Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles did it all two years ago. They won their second Super Bowl since 2017, and Hurts won an unlikely Super Bowl MVP after an excellent performance in the 40-22 drubbing of the previously-thought-to-be unbeatable Kansas City Chiefs.
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But the Super Bowl hangover hit Hurts and his team in 2025. And while they won the division and went 11-6, it really felt like 2023 all over again, as they crashed out of the playoffs early to an inferior team. This time, it was the severely injury-depleted San Francisco 49ers in the Wild Card round at home.
A lot of the blame was placed on Hurts, who Vegas Insider recently found to be the NFL player who receives the most and harshest criticism of anyone in the league. Thankfully, Hurts has a strong mentality. He’s shown this time and time again in his responses to the media, but also in how he responds to adversity on the field. He learned that from a healthy upbringing with his father, Averion Hurts, whom Jalen thanked in a recent online video.
“I would tell my coach, my father, that I love him, and I’d tell him thank you,” Hurts said in a video posted to the NFL’s official Twitter account.
Hurts’ father wasn’t just his dad, though. Averion also coached the future NFL star for a significant portion of his youth football career. During that time, he instilled in Hurts not only a spirit for giving and helping others but also ensured that his son would never lack in self-belief or confidence.
“I got to see so many great examples of him just showing up for others,” Hurts continued. “The one thing that he told me is that he’d never bet against me. And that was the little ounce of belief that I needed to get to where I am today.”
.@JalenHurts learned to believe in himself from his first coach, his dad. 💚 pic.twitter.com/4r5FJr3xDO
— NFL (@NFL) February 19, 2026
It can often be severely underestimated just how important it is for young men to have a strong parental figure during their formative years. And a lot of times, they find that in their coaches rather than their parents. Jalen Hurts was lucky enough to have a father who not only got the job done on daddy duties but also gave up his extra free time to get on coaching duties for his son as well.
Say what you will about Hurts, the Tush Push, his arm, his overall ability as a passer. But you really can’t criticize the guy’s mentality. And that comes from his poppa.
