Muriel Crescenzo finally earned her United States citizenship Tuesday morning, after more than three years of waiting and more than seven with her husband, James. On Tuesday evening, they celebrated by watching the Flyers take home a 4-2 win against the Washington Capitals.
The Crescenzos met at the Okemo Mountain ski resort in Vermont in 2018. Muriel was working there for the season, and James was on a snowboarding trip. He’d fallen down on one of the hills, and Muriel came to help him. They instantly clicked, and James asked her out. They went on their first date at a bar called Mr. Darcy’s, in Ludlow, Vt., which Muriel said she felt was a sign — Pride and Prejudice is her favorite book and Mr. Darcy is a main character in it.
So when Muriel returned to her home in Santiago, Chile, in the offseason, James, an Egg Harbor Township native, traveled to see her.
“For me, it was no more winter,” he said. “In the winter, I would go to South America for three or four months, and I was working on a golf course, so you were laid off in the winter anyway. It actually worked perfectly.”
The couple took turns visiting each other every year, with Muriel coming up to New Jersey and James heading down to see her in Chile. The two also took a number of international trips together, to London, Prague, Amsterdam, and Buenos Aires.
But when the pandemic hit, those annual plans were upended, and the Crescenzos decided to start the process of getting married and getting Muriel permanent residency in the U.S. They got married in Las Vegas, and have been living in the Philadelphia area ever since. James is a lifelong Philly sports fan, and he has turned Muriel into one as well since their move back to the area.
“When we first moved here, everything was just magical right away,” said James, 43. “That first year we saw [Michael] Lorenzen throw his no-hitter. Every Flyers game we went to, they would win in overtime, sudden death. It was always a magical, special game that first season. It’s been a little rough since, but we still believe.”
Flyers national anthem singer Lauren Hart (left) meets James and Muriel Crescenzo at Tuesday’s game.
So when Muriel, 34, got her naturalization interview date, they knew they wanted to celebrate at a Flyers game.
“It felt different because I could sing the song,” Muriel said. “Before, I didn’t know it that well, the anthem. But now, I could sing it and I’m a part of it.”
The Crescenzos even met Flyers anthem singer Lauren Hart, and of course, Gritty. They also got to take in a Flyers win.
The next step will be going back to Chile to visit her family. During the citizenship application process, she was not allowed to leave the country, so the Crescenzos haven’t been able to take any international trips for more than three years.
“We’re not worried anymore,” Muriel said. “I finally feel secure. We finally can be together. Nothing’s going to stop that happening.”
The Flyers nearly headed into the Olympic break with a whimper after they managed just 13 shots through three periods.
After what looked like a lifeless effort for much of the first two periods, the Flyers stormed back late to tie the game with their net empty. Jamie Drysdale scored in his second consecutive game, after scoring the game-winner on Tuesday.
But ultimately, Travis Konecny missed the net on another overtime breakaway, and Ottawa’s Tim Stützle came back to deliver the win for the Senators. Dan Vladař made 25 saves in the loss.
“We had the two-on-one, last game against [the Los Angeles Kings], we hit the post,” Tocchet said. “We had another two-on-one, and we missed. They get it. It’s execution, Stützle goes around and scores. It’s hard to work on that stuff. We’re getting some chances.”
Former Flyer Nick Cousins scored the first goal of the game just over halfway through the second period. Ottawa’s Shane Pinto took the first shot on Vladař, who made the save, but the puck bounced off his pad right toward Cousins, who scored in an empty net to take the 1-0 lead.
The Flyers got their best offensive possession of the game late into the second — with a little assist from Senators’ center Dylan Cozens’ skate blade, which fell off on a blocked shot, making it basically a power play.
The Flyers took eight shots on goal and missed 15 shots through two periods. Against Senators goaltender James Reimer, who entered Thursday’s game with an .862 save percentage in six appearances, the Flyers couldn’t generate enough traffic to take advantage of the weak matchup.
In the third period, Rick Tocchet put the Flyers’ lines in a blender, moving Trevor Zegras back to wing to play with Christian Dvorak and Konecny, moving Denver Barkey to center to play with Carl Grundstrom and Garnet Hathaway, and slotting Nikita Grebenkin with Sean Couturier and Owen Tippett.
Couturier drove to the net and got a one-on-one with the Ottawa goalie deep in the crease, but couldn’t get the puck past Reimer. His goal drought extended to 29 games.
“There was just a lack of support, puck support, a lot of one and dones,” Drysdale said. “They did a good job defending as well. We were able to break through at the end, but just too little too late.”
But struggling with offensive ineptitude for most of the game, the Flyers finally put it together on the 6-on-5, with Drysdale delivering on a low shot from the point, just like his game-winner on Tuesday.
Ultimately, though, the Flyers’ luck didn’t last for long. After Sanheim took down Brady Tkachuk to give the Flyers their first breakaway of overtime, Konecny could not deliver on the two-on-one, and Stützle beat Sanheim and Vladař for the win.
Breakaways
The Flyers’ two shots in the first period were tied for the fewest they’ve had in a period all season. The last time that happened was on Dec. 13 against Carolina … Drysdale scored in consecutive games for the first time since March 9 and 11, 2025, against Seattle and Ottawa … The Flyers played their third one-goal game against the Senators this season, after losing 2-1 on Oct. 23 and 3-2 in overtime on Nov. 8.
Up Next
The Flyers will break for three weeks for the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina. The men’s hockey tournament will begin Feb. 11, with Rasmus Ristolainen and Finland taking on Slovakia (10:40 a.m. ET, USA Network).
The team returns to