Jason Kelce's retirement left a hole difficult to fill on the Philadelphia Eagles roster. Almost a year after his departure, head coach Nick Sirianni opened up about the consequences of losing his star center, especially regarding the controversial "tush push."
The eldest of the Kelce brothers ended his 13-year career in early 2024 when his Eagles were eliminated in the wild-card round of last season's playoffs. Teammates and rivals mourned the player's retirement, wishing him luck in his nascent career as a podcaster and analyst.
After the announcement, Philadelphia's offensive line began the long process of preparing for its first season without the iconic center. However, Sirianni said that Kelce himself made the transition much easier for them, thanks to the good work he did mentoring his successor, Cam Jurgens.
The "tush push" without Jason Kelce
In a chat on "The Pat McAfee Show" this Friday, the Eagles head coach admitted that it is not easy "when you lose a player like Jason Kelce, who made that thing (tush push) go, who had a big part of making that thing go."
The play in which the center pushes the quarterback from behind to break the line of scrimmage, especially in short-yardage situations, was a success thanks to Kelce. However, Sirianni recalled that the support of the entire team is required. "It takes the pusher, it takes the edges, it takes everybody, that's always tough," explained the helmsman.
Despite this, the team has not missed Kelce, at least not on this particular play. "Cam's done a great job," Siriani said, "and he was able to play right alongside Jason last year and learn from him."
Jason is still part of the team
Although Kelce is fully immersed in his new role as an analyst for ESPN and the podcast "New Heights," which he co-hosts with his younger brother, Travis, that doesn't mean he's completely away from the Eagles, though.
Recently, Jason came to the defense of Sirianni, who has received constant criticism for delegating the Eagles' play-calling duties. Kelce recalled that coaches like Dan Campbell do the same without being criticized as much. This shows that even though he no longer goes to practice every day, Jason Kelce's heart is still green and white.
