Quarterbacks grow with experience and that extends beyond the playing field.
So just like Jalen Hurts uses his memory bank to improve on third downs or in the 2-minute offense, he’s similarly leaning on his experience amid yet another offensive coordinator switch in Philadelphia.
And it’s helping.
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SIGN UP HERE “Yeah, I’m better at it,” Hurts said on Tuesday as the Eagles wrapped up their spring practices. “It’s been every year, so I think it’s just been a progression over time. In a way, an evolution. You bank information, you take in stuff and you’re really just learning from your mistakes. You’re learning from your successes as well. You’re learning from all of your experiences.
“There isn’t really anything I can’t lean on and say I’ve experienced one way or another when it comes to change or a system or an approach. I think Kevin (Patullo) has a unique way of looking at that. Coach has a unique way of looking at that. I’m excited to see what we can do.”
Patullo was promoted this spring to the offensive coordinator position after being the Eagles’ passing game coordinator the past four years. He’s the fourth different offensive coordinator in five years under Nick Sirianni and he’s going to become the sixth different play caller in Hurts’ six years in the NFL and with the Eagles.
That’s a lot of turnover. And as much as Hurts has publicly yearned for more stability at that position, all of those previous experiences — some good, some bad — have informed how he’s handling this one.
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While Hurts went through plenty of change during his college career at Alabama and then Oklahoma, even if you just limit it to his NFL career, he’s seen a lot. His rookie season was with Doug Pederson and Press Taylor. Then Nick Sirianni came to town with Shane Steichen, who lasted two years in that position before leaving for Indianapolis. Then a year of Brian Johnson. Then a year of Kellen Moore. And now he’s looking at Patullo in that role in 2025.
And that doesn’t even account for all the quarterbacks coaches he’s had in his first five years too. New QBs coach Scot Loeffler is his fifth.
Of course, Sirianni and Hurts have taken pieces from all the coaches who have come and gone over the previous four years.
“There’s a dynamic of that, that kind of already exists,” Hurts said. “It’s just a matter of if it gets called in a game. Coach (Patullo) has always had a say and played a role. Obviously, he’s in a different seat now so he gets the final word, he’s in charge of the offense. I think he’s been doing a great job of that and what we’ve been able to do on the other side of it.
“There is a dynamic of adaptability that you have to be able to have and find success regardless of what the leadership looks like, what the voice is, who’s in the quarterback room coaching me or who’s out there calling plays. That’s really where I put my energy at, trying to decode these things and kind of figure it out on my terms a little bit. Find a way to make it go.”
The Eagles’ offense last year was obviously good enough for the team to win 14 games and go on a playoff run that ended with a parade on Broad Street. But there are still plenty of things they can improve.
While the Eagles’ finished the regular season with the NFL’s No. 2-ranked rushing offense, they were ranked 29th in passing offense. Of course, the pass game did show up when the Eagles needed it to in the playoffs. And as the Eagles prepare for this upcoming season, they know teams are going to react in an attempt to slow down Saquon Barkley. “Pick your poison,” Hurts said.
Even though some things will obviously change with the offense, Hurts and Sirianni remain and their fingerprints are still going to be all over what we see on the field in 2025. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. The starting quarterback should have a say.
One benefit with an internal promotion is that there’s no get-to-know-you phase. Hurts and Patullo have already been working together; it’s just in a different capacity now.
“I see Kevin pushing those guys out there, being able to get those guys going, whether it's a high five to him or hey ‘get your butt going,’ because he has that relationship with the guys that he's been building,” Sirianni said. “He's always been a guy that has had strong relationships in the building. That's a strong point of his as well, and that's suiting him very well right now.”
The offensive coordinator job in Philadelphia is an important one because Sirianni gave up play-calling in his first season as head coach back in 2021 and hasn’t taken back those reins since. He thinks this system works better.
While much of the work is done in preparation during the week, there’s still a skill to actually calling the plays on Sundays. It’s an area where the Eagles suspect Patullo will excel.
But we won’t really know until Sept. 4.
“Nah, too soon. Too soon,” Hurts said. “He’s been a great leader in what he’s been asked to do. I feel he has a great command and that will only grow over time. We’ll get later down the road and we’ll see how sequencing is. Lot of teams around the league run very similar plays. It’s a matter of how you teach the details in the play and how you sequence it as you call a game. So he’ll find that.”