Once upon a time, Dan Orlovsky labeled Jalen Hurts as a “liability.”
Since then, we’ve come a long way, culminating in Hurts’s being named the MVP of Super Bowl LIX.
But while Orlovsky offered a vague goodbye, hinting at an uncertain future with the Worldwide Leader, he used some of his last air time on ESPN for the foreseeable future to issue a mea culpa of sorts to the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback.
“You have to give Jalen Hurts credit,” the former NFL journeyman QB began. “This is a man that was benched in the National Championship game — benched by the greatest college football coach of all time (Nick Saban). It didn’t break him. Had to go back in a year later; transfers [to Oklahoma].”
It didn’t break him. And neither did Orlovsky publicly lambasting him.
So with a Super Bowl ring in tow, Hurts and the Eagles having run roughshod over the NFC and then the AFC Champions, Orlovsky felt he needed to apologize — and do so on a public forum.
“Listen, I owe, publicly, Jalen Hurts an apology,” said Orlovsky. “I was probably one this year who’s been the hardest on him. I’ll go back to a couple of weeks ago when I said the passing game’s not good enough right now, and I don’t think it’s going to get better. All he’s done since then is have his two best games of the year on the two biggest stages that the game has been on — the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl.
“He was sensational last night — and he was sensational in the NFC Championship Game. He made one bad play last night in the Super Bowl against the fourth-ranked defense in the NFL that was giving up, on average, 18 points a game. One mistake. One bad play. And all Jalen Hurts has done is constantly believe in himself, no matter what anyone has said. And again, I’ve been one of those people. And constantly gone to work and not allow the outside noise.”
Dan Orlovsky: “I owe publicly Jalen Hurts an apology. I was probably one this year who’s been the hardest on him. I’ll go back to a couple of weeks ago when I said the passing game’s not good enough right now and I don’t think it’s going to get better. All he’s done since then is… pic.twitter.com/XuTzIvqy8H
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 10, 2025
With the noise surrounding Orlovsky’s MVP pick growing louder, his message carries a weight that goes beyond Hurts — especially after Monday’s announcement.
It seems his words might be as much about his own reflection as they are about Hurts’ triumph.
“We all can learn from that — not allowing the outside noise to affect us,” he says. “He’s a big-game hunter… Last week, when we had this conversation, I know it made the rounds and became a big deal when I said, ‘I don’t think he’ll ever pass a Joe Burrow or a Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen, talent-wise.’ And I still feel that way. I also said, ‘But, if he wins it — and is a huge reason why — and he was, we will ask the question of Why can’t get it done, Joe? Why can’t get you get it done, Josh? And why can’t you get it done, Lamar? Just like Jalen has.
“And that’s the question that we’ll ask moving forward. Jalen did it. Those other guys now have to, as well.”
For Orlovsky, the real lesson is how to respond to criticism, and Hurts has seemingly turned that criticism into his greatest strength.
