“Don’t lose sight of that jersey. I had one stolen.” That was Tom Brady’s advice to Jalen Hurts after the Eagles knocked off the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. A moment that might’ve felt lighthearted on the surface – Brady joking about his infamous stolen Super Bowl jersey – but the subtext hit deeper. The greatest quarterback of all time was speaking from experience. He wasn’t just handing out memorabilia tips. He was passing the baton.
Hurts didn’t just beat Patrick Mahomes on the game’s biggest stage. He became the story. A Super Bowl MVP with a stoic glare, a poetic backstory, and enough scars from college football. From being benched in a national title game to lifting the Lombardi Trophy, Hurts has walked a path eerily familiar to Brady’s – and the NFL is starting to notice. Especially guys like Andrew Hawkins.
Speaking on NFL Live, Hawkins didn’t sugarcoat it: “He’s [Hurts] proved the doubters wrong. He’s proved the naysayers wrong at every stage. And now he’s a Super Bowl-winning quarterback.” And that’s when he dropped the mic. “There has to be this point where Jalen Hurts kind of takes this in-house, right? Like, he takes control of this offense…I think you’ll see Jalen Hurts take that step this year.” That “step” Hawkins is talking about? It’s not just leadership – it’s full system control. Brady-level autonomy. Where play-callers get poached, systems change, but the quarterback doesn’t flinch. It’s the Tom Brady model.
NFL, American Football Herren, USA 2054: Commanders vs Eagles JAN 26 January 26, 2025, Philadelphia PA Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts 1 warms up before the NFC championship against the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field. Eric Canha/CSM Credit Image: Â Eric Canha/Cal Media Philadelphia Pa USA EDITORIAL USE ONLY Copyright: xx ZUMA-20250126_zma_c04_408.jpg EricxCanhax csmphotothree350047
And Hawkins didn’t stop there: “The easiest job in America was either being Tom Brady’s quarterback coach or being an escalator salesman. Because even if they break, there’s still steps. So that’s where we got to get Jalen Hurts to.” Translation: Hurts has to be the guy that doesn’t just survive chaos – he makes it irrelevant. The escalator breaks? He still climbs. The OC leaves? The offense still moves. And so far, Hurts is trending that way.
Let’s not forget – this guy’s had 12 play-callers in 10 years. That’s not a stat, that’s a resume in trauma. From Alabama to Oklahoma to Philly, every season has come with a new voice in his ear, a new playbook to digest. Yet somehow, Hurts keeps evolving. The Eagles aren’t calling him a system QB. They’re calling him the system. But the Eagles’ superstar had to go through a coaching carousel just to build the ride himself.
With OC No. 6, Jalen Hurts isn’t blinking – He’s building a legacy
Kevin Patullo is the latest name on the Hurts offensive coordinator carousel. But unlike the last few, Patullo isn’t new to the building. He’s been with the Eagles since 2021 and already has a solid rapport with Hurts. That familiarity matters. Especially when you’re dealing with a quarterback whose ability to adapt has become a feature, not a fix.
Dan Graziano called it a “confidence” boost, saying the Eagles don’t expect a repeat of past chaos: “The Eagles feel good about a lot of things right now as they as they should…Kevin Patulo is is of that program. Strong relationship with Jalen Hurts. And Jalen Hurts, by the way, is a source of a lot of that confidence.” And Nick Sirianni echoed that vibe, saying Hurts is attacking the offseason with the same maniacal consistency he always has: “Same thing, start right from the beginning again, working out like crazy again, getting ready again in the classroom, getting ready on the field.”
It’s the Brady way. Just without the avocado ice cream. Hurts himself sees each OC switch as another tool added to the belt. “You’re always in a place where you’re trying to improve and find that 1 percent,” he told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “All those things [coaching experiences] have been positives for me because I’ve turned it into a positive.” So yeah, Hurts doesn’t rattle. Because when your career starts in chaos, you learn how to build through it. Just like Brady.
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