Eagles Fans See the Truth Behind Lurie’s Push to Start Hurts

After numerous weeks of speculation and conjecture, ESPN NFL Insider Chris Mortensen confirmed on ESPN Television and on Twitter that the Eagles starting Quarterback will be Jalen Hurts and that the man behind wanting Jalen Hurts to be the starter in Philadelphia is the Owner Jeffrey Lurie. This revelation bring clarity to the Quarterback situation moving forward but it also pushes many Eagles fans into an uncomfortable predicament when comes to the infamous "Blame Game" concerning the state of the Eagles organization.

Since the Eagles drafted Jalen Hurts in the 2020 NFL Draft, there were numerous theories and speculative opinions put out there about what that means for the Eagles organization. We first heard from Howie Roseman himself that the Eagles could not pass on selecting Jalen Hurts in the second round; Now Chris Mortensen is saying that the team's owner was in favor of drafting the Quarterback from Oklahoma:

"Last year, the owner (Jeffery Lurie) was in favor of drafting Jalen Hurts, that created a ripple effect (at the Quarterback position)"

So if the Eagles Owner wanted Jalen Hurts and the Eagles General Manager says the team had to draft him, then it becomes abundantly clear the decision to move on from Carson Wentz was not something that just happened after the 2020 season. When Carson Wentz led the NFL in Interceptions and had the second worst Quarterback Rating in the NFL (72.8 which was only one-tenth better than the Jets' Sam Darnold), it only accelerated the team's time table to turn the reigns of the offense over to Jalen Hurts.

ESPN NFL Insider Chris Mortensen also says that the Eagles owner is setting the tone for what the Eagles do this offseason and that they need to do what is necessary to put Jalen Hurts in a position to be successful:

"Jeffrey Lurie, the owner of the Eagles, has basically sent the message to his personnel department and his General Manager Howie Roseman that he wants to do everything he can to help Jalen Hurts be successful and not bring in someone to compete for the job. Now they have a new Head Coach in Nick Sirianni, he understands that is what the owner wants. What the owner wants is what the owner gets."

So now is the moment of truth: Will the Eagles fans who hate Howie Roseman and blame him for almost everything with this organization, finally turn their attention and blame to the owner for what they perceive as a dysfunctional organization?  There is no way that an NFL Insider like Chris Mortensen would say something like "What the owner wants is what the owner gets" for no reason or flippantly. There has been more and more evidence from reports in the last several months that the Eagles Owner is more involved in the Football Operations than many Eagles fans were aware of. Remember when the Owner skipped the game in Cleveland and Lurie “left various workouts early out of disgust"?

To the disappointment of the "Roseman Haters", the reality is the owner may be more responsible for the good and bad with this Eagles organization than anyone realized previously. Jeff Lurie is not known for being a meddling owner in the way that the Cowboys' Jerry Jones or Washington's Daniel Snyder are infamous for; Lurie is not a controversial figure like the Texans' Cal McNair or Dolphins' Stephen Ross; Nor is Lurie overtly outspoken like the Colts' Jim Irsay or the Raiders Mark Davis.

But as ESPN's Sal Paolantonio discusses in his book "Philly Special: The Inside Story of How the Philadelphia Eagles Won Their First Super Bowl Championship", the Eagles Owner sees what the New England Patriots have accomplished under the leadership of Robert Kraft and he aspires for his organization to have that type of success. Kraft has always been involved in the decision making of his organization but he has rarely interfered with what Bill Belichick has wanted to do over the last 20 years.  Lurie has always prided himself in doing whatever it takes to put the Eagles organization into a position to be a winning team.  He's never been afraid to spend money on free agents, sign off on the organization taking risks (remember Michael Vick?), and his two best Head Coaching hires so far were guys that the rest of the NFL was not interested before coming to Philadelphia. Lurie believes he deserves credit for hiring Andy Reid and Doug Pederson before their success with the Eagles organization.

Yes, Jeffery Lurie DOES deserve credit for hiring winning coaches, for pushing the organization in the right direction to reach two Super Bowl appearances in the last 20 years and win their first Championship since the 1960 NFL Title. But just like how we attribute Wins and Loss to a Quarterback, we have to do the same with the owner of the football team. Whether it is always fair or not, even when it is something that may been unforeseen and out of control, the Owner has to take the praise and the blame for what happens in his organization. Do you really think that Howie Roseman does whatever he wants or what the owner wants? Did Carson Wentz get a contract extension without the approval of Jeff Lurie? The owner allowed the Eagles to draft JJ Arcega-Whiteside and Jalen Reagor, but everyone wants to blame Howie Roseman.

Keep in mind that the owner, Jeffrey Lurie, is very friendly with Jason Peters, he personally flew with Howie Roseman and Doug Pederson to North Dakota to meet with Carson Wentz before the draft, the Owner met with Michael Vick before the organization signed him, it was Jeff Lurie that spoke up and backed Malcolm Jenkins in his fight against Social Inequality, the Owner instructed Howie Roseman to get Chip Kelly, and it was Lurie who unilaterally hired then fired the previous four Head Coaches in Eagles Franchise history.

So moving forward, we need to credit any success or failures of the Jalen Hurts era as Eagles Starting Quarterback needs to be put at the feet of the owner. I know the Howie Roseman Haters are very loud but some of them are very irrational also; There is no way you can an objective person and vacate any blame for the Eagles issues from Jeff Lurie. Howie Roseman has his job because he does what the owner wants, Roseman was brought back from "The Broom Closet" because he is the man the owner trusts.

These words should stick in every Eagles' fans mind the next time they have any thoughts or opinions about their Football Team, because this is reality: "What the owner wants is what the owner gets."