Sean Desai was in his office at the NovaCare Complex, watching tape around dinnertime when he looked up to see Jalen Hurts standing in his doorway.
“What’s up?” Desai asked.
Not much.
The Eagles’ franchise quarterback was just there to pick the brain of the new defensive coordinator, just like he had done with previous defensive coordinator the last two years. Jonathan Gannon is now the head coach in Arizona and a new defensive coordinator gives Hurts a new opportunity to learn.
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“He just started asking questions,” Desai said on Friday. “I told him I love it. I love it. He’s so sharp, he’s so bright. You see, now being a part of the organization you understand why he’s so special. From afar you see it, but you don’t really know until you’re a part of it.
“The way his brain works, the questions, the types of questions that he asks, you could tell that he’s just trying to elevate his game to the next level, and really it helps us.”
Hurts, who turns 25 early next week, used to chat with Gannon relatively often. He really just wanted the view of a defensive-minded coach. Hurts would ask Gannon for his thoughts on defense and would even ask Gannon how he would try to stop him.
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While Hurts obviously declined to divulge Gannon’s answers to that last question, he would often emphasize the value of those chats.
He sees the same value in talking to Desai.
“Yeah, we’ve been able to catch up and talk,” Hurts said this week. “Kind of tell me some of his philosophical beliefs. Some of his beliefs and just kind of get better and learn that way. I’m a competitor and I want to continue to learn and grow and soak in as much as I can. He’s been a resource in that.”
It’s not a one-way street either.
Sure, Desai is an NFL defensive coordinator but Hurts was the MVP runner-up last year and has played in a bunch of different high-powered offenses dating back to his time at Alabama and Oklahoma.
“It helps me. I told him that,” Desai said. “Those questions are important for me to know because our job is to impact the quarterback. We want to try to do that.
“When you’re a top-level quarterback like he is, I want to get in his brain too and learn what’s actually helpful. Are we doing something that we think is helpful but really isn’t and it really impacted him. So, I think that dialog is great, and he knows he’s got an open door. When he has the opportunity to come and talk ball with me, it’s there.”
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