Nick Saban makes thoughts clear on Jalen Hurts as Eagles fail to click into gear ahead of NFC Championship Game

In a recent interview, former college football coach Nick Saban gave his thoughts on his former quarterback, Jalen Hurts, and the Eagles offense.

Saban believes that the Eagles are now a running team and they should stick to that if they want to progress.

“I think he’s doing the things they need to do to win," Saban said on 'The Pat McAfee Show.' "They’re a running football team. That’s what they are. They got Saquon Barkley. They run it. Jalen can run it. He had a big play last night as a runner."

After 28 years as a college football coach, Nick Saban retired after the 2023-24 season and is now a college football analyst for ESPN. He knows what it takes to win. The coach has the most college football championships in history, with seven.

One of his championships, the 2017 with Alabama Crimson Tide, featured Jalen Hurts as the starting quarterback. He coached Hurts for three seasons.

Saban advised the Eagles to stick with running the football, as he believes it will open up opportunities in play-action.

"You got to make people defend that, then throw the ball effectively enough in the play-action game. I think Jalen’s a good enough passer to do all those things."

Nick Saban cautions Jalen Hurts against impromptu plays

Saban also recounted his time coaching Hurts. He advised the quarterback to get rid of the ball on time.

"I think the one thing. And this is every athletic quarterback. When Jalen was with us, I would say, 'You cannot run, you cannot scramble. You have to throw the ball on time.' Because these guys are so athletic. They see the rush coming, they think they can scramble and get out of it.

"A couple of those sacks he took last night because in normal circumstances, no snow, and no bad knee, he would have been able to escape and get away and make a play. But I was trying to train him to become a better on-time passer by not allowing him to do it in practice."

He concluded:

"He improved in that regard. He’s still a great athlete and those guys are still going to make plays and you can’t take that away from him.”

Hurts spent three seasons with Saban at Alabama. He was benched in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship for Tua Tagovailoa. Despite the benching, he still stayed for one more season before transferring to Oklahoma for his junior year.

Under Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma, he had a Heisman-worthy season. He guided the Sooners to the Big 12 Championship and ultimately finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting to Joe Burrow. This was before he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round.

He now leads the Eagles into an NFC Championship game against the Washington Commanders with the opportunity to go to the second Super Bowl in his young career.