The Philadelphia Eagles will look to avenge the Super Bowl 57 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59. With success comes those who doubt and criticize those who are in the building. This time, they took aim at Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts. Philadelphia’s legendary center Jason Kelce provides his take on why some Eagles personnel are held to the standard that they are and whether he ever agrees with the critics.
Why Criticize Hurts and Sirianni?
Since entering the league, Sirianni has been among the most successful coaches the NFL has seen. His regular-season record is 48-20, good for a .706 win percentage, and he has a respectable 5-3 record in the playoffs. However, he has yet to hoist a Lombardi trophy in his tenure.
Sirianni has made the playoffs in each of his four seasons as the Eagles’ head coach, which some teams could only dream of out of their coach. For context, there are six teams that have not made the playoffs in the last four years.
Hurts has been the target of criticism ever since he lost his starting job in the college Championship game to Tua Tagovailoa. He has handled the criticism admirably. He has always remained committed to his process and humble.
Part of why people are quick to criticize them is the play design of the ‘Tush Push,’ a legal play that the Eagles run to convert short-yardage plays at an extremely high rate. People around the league call for the rules to be changed to prevent the nearly unstoppable play from being executed, but when that doesn’t work, other teams have tried to replicate it and have failed. Look at the Bills’ last round, for example.
What Does Kelce Think of the Criticism?
Kelce has a good relationship with both Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts. Here is what he had to say about the criticism:
Jason Kelce explains that he understands why the Jalen Hurts and Nick Sirianni critics exist…he just disagrees with them. pic.twitter.com/Vo20BuKEvR
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) January 30, 2025
Kelce’s point is similar to the famous quote, “With great power comes great responsibility.” The people who play in the big games are the ones who get criticized and are the ones that everyone wants to hear from, win or lose.
“Critics usually bring up good points, right?” Kelce says, “They are usually saying things that are grounded in some level of reality. And you may disagree with them. Which certainly happens a lot with Jalen and Sirianni.”
He also said, “Jalen does not get enough credit for what he does for the offense. Saquon Barkley does not have the season that he has without Jalen.” No matter who is on the field, the top mark of achievement is winning games and advancing in the playoffs.
Barkley and Hurts are one of the league’s most dynamic duos and are headed to the Super Bowl to try and stop the NFL’s first three-peat.