Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Jalen Hurts and the New Offense

Posted May 12th, 2026 | No Comments »

Many have said this will be a crossroads season for Jalen Hurts. Some Eagles fans may bristle at that notion, but I think there is some truth to it. There is no denying his resume, with two Super Bowl trips and one Lombardi, as well as being a consistent winner. But players must constantly evolve as defenses learn how to play them and there are always changes on their own team. You have to look forward more than in the rearview mirror. What worked in 2022 and 2024 may not be right for 2026, regardless of who is calling plays.

Hurts will be running Sean Mannion’s new offense this season. This scheme will be a version of the McVay/Shanahan offense. It is a QB friendly system. Matt Stafford has been MVP and a Super Bowl winner in it. Jimmy Garoppolo went to the SB in the system. Jordan Love has played well in it. Tua Tagovailoa had his best season in a version of the offense. Kirk Cousins thrived in it. That’s a group of different QBs with different skill sets. Hurts is a talented QB. He can make this work, if he buys in fully and really works at it.

Take that for what its worth. Could have been leaked by Jalen’s agent or the Eagles. Could be totally legit. Let’s certainly hope so.

A key part of being a good coach is having a schematic vision and then being able to coach that vision. Players often want to know why they are doing something, not just how to do it. The best coaches can break things down so the players have a good understanding. Mannion is a former player. He wasn’t a great athlete so he had to do the little things well. That mentality has served him well as a coach. If he proves to be a good communicator and teacher, it will make all the difference in the world.

Hurts has preferred to attack outside in his career. Avoid tight coverages and find good matchups. That makes total sense, but he got overly reliant on that and it hurt the passing attack. He could be reluctant to go to Plan B. Some of you will start screaming about Kevin Patullo. Give it a rest. Hurts has had passing struggles throughout his career. Think about the Jets and Seahawaks games in 2023 or the Panthers debacle in 2024. The talent is there. Hurts needs to have more answers. This new offense should help him in that regard.

Will Hurts buy in? I tend to think so. He is incredibly driven. He wants to win, to succeed. All good QBs develop a sense of entitlement. You want them to be confident and have strong beliefs. But he’s also the son of a coach. He’s had constant coaching changes around him. He’s not your typical star QB. Hurts would love to silence his national critics and have the local ones start focusing on the Flyers power play and Sixers overall struggles.

One of the keys here is that just because he hasn’t run an offense like this doesn’t mean he can’t.

And here is Nate Tice talking about how Mannion has stuff in his system that Hurts is already good at. He talks about the merging of ideas, which is what you want. Having a coach come say “my way or the highway” is dumb. You need someone who can bring out the best in his players. Mannion will have throws in his system that Hurts is good at. Make sure to use those, to help the offense and build Hurts confidence.

Being under center is only part of the equation. There will be pistol and shotgun looks as well. This won’t all be foreign to Hurts. The biggest change will be his need to attack the middle of the field more. He doesn’t have to work it like a WCO QB from the 80’s, but he can’t be at the bottom of the league in MOF throws. A huge part of this offense is yards after the catch. Some of that will come from quick screens, but a lot will be over the middle.

Watch Dontayvion Wicks in the Packers offense.

Mannion’s job is to make Hurts more comfortable at attacking the MOF. Hurts will still prefer attacking outside or down the field and those throws will be available to him on some plays. But he must get the ball to Wicks, DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon over the middle so they can make plays for him.

The other X-factor in all of this will be how Hurts and Mannion use his mobility. If you take away his running, Hurts is a much less dangerous QB. He didn’t want to run as much in 2025 and it hurt the offense. He stayed healthy all year, which was great, but the offense wasn’t as effective. There needs to be a middle ground where he runs, but isn’t overly relied upon. It will be interesting to see how that works out.

I’m optimistic for now and can’t wait to hear how the offense looks this summer. There will be ups and downs. We have to be patient. Changes take time to work through and we must give time to Hurts to adjust to a brand new system and several new faces. The offense may be run-heavy early so Hurts can ease into the passing game. We’ll see.

If Hurts can thrive in the new offense, it will help both him and the Eagles. Defenses will have to learn to stop a new attack. And if Hurts can become a more consistent passer, it can elongate his career. Let’s hope Mannion and Hurts prove to be a winning combination.

Then maybe we’ll have Mannion call the Flyers about that power play.

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