PHILADELPHIA — Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts have gone 50-20 together since 2021, including playoffs. They’re heading to their second Super Bowl in three seasons. So why is there a shadow lingering over their relationship?

Because the two most significant things Hurts has said in the past four months regard the perception that he is either unwilling or unable to throw dangerous passes, and that Sirianni’s scheme is the reason.

The first Hurts utterance came after A.J. Brown said that “Passing” was the thing the Eagles needed to improve most. Brown said this after Game 13, against the Carolina Panthers. It was a win. The next game, after Hurts picked apart the Pittsburgh Steelers for 290 yards and two touchdowns, the first thing Hurts said after the game was, “So that’s what y’all wanted to see, huh?”

(Actually, no, it’s what Brown wanted to see; Brown finished with a season-high eight catches for 110 yards and a touchdown.)

Then, after Hurts threw for 246 yards and a touchdown and completed 20 of 28 passes in the NFC championship game Sunday against the Commanders, Hurts was asked what it’s been like to play for Sirianni. He replied, “He’s done a great job. Done a great job.”

Then, he added, “I guess he let me out of my straitjacket a little bit today.”

What y’all wanted to see. Straitjacket.

Both of these remarks were unsolicited.

Both were meant as messages.

Messages received.

The $255 million, two-time Super Bowl quarterback is more than a game manager.

The $255 million, two-time Super Bowl quarterback can do the same thing in 2024 as he did in 2022, even though in 2024 he threw for 800 fewer yards than he did in 2022. When pushed, and when allowed, he’s the same quarterback whose all-around game made him the MVP favorite in 2022 before he injured his shoulder.

This all comes of course on the heels of Hurts declining to endorse Sirianni both after the Eagles’ wild-card playoff loss following the 2023 season and after offseason workouts in 2024.

All of this has helped create the perception of, at the very least, a disconnect between the quarterback and the coach, both of whom performed miserably down the stretch in 2023.

Meanwhile, consistently, Sirianni has praised Hurts’ performances, his leadership, and his preparation. The reality seemed clear. Sirianni would defend and protect Hurts at all costs. Meanwhile, Hurts would defend himself at all costs, even if it implied that his relationship with Sirianni was imperfect, if not fractured.

The reality is, according to Eagles sources with knowledge of the situation, that each respects the other. And that’s enough.

They’re just very different people. They have different goals, in one respect: Sirianni seeks to get the most out of Hurts. Hurts, on the other hand, seeks to present himself as more than a limited quarterback.

They have identical goals in another respect: to win, at all costs.

If that means Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore lean into the running game a little more, so be it.

If that means the Eagles rely more on their defense than they did in the past, so be it.

If that means that Moore’s scheme is a bit less imaginative to diminish the likelihood of Hurts turning the ball over, and the price of that conservative approach is fewer air yards and fewer points, so be it.

After all, Hurts led the NFL in turnovers from Game 1 of 2023 through Game 4 of 2024. He has turned the ball over just three times in the 13-plus games he’s played since.

Why does this matter now?

Because of their history. There’s no animosity, but it isn’t exactly a mutual admiration society. Consider that Hurts has been coached by Sirianni for four years now, and he was coached by Nick Saban for three years in college, and he constantly quotes Saban-isms but seldom quotes Nick.

Because the last time Hurts spoke, Hurts reopened the same old can of worms.

Further, because after Hurts dropped the “straitjacket” line Sunday, he pointedly refused to address what he’d just said.

That left Sirianni to address it Tuesday, which he did with unconvincing tepidness:

“I thought he was having fun with that after the game.”

Seriously? Sirianni should attend a few of Hurts’ press conferences. They’re about as much fun as an Introduction to Philosophy lecture.

Why else does this matter?

Because, for the next 10 days, the entire sporting world will be deconstructing the relationship between a successful, exuberant young coach and an equally successful but reticent, enigmatic young quarterback.

And on the other side? There will stand the best coach and quarterback combination of this new era. You just don’t get this sort of drama from Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes.

Of course, Reid and Mahomes win even more than Hurts and Sirianni. They’re 62-16 since 2021, with two Super Bowl titles and lots of interpersonal connections and praise.

So no, you’re probably not gonna see Sirianni and Hurts bickering over chicken nuggets in a TV commercial any time soon, like Reid and Mahomes do.

But that’s OK.

They just keep on winning.

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