Eagles defensive line coach Clint Hurtt embracing challenge with inexperienced Uar Bernard: ‘He’s an unbelievable human being’
Defensive pass game coordinator Joe Kasper also shed light on Cooper DeJean's new safety role in a Thursday news conference.
During last month’s NFL draft, Clint Hurtt said he grew worried that he was annoying Howie Roseman.
Hurtt, the Eagles’ defensive line coach, had been attempting to get in the general manager’s ear. Or, in this case, across the screen of his phone via multiple text messages.
Uar Bernard remained available as the draft progressed. Hurtt was interested in selecting the Nigerian defensive tackle who was a product of the International Player Pathway program. So, he would ping Roseman with gentle reminders about the availability of the 6-foot-4, 306-pound player on his wish list.
It would be really cool to have this guy.
Roseman made it clear to Hurtt that he felt the same way through his selections. Much to the excitement of Hurtt, the Eagles drafted Bernard in the seventh round, even though he had never played a snap of organized football.
His athleticism — highlighted by the 4.63-second 40-yard dash and the 39-inch vertical jump he posted at the IPP pro day — helped him get his foot in the door of the organization. In the draft room following Bernard’s selection, Hurtt asserted that Bernard has more physical talent than some of the players who got drafted before him on the first two days.
But the 47-year-old coach wasn’t kidding himself, either. Hurtt acknowledged that Bernard was a developmental player. Still, he said he believed in himself as a coach to cultivate Bernard. He expressed his belief in the player, too.
“I’m not putting my stamp on everybody,” Hurtt explained on Thursday. “If you don’t have a great work ethic, if I don’t believe in your character and who you are as a person, I’m not putting my family’s well being in anybody’s hands.
“But when I saw the kid’s work ethic and character, he’s an unbelievable human being. I know as people get a chance to spend some time with him, he’s a great kid. So I felt good about doing that.“
Hurtt had up-close exposure to Bernard’s work ethic before the Eagles drafted him. While Bernard was training with the rest of the IPP players ahead of the draft, Hurtt had the opportunity to work him out and get a feel for his football foundation. Hurtt said the Eagles were the first of 12 teams to put Bernard through a workout.
The session was scheduled for 9 a.m. Bernard was warmed up and ready to go at 7:45 a.m.
That eagerness registered with Hurtt. But Bernard wasn’t finished making a strong impression.
“When I started the workout with him, it was like anything he had made a mistake on, he immediately jumped back up and wanted to do it again,” Hurtt said. “And a lot of guys are not like that.
“So for me it was, what are the intangibles? How eager was he to learn? What was the work ethic like? Because you’ve got to have that in order to be able to fulfill the physical talent, and I felt good about that.”
Months later, Bernard is continuing to harness his work ethic as he learns the defensive tackle position under Hurtt’s tutelage. Once the Eagles drafted Bernard, Hurtt made an onboarding plan to help him get his feet on the ground and keep his confidence high while he learned his defensive responsibilities.
“How I wanted to do the install was give him the easy stuff to learn first, so he can feel good about it,” Hurtt said. “Because to me, the most critical thing is keep his confidence high. At this level, you’re going to get humbled because you’re going against some of the best players in the world on our team, so you’ve got to keep him feeling good, where he can also see, ‘Yeah, I have talent, but I also can see myself ascending.’”
Hurtt compared this process with Bernard to the beginning of his coaching career when he worked with collegiate athletes at Miami, Florida International, and Louisville. Some of those players hadn’t started playing until their latter years of high school, making them relatively raw in the sport.
Bernard, of course, has even less experience. But the fundamentals Hurtt teaches remain the same.
“You’re teaching kids how to get into a stance,” Hurtt said. “Not only the rules and the dos and don’ts of football, but obviously schematics and why you do what you do, and all those kinds of things. Getting the stance, alignments, adjustments, and things of that nature.”
Hurtt’s mornings with Bernard are even earlier now than they were on the day of his pre-draft workout. Hurtt said he meets with him at 7 a.m. every morning, then again in the afternoon, to critique his technique, his alignments, and his assignments on film.
But Hurtt isn’t pulling Bernard aside on the field during organized team activities to give him one-on-one coaching. If he needs to make a coaching point with Bernard, he will share it with the entire group of defensive tackles, which Hurtt said can be helpful even for veterans like Jordan Davis and Moro Ojomo.
Bernard is well on his way to getting acclimated to his new team, Hurtt said. The rookie defensive tackle was quiet around his teammates for the first couple of meetings, but now he talks to them regularly.
“In practice yesterday, he heard a Tupac song come on, and he started rapping lyrics word for word,” Hurtt said. “And the guys went nuts. It was cool. They were like, ‘We didn’t know you know who Tupac was.’”
