 35-yard line with 33 seconds left, holding a three-point lead on a Packers team that was out of timeouts, was exacerbated by the play choice -- a deep shot to Brown down the left sideline that fell incomplete.

Sirianni covered for them, but cameras caught him mouthing "Why?" following the long pass. Smith acknowledged to ESPN afterward that "1 and 11" -- Hurts and Brown -- made the decision to go for the kill shot.

Eagles offensive players know Hurts isn't afraid to change plays he doesn't like and must adjust accordingly, a team source said. Added a separate team source, "You never know what play is coming out of the huddle" when Hurts is leading it, and in the past he has been known to signal a route that hadn't been installed by coaches.

His occasional collaborations with Hurts aside, Brown couldn't mask his frustrations with the offensive dynamic. His sideline demeanor and social media messaging became a weekly conversation. Multiple team sources say they never saw Brown and Hurts engaged in an argument during the season and were professional throughout the season. But both also tend to internalize issues, which leads to a lack of communication, sources said. "Clearing the air probably doesn't happen as often as it should," a source said.

Brown and Hurts were once considered best friends, but veteran defensive end Brandon Graham suggested in the latter stages of the '24 season that the relationship had frayed. Though both Hurts and Brown downplayed it, a team source said word began circulating within the organization around that time that things "weren't good" between the two.

There were few public interactions between them early in the '25 season. There were even times when the two would connect for a touchdown and not seek each other out afterward. Earlier in their time together, it would not be uncommon to see Brown and Hurts engaged in long conversations in the locker room postgame during media availability. As time went on, it was rare to see them interact in those types of public settings.

There is a difference, a source with knowledge of their relationship said, between being friends with someone and being teammates, especially when referencing two alphas in a pressurized environment with different approaches to the goal of achieving high-end success.

"You might want to win, but your way might be different than mine," the source said. "[Your stars] have to be on the same page and I don't think they always were."

There was a shift in their public behavior toward each other in the latter stages of this past season. Their sideline communication increased, as did the touchdown celebrations.

"A.J. and I have talked. We're in a great place," Hurts said during locker cleanout day in January, when asked if he wanted Brown on the team in 2026.

Hurts was noticeably more vocal with his teammates overall between series down the stretch, an effort that did not go unnoticed by some in the locker room.

"I feel like every year you're trying to get better. That's how I look at it. Some people are not as outgoing as a lot of us on the team, so to see us rubbing off a little bit, and on top of that, I'm sure he wants to be that," Graham told ESPN near season's end on Hurts' efforts to be more engaging. "But it's big of him to be stepping out because he's the top dog and he knows that, being that quarterback and everybody wanting to be in your presence. I'm happy he's coming out of his shell."

Multiple Eagles players, including Hurts, appeared frustrated that winning was not perceived as good enough in the public eye because of the magnified offensive struggles, according to a team source. Hurts' 57-25 record in Philadelphia, good for a winning percentage of 64.7%, ranks fifth among active quarterbacks.

Sirianni attempted to assuage those concerns before Week 12 against the Dallas Cowboys, stressing to the team the importance of enjoying and savoring wins, according to a team source. Philadelphia sat at 8-2 before that week's 24-21 loss to Dallas.

But Brown's comments a month earlier that "you can't keep slapping a Band-Aid over" the offensive issues proved true, as the Eagles' deficiencies led to an early playoff exit and significant schematic changes this offseason.

Some of those changes might prove uncomfortable, but Sirianni -- perhaps Hurts' most staunch public supporter -- says he believes the system will largely fit Hurts' skill set.

"If we're saying that we're going to run a little bit more play-action, a little more outside zone, a little more boot action off of that ... he's been really productive in the play-action pass game. We haven't run as many boots and nakeds here in the past, but I know he's good at those when he does those," Sirianni said of Hurts in February.

"Because Jalen's the type of player that he is, I'm comfortable that you could tell me whatever system we're going to put in, could he be able to do it? Yeah, because that's a sign of a good football player. But particularly these things that he has done well, maybe in a smaller sample size, but he has done well in those in the past."

One team source says Hurts is "as open as he's ever been" to changes.

If there is a bigger public advocate for Hurts than Sirianni, it's Eagles CEO Jeffrey Lurie, who gave him a five-year, $255 million contract extension in April 2023. There is little guaranteed money left in Hurts' deal after the 2026 season, and it would not be unlike Philadelphia to negotiate another contract as soon as possible to stay in front of the ever-booming QB salaries.

There are no signs that the two sides are actively working on a new contract, but Lurie sung Hurts' praises at the league meetings in Arizona this week.

"MVP of the Super Bowl 13 months ago, should have been MVP of the Super Bowl right before that against Kansas City the first time. Exceptional. So dedicated," Lurie said. "I think you probably know, I spend a lot of time with Jalen as I do with most quarterbacks, and he's incredibly dedicated to the game, to winning, and being a huge winner. I love everything about him.

"Those things take, over time, we never would discuss [extension talks]. He's in the middle of a new contract now."

A PATTERN EMERGES if you look closely at Hurts' career, a source close to him pointed out: He's at his best when he has something to prove.

That was the case when he arrived at Alabama as a 17-year-old, trying to become the first Tide freshman to start at quarterback under coach Nick Saban.

