Nick Sirianni said Eagles knew, and Jalen Hurts knew, that playing against the Giants would “hurt him like hell”

The head coach talked Jalen Hurts and Josh Sweat’s availability in the postseason.

The Eagles have the luxury of an extra week heading into the postseason and head coach Nick Sirianni spoke to reporters on Tuesday about how they’re using the time. He also gave some update on Jalen Hurts’ shoulder injury, Josh Sweat’s return timeline, and talked about his support of Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon taking head coach interviews.

Sirianni explained that the first part of this week is completely devoted to self-scouting, and then later in the week they will start looking at opponents. He mentioned they’ll take educated guesses on who to focus on, and then look at the two division opponents they’ve played and then Tampa, who they played last year.

The head coach said that they are taking some of the extra time they have to get in a lot of individual work on fundamentals that they don’t usually have the time for during the season. He also talked about focusing on different situations and special plays, that they have the time to get ready.

Here’s what else Sirianni had to say:

On Jalen Hurts’ shoulder

“We’re fortunate we have two weeks til the next time we play.”

Sirianni said he’s not able to answer whether Hurts will have to play through pain the rest of the postseason, but pointed out he’ll have had two more weeks of recovery when they play next.

“[Hurts] came out sore, as expected. He came out of that game sore because it’s still healing. Like, we didn’t feel like we were putting him at any more risk of getting more injured, but we knew it was going to hurt him like hell, and he knew it was going to hurt him like hell. But that’s the kind of player he is, that’s the kind of teammate he is. He fought through it because it was important for him to be out there, and he knew how important it was to his teammates for him to be out there.”

On Josh Sweat’s availability

“I know he’s feeling better, and that’s obviously a lot better than when we all had to watch him have to be carted off. So, I know he’s feeling better. I know he made a push to play last week. We felt like it wasn’t in his best interest to play last week, health-wise.

Are we hopeful that he’ll play in two weeks? Yeah.”

Sirianni acknowledged that he didn’t want to go as far as to confirm that Sweat will play, but things are looking good while noting that things can change in two weeks. Sweat is someone they want out on the field though, and he’s someone that opposing offenses have to account for on every play.

On head coaching opportunities for his staff

Sirianni was asked about Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon being two of the top head coaching candidates this offseason. He emphasized that they hired these guys originally because they are committed to the team. Obviously, he wants them to do what’s best for them and their families, but first and foremost, they are committed to this team.

He also mentioned that with the bye this weekend, there is some time later in the week for the guys to handle some of their other business — noting they aren’t grinding until 10 PM every night.

Sirianni also talked about how he made a conscious effort in the offseason to help those guys get prepared for head coaching interviews and opportunities — similar to what Frank Reich did for him in Indianapolis. He made a point once a week to offer advice he thought would help them, and did so in the offseason when they had a little more time to put into that stuff.

The head coach also offered to be a sounding board for Steichen and Gannon if they need to bounce ideas off someone. As for when the OC and DC might be having their interviews, Sirianni said that he’d let Steichen and Gannon provide that information. Sirianni noted that preparing for a head coach interview is something you prepare for over time. He joked that Gannon will probably have a nicer suit to get from the dry cleaner than Steichen.

Sirianni later talked about how it’s his job as head coach to think about how he’s going to fill his staff and certain roles as they become available. He said he loves to see guys see good opportunities for their career and family, but hate to lose someone you hired because they are a good coach.

“So, of course I want to keep these guys, they’re great coordinators. But in the event that I lose them, I’ve got an idea of what I want to do at both spots.”

The head coach went on to say that some of the options are already in the building, and other aren’t, but he does feel like have really good options in-house.