Lurie Talks Hurts Contract, Kelly Green, and Future

Less than two months after the Eagles left Arizona after losing to Kansas City in the Super Bowl, Eagles Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie stepped before the media in the same city once again.

“I didn’t want to use [the recent Super Bowl appearance] and say, ‘let’s not get together,'” he quipped. Alluding to a media party that occurred the preceding night, Lurie added that it was nice to see the other side of people.

Lurie, present for the annual NFL meeting occurring in Phoenix this week, called the season that had just concluded “nothing short of incredible.” He also took a moment to acknowledge the support of what he called the “unknowns.”

“The guys that are close to our team and our culture know that there are so many unknown people in that building,” he said, whether they be field decisions, resources, equipment, nutrition, or injury prevention, among others. “None of this happens without them.”

One of the highest priorities for the Eagles has been the contract extension for Jalen Hurts, who is in the final year of his rookie deal. Lurie indicated that situations like these require the right quarterback.

“I think it’s so helpful to have a dynamic quarterback who’s a great leader, a special person, and someone who is so hungry,” Lurie said, “not just to win it once but multiple times.”

“I think that mentality, combined with the coaching staff, with Nick leading the way and Howie, it bodes really well,” he added. “The hardest part, for sure, is the scarcity of quarterbacks, and we’ve got one and we’ve got a very special player and individual in that position.”

Hurts will be supported by new offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, who the Eagles were concerned throughout the season might be poached.

“[Sirianni] had made it very clear during the season that we had an outstanding quarterback coach in Brian Johnson,” Lurie recalled. “He was very, very hopeful that we wouldn’t lose Brian, because there were several teams looking to sign Brian and we didn’t know if [former offensive coordinator] Shane [Steichen] would be a head coach.”

In the end, it worked out that the Eagles were able to promote Johnson to the head coach role, leading to a “planned succession,” and Lurie was happy for Steichen that he got a head coaching role. Yet Lurie appreciated Sirianni’s “relentless” nature when it came to games, culture, and connections extended also to who he would interview for the coordinators he lost.

“This was a first for [Sirianni],” Lurie noted, recalling how Sirianni conducted long, grinding interviews with 12 people for linebackers coach. “He might interview five, ten, fifteen people, and talk to a hundred people in terms of due diligence.”

Lurie observed that you lose the most staff when you’re successful, and these openings happen quickly. He saw that you can’t rely on your own connections, or who gave you a job beforehand.

“Those are rules that we don’t really believe in,” he said, “and we think that there’s an advantage to having a head coach who truly does the due diligence and is sort of a grinder at it.”

Lurie also said that, while it’s difficult to retain coordinators and coaches that get head coaching jobs, the Eagles go to outstanding lengths to retain talent in the coaching room, as they did with Offensive Line Coach Jeff Stoutland and Jim Johnson, former defensive coordinator at the turn of the century.

The Eagles have also had many front office staff ascend the ranks and become general managers or assistants, and the grinding and relentless nature extends to the front office. Lurie said that Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman spoke about this at the meeting.

“Those assistant GMs became GMs because they’re so well trained,” Lurie observed, noting that they’re not just trained on scouting, analytics, or football operations. “[Roseman] and the organization trains these people. They’re talented to begin with, but they’ve got multiple responsibilities; they’ve got access to everything.” Lurie expanded on how the team trains the front office staff on all elements, from resources available, to salary cap management, to film and data analytics.

“You’re going to make mistakes,” Lurie said, “but never be risk averse. People didn’t want us to draft Jalen Hurts because we’ve got a quarterback. That’s the most important position in sports! Take your shots!”

Moving forward into 2023, an anticipated change is the reintroduction of the kelly green uniforms that were the color until 1995 when, after Lurie took over the team, the color was changed to the midnight green color that is used today. When the NFL allowed teams to wear alternative uniforms, not just jerseys, in 2018, the Eagles began a push to allow teams to wear another helmet too. That change was approved in 2021, but it’s needed some time before the Eagles could reintroduce the color.

“The first moment we can get the kelly green helmet approved, we’ll finally be able to see it on the field,” Lurie smiled.

Lurie is hopeful that the Eagles will be able to sustain their recent success, but was realistic about its challenges.

“I’m super excited about what we can do in 2023 and 2024 going forward,” Lurie said, “I can’t think of any reason not to be super excited.”