The Eagles on Tuesday held a media availability at the NovaCare Complex that included head coach Nick Sirianni and quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Other players who chatted with media members were wide receiver A.J. Brown and left tackle Jordan Mailata. Naturally, much of the conversations centered on offense. Topics such as the fate of the “Tush Push,” Sirianni’s new contract extension, and expectations for the offense under new coordinator Kevin Patullo took center stage.
In between cliches about “being great without the greatness of others” and “keeping the main thing the main thing” there were some interesting comments that came out of the media session.
Here are some takeaways from the press conferences:
Offense evolution
Speaking of evolution, it’s clear the Eagles have learned from their mistakes of the 2023 collapse and are hellbent on not repeating them. Brown, Mailata, Hurts and Sirianni each stressed the importance of growth for the 2025 season.
Hurts used the word “iterations“ several times, explaining that this year’s offense aims to be a newer, fresher, and a potentially better version of its 2024 edition.
“You have to be able to decode, detect and to correct – and refine the things you need to refine,” he said. “Right now it’s just laying the foundation, trying to figure out what this iteration of the team will be.”
Flash back to the end of 2023, almost one full year removed from the Eagles’ 2022 trip to the Super Bowl. A 1-6 collapse caused Sirianni to fire offensive coordinator Brian Johnson and let quarterbacks coach Alex Tanney walk. He then hired an outside offensive coordinator (Kellen Moore, from the Chargers) and quarterbacks coach (Doug Nussmeier) to spice up what Sirianni had called an Eagles offense that had become “stale.”
Moore is now the head coach of the Saints, and Nussmeier joined him as offensive coordinator. Sirianni promoted in-house assistant Kevin Patullo to offensive coordinator but went outside the building for his new quarterbacks coach, Scot Loeffler.
Sirianni has said that Patullo will retain many of the concepts that Moore brought to the offense along with adding some of his own. Either way, the Eagles apparently understand that they can’t just work from the same playbook in 2025 and expect 2024’s results.
“I can’t predict how the offense will look next year, but I do know we have to evolve as team, evolve as an offense,” said Brown, who at times last year expressed frustrations with the passing offense.
Wholesale changes obviously aren’t in store for an Eagles offense that’s loaded with firepower, and Saquon Barkley will remain a centerpiece of the attack, but Hurts discussed the importance of establishing an identity for the new season.
“That’s where we are right now,” he said. “It’s very early, we’re laying the foundation, still filtering through things. But obviously the biggest thing is: What will this iteration of this team be? I don’t really care how it looks, as long as we find ways to win.”
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Mailata, the mentor
The Eagles invested heavily in the offensive line on Day 3 of the draft, selecting two offensive tackles and a center, and then signing mammoth rookie free agent offensive tackle Hollin Pierce.
Left tackle Jordan Mailata made it clear that he’s willing to mentor the young linemen and has told each of them that he’ll help them grow and develop.
And if any of them become better than him? He’ll happily advocate for them.
“I love our rookies, it’s a great rookie class,” he said. “I told Myles [Hinton] and I told Cameron [Williams] and I told Drew [Kendall], I said, ‘I don’t care if you come for my job. If you’re better than me, you’re gonna be better than me. But I’m gonna make it damn hard for you to reach that.’"
Mailata added that he’d help "bring them along" the way Jason Peters, Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson and other Eagles linemen did for him when he entered the NFL in 2018 as a seventh-round pick from Australia and rugby star who had never played a down of actual football.
“I’m not gonna kick you down, because that’s not how it runs here,” Mailata said. “That’s not how we do it. I’m gonna bring you along because you’re going to make me better.”
Mailata said he's paying it forward, because he was “welcomed into that culture.”
“I feel like I owe it to these rookies to bring them along and I just told them straight up, ‘If you’re better than me I’ll vouch for you, but I’m gonna make it damn hard.' If I feel like someone’s chomping at the heels, it’s gonna make me run faster.”
Moving on – eventually – from the “Tush Push”
It’s clear the Eagles have already prepared themselves to move on – evolve, perhaps – from the “Tush Push” if the play is eventually banned, which is smart by them.
For now, the Tush Push remains alive and well, but the debate might not go away.
By showing what could best be described as ambivalence about the potential ban, the Eagles weren't allowing the outcome – good or bad – to define their offensive success and they aren’t letting crybabies around the league get under their skin.
Wouldn’t shock me if Eagles coaches are already drawing up a modified version of the sneak.
Hangin’ With The Stars
Despite the Eagles being Super Bowl champs and in the center of the offseason spotlight, it appears several of them have been chatty this offseason with other celebrities, looking for either advice or favors.
A.J. Brown enlisted the help of musician John Legend to propose to his girlfriend. Jalen Hurts, a spokesperson for the Jordan Brand, said he reached out to Michael Jordan to "seek knowledge from him."
Nick Sirianni said he's talked with coaches who’ve won multiple championships so he can “get better at his craft” as he chases another ring. That list included Nick Saban, Dawn Staley, and Geno Auriemma.
“There's just been a lot of good insight that I've been able to pick up from them,” he said. “And again, you've got to continue to try to grow at all times. I've been thankful for them talking to me and passing that knowledge of questions that I have.”
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