Jason Kelce hits back at negative Jalen Hurts story
Jalen Hurts it’s back under the microscope. After a tumultuous season in which the offense was criticized again and again, their title defense season ended at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers. While most fans blame now-fired offensive coordinator Kevin Patul for their struggles, he places much of the blame on Hurts.
The essence of their arguments against Hurts boils down to one thing. Their argument is that the Eagles quarterback is incapable of running elaborate schemes to save his life. Eagles legend and former Hurts teammate Jason Kelce pushed back against this construction narrative in a recent radio appearance.
“I don’t believe there’s a narrative that Jalen Hurts can’t do these things,” Kelce said, via SportsRadio 94 VIP . “I know that’s one of them. I think great coaches find ways to make guys play. I’ve played with Jalen. I’ve seen him do a lot of really tough things, and I’ve seen him grow as a player, and I think Jalen is a guy who responds really well to an authority figure pushing him.”
Hurts has shown the ability to run a complex scheme. Shane Steichen ran a high-volume scheme when he was the Eagles’ offensive coordinator, and Hurts ran it perfectly in 2022. The same could be said for 2024, when Hurts piloted Kellen Moore’s system all the way to his first Super Bowl ring. While he has limitations (no quarterback does, after all), Moore and Steichen have been able to build offenses around his strengths.
The bigger concern for the Eagles is lack of stability in the position of coach. Nick Sirianni has remained a constant throughout Hurts’ career, but KB has gone through six offensive coordinators in his seven years in the league. That’s just not a recipe for success in the modern NFL.
Hurts will have another chance to prove himself next season. Despite the individual stats, this has not been a good season for the Eagles quarterback. Philly is reportedly looking for a “proven offensive mind” to lead the offense. We will see if their chosen one will decide to stay or if he will leave like the others.
2026-01-15 16:32:00
