Eagles' Jalen Hurts Called Former Giants DC Wink Martindale for Advice During Season

Toward the end of the 2023 season that saw the Philadelphia Eagles lose five of their last six regular-season games, star quarterback Jalen Hurts took an unusual approach to trying to improve his game.

Per ESPN's Tim McManus and Jeremy Fowler, Hurts made a call to former New York Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale to get some advice before the playoffs. Martindale had parted ways with the Giants after Week 18.

"I've been doing this for 40 years," said Martindale, now the defensive coordinator at the University of Michigan, "and it's the first time I've had an opposing quarterback call me up. I thought it was pretty cool that the guy called. It shows you what kind of pro he really is. He's just looking at every angle that he can to get better."

Martindale added that he and Hurts spoke for about a half hour and discussed how the Giants game-planned against him and the holes in the Eagles' pass protection.

"It was very effective and he knew it, and he just wanted to know why we did certain things that we did. Then he went to work on that," Martindale said.

Unfortunately, Martindale's advice did little to extend the Eagles' season. The team lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 32-9 blowout in the NFC Wild Card Round, unceremoniously ending its bid for a second straight Super Bowl appearance. Philadelphia looked like the favorite to win the NFC when it began the year with a 10-1 record, but things quickly fell apart.

The Eagles' hot start to the season reportedly didn't mitigate the sting of losing Super Bowl LVII to the Kansas City Chiefs.

"Even when we were 10-1, everyone was walking around like their dog died," a team source told McManus and Fowler. "All year, instead of having fun playing, it was like, 'Oh my gosh, we lost the Super Bowl.'"

Martindale noted that Philadelphia's flaws began to surface because the team went away from its formula on offense that previously brought success.

"They weren't committed to the run," Martindale said of the Eagles' offense down the stretch. "They weren't committed to the quarterback runs. They were trying to throw the ball a little bit too much on early downs, which put them behind the sticks. That's when defenses can go to work"

The disappointing end to the 2023 season undoubtedly fueled the fire of Hurts and the rest of the Eagles to put forth a better effort this year. Philadelphia will be hungry to establish its dominance once again when the 2024 campaign begins.