The new banner that Nick Sirianni has proudly hung in the NovaCare Complex toward the end of the offseason features his five core values, the same ones that he brought with him as he began his first season as head coach of the Eagles. They are, per the Eagles website:
1. Connect and Trust
2. Compete with each other
3. Accountability
4. Playing smart football
5. Fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals
The banner then represents these values in a simpler fashion and, though it's a little difficult to see in the picture below, are written as "connect," "compete," "accountability," "football I.Q." and "fundamentals."
One player who has taken these core values to heart? Quarterback Jalen Hurts. The second-year quarterback, recently named as the starter, was the topic of discussion between Sirianni and NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Clark on his "Takeoff with John Clark" podcast episode released on Tuesday morning. Clark asked where Sirianni had seen improvement in Hurts' game this offseason, and the first-year head coach couldn't say enough good things.
"I think just his ability to process the offense and his decision-making, and that he's sitting in the pocket a little bit more and making the throws on time," Sirianni said. "And then when the plays come to him, he can run and make something happen. So I just have seen a guy that truly lives to the motto of, 'hey, here's our five core values.'
"We want to get better at those each day, and he does. Because he loves it, it's important to him, and he works... relentlessly to get better at them."
Whether it's his footwork, his accuracy, his decision-making or his overall command of the offensive playbook, Sirianni says that he's seen Hurts make strides in "every part of his game," which is pretty much all you can ask for out of your young signal-caller looking to succeed. Pro Football Focus ranked Hurts as the No. 31 starting quarterback out of 32 in the NFL in late July, and many other lists rank him similarly, showing he has a lot of critics to prove wrong.
If Sirianni's excitement about his growth and development is any indication, Hurts could surprise a lot of people as the year gets underway.
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