It proved true after he was benched in favor of Tua Tagovailoa in the 2018 national title game, lost his job to him the following season and had to reestablish himself at Oklahoma, where he went on to become the Heisman Trophy runner-up behind Joe Burrow before being selected No. 53 by the Eagles in the 2020 draft.

He rose to the challenge to unseat Carson Wentz as starting quarterback as a rookie, and again in '22 by leading a Super Bowl run amid questions about whether he was a franchise quarterback.

The collapse of '23 was followed by Hurts' greatest professional achievement: an MVP performance against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.

"He's now at a point where, 'I'm the guy. I'm him.' He has never been that since his freshman year at Alabama and he didn't handle it well," the source said. "He has to be able to handle both and he's learning."

Hurts is an introvert by nature, sources close to him said, which can make him hard to read. Some might view him as a stoic leader with the calm approach needed to navigate the exaggerated ups and downs that come with playing in a rabid sports city such as Philadelphia. Others might view him as detached and above it all. How he is perceived as a player on the field can influence how he's seen off, and vice versa, a team source noted.

Sources describe Hurts as deeply private. He appears to keep his circle tight, with Graham and Smith among those on the team who are closest to him.

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Sirianni on Hurts: 'He just loves to win'

Nick Sirianni stands up for his quarterback Jalen Hurts and tells Rich Eisen why Hurts is such a "great team player."

There have been efforts by key figures in the building over the past two seasons to get Hurts to open up. A league source confirmed that Graham and chief security officer Dom DiSandro visited Hurts during the team's bye week in 2024 to emphasize that the QB needed to do a better job of connecting with his teammates and coaches -- a meeting both Hurts and Graham denied at the time when Fox Sports first reported it.

Among the relationships that needed work was between Hurts and Sirianni, who both struggled to get on the same page the season before. Through lengthy conversations during that bye week, Hurts said he and Sirianni had some "great moments together," adding he was "happy and fortunate that we were able to come together in harmony and have the same goal in mind, trying to get this thing right." This was also the period in which the offense shifted to become more Barkley-focused. A Super Bowl run followed.

"I don't care how it looks. That's kind of my game," Hurts said, following a December win over the Carolina Panthers in which he threw for 108 yards but accounted for three touchdowns with no turnovers. "I think that's something that people have to accept, that it's going to look how Jalen Hurts wants it to look. But he's going to win."

Difficult conversations continued between Hurts and members of the organization this past season, a team source added. Even members of his inner circle knew Hurts played a part in what went wrong last year and addressed it with him, a source close to Hurts said.

Justified or not, there was a level of consternation in pockets of the '25 team dating to the summer. The city was still basking in the championship glow as the Eagles, fresh off their Super Bowl ring ceremony the week before, opened up training camp in July. Beneath the public excitement surrounding the team was an uneasy undercurrent for some internally.

A team source at that time described the state of affairs as a "disaster" and indicated Hurts was part of the issue, noting that whatever personality traits had rubbed people the wrong way before had grown since the championship win.

Others around the team said Hurts returned more relaxed than in previous seasons, as if there was a load off his shoulders after delivering a title to the city, adding that Hurts isn't the type of guy to flaunt his accomplishments.

This is where varying perceptions surface of a hard-to-read Hurts.

"He's the one driving. He's got his hands on the wheels. He's looking for all of the hazards. He's the one getting us to the destination. And a lot of us are in the backseat complaining about how bumpy a ride is, how close we got to almost crashing," former team captain Malcolm Jenkins told ESPN in November.

"I'm a big fan of Jalen, not only because of my personal relationship, but just because of what he stands for and understanding myself what it looks like to have a vision for a team, something that maybe not everybody sees, but I have to stand 10 toes down on it until everybody sees what I see."

The other pattern in Hurts' career relates to coaches.

The bar was set with Saban. A coach's son, Hurts gravitated to the authority figure with the near-impossible standard who would be crystal clear the moment you fell below it.

In Moore, he had a coach that, according to a team source, was matter-of-fact about how the offense would function and in correcting Hurts' mistakes when necessary. It was a similar dynamic with Steichen. When lines were more blurred, like in 2023 when Hurts, Sirianni and then OC Brian Johnson weren't aligned in their visions, Hurts had more of a tendency to search for answers outside of game plan, a team source said.

He is now paired with an inexperienced but well-regarded coach in Mannion, the 33-year-old former QB who broke into the coaching ranks in 2024 with the Packers, most recently serving as their quarterbacks coach.

If Brown is playing elsewhere in 2026, Smith becomes the primary receiver. And, like Brown, Smith had his own frustrations last season -- mainly, a source with knowledge of the situation said, the lack of "layup plays" in the offense. "Every catch, every play is grind-it-out, the receivers have to win," the source said. But Smith handles his frustrations differently than Brown. "He's more of a 'side conversation guy,'" the source said. Perhaps Mannion can help Smith and Hurts land a deeper connection on the field.

The scheme-change undertaking promises to be the most involved of Hurts' professional career, and will serve as the latest, most significant test of his adaptability and willingness to grow.

"He has had a lot of success and will continue to," a player source said. "It's exhausting to learn something new every year. But he's battling."