Hurtt is working to ensure that Bernard becomes fluent in the defense, too. But Hurtt and Bernard are just one month into that process. There’s many more to go, Hurtt said.
“You’ve got to understand, he’s going to need time,” Hurtt said. “And [if] anybody thinks this is going to happen overnight, you’re kidding yourself.
“But he’s coming along well. He’s working hard, and the group is really taking well to him as well.”
Carter “doing really well” post-injury
Jalen Carter was sidelined at various stages of last season due to shoulder injuries, including a three-game stretch in December.
In turn, Carter wasn’t as effective as he had been in years past. He finished the season with career lows in sacks (three) and quarterback pressure rate (7.7%), according to Next Gen Stats.
“It caused some issues for him,” Hurtt said of Carter’s shoulder injuries. “Obviously, any time you deal with hands, shoulders, wrists, elbows, for a defensive lineman, everything you do, you’re using your hands, and to be able to shock blocks, lock guys out, tear off of blocks, it’s a problem, it’s tough to deal with.”
The offseason has afforded Carter time to get healthy. While he wasn’t on the field for Wednesday’s optional OTA, Carter has been in the building throughout the offseason program, Hurtt said. The early signs of Carter’s progress are positive.
“Been doing really well,” Hurtt said. “He’s been here, been engaged, been in great meetings, and been doing great in individual periods, and everything else. The shoulders, he’s got his strength back. He came back with some more lumps on him, in a good way, with the offseason training, so that part’s been really good. Happy where he’s progressing.”
Still, Carter has room for growth as he enters his fourth NFL season. The Eagles picked up his fifth-year option this offseason, guaranteeing that he will be under contract through 2027. But as Carter eyes a long-term extension, he will also look to take the next step in his game.
“He has to be consistent with doing little things,” Hurtt said. “We’ve all talked about the talent and overall potential that he has in the flash plays, but it’s the consistency of doing the small things the right way all the time. That’s a big piece for him.”
Then, there’s the “maturity” aspect, Hurtt explained. Last year, Carter was ejected from the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys for spitting on quarterback Dak Prescott.
“There’s always a fine line,” Hurtt said. “The edge and the tenacity that he plays with, you want guys like that. I would rather coach the guys who you’ve got to kind of pull the reins on a little bit than guys who you’ve got to kind of kick in the ass to get them going.
“But he has to understand, and it comes with maturity, there’s a line we cannot cross if it’s hurting our team. And he’s growing through those things. He has.”
New-look secondary
While the Eagles’ starters along the interior defensive line remain the same, the secondary under defensive pass game coordinator Joe Kasper will have some personnel tweaks in 2026.
One familiar face will have a different role. In base defense, Cooper DeJean will line up at safety alongside Drew Mukuba, then shift to the slot in nickel.
While it is a different responsibility, it isn’t totally unfamiliar. DeJean dabbled at safety in training camp last season before Vic Fangio decided to permanently start him at outside cornerback in base and move him to the slot in nickel.
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Kasper explained that DeJean’s versatility is making this change possible. Some players may get overwhelmed by the additional information they have to process by being further away from the line of scrimmage, but not DeJean.
“Everything that he’s done at nickel indicates that the understanding and feel for time and distance is not a bridge too far for him,” Kasper said Thursday. “That’s where maybe you would see guys struggle with going from one spot to the other. He doesn’t have those issues that we actually enhance that element within how he plays the nickel position. So to me, it’s another way for us to continue to maximize a resource that we have.”
Kasper is also welcoming the return of Mukuba, who suffered a season-ending ankle fracture in Week 12 last season, his rookie year. Before Mukuba sustained his injury, Kasper said he had “strong” impressions of the safety. With the rehab process behind him, Mukuba is picking off where he left off last season.
“I’m thrilled that he’s out there with us, and he’s done an exceptional job,” Kasper said. “Our group collectively is really, really about the right stuff, to put it simply. And Cooper, Q, these guys work. Drew works like he was going to do everything he could to get back, to get as many reps as he can get, to play, and really encouraged by that. I’m excited about him.”
Kasper also expressed his excitement about Riq Woolen, the free-agent addition who is poised to start at outside cornerback opposite Quinyon Mitchell. Woolen, who is 6-4, 210 pounds, is just as rangy and speedy as advertised, Kasper said.
“You just see that pure speed is really amazing,” Kasper said. “There’s not too many guys that look like him playing that position. So we’ll take advantage of it every way that we can.”
Feast your ears and eyes! This week's organized team activities in South Philadelphia marked the first look at the 2026 edition of the Eagles. The Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff McLane and Olivia Reiner check in and report on the sounds and sights from practices and press conferences that could offer clues about the direction the Eagles are headed as preparations begin for next season. Listen here.
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