Dan Orlovsky labels Jalen Hurts and Nick Sirianni "the modern day Bill Belichick and Tom Brady"

The 2025 NFL season will begin in a few hours when the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, host the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday night.

Ahead of the curtain raiser, former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky, now an ESPN analyst, made a bold claim about Eagles coach Nick Sirianni and his quarterback Jalen Hurts.

In the latest installment of "Get Up" on ESPN, Orlovsky labeled Sirianni and Hurts as the modern-day Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.

"Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts are modern-day Bill Belichick and Tom Brady," said Orlovsky. "Just total alignment. I remember Belichick and Brady constantly saying stuff and being like, there's no way you actually think that or feel that way or you operate like that and it feels the same way. Jalen's just robotic and maniacal and very focused. Not out in public like Tom was when he was playing.

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"And Sirianni, there's no way that he doesn't know, but he says it and you're like maybe he didn't really know. The same way, with coach Belichick would say stuff and we'd be like, there's no way that you think that way. Their alignment and the way that they're so hyper-focused in blocking out the noise, it's very Belichick-Brady-like."

Sirianni and Hurts won the Super Bowl last season by ending the Kansas City Chiefs' bid for an unprecedented win. While Orlovsky drew a parallel between their mannerism and personalities, the Eagles duo is still quite far from matching Brady and Belichick's on-field accomplishments.

Jalen Hurts acknowledged Nick Sirianni's mantra with Eagles

Nick Sirianni is heading into his fifth year with the Eagles, coming off his maiden Super Bowl win in his second attempt. The 44-year-old has prioritized team bonding during his tenure and is living by his "Contribution over credit" mantra.

His quarterback, Jalen Hurts, acknowledged Sirianni's mantra ahead of the season opener.

“He’s had a habit of saying that,” Hurts said. “To try and go to that next level, it requires something more of yourself. So, I think he’s done a really good job from a message standpoint. And as a team, we just have to continue to be all in on that and follow his lead.”

The Eagles will also raise a banner to celebrate their 40-22 Super Bowl win over the Chiefs ahead of the Cowboys clash.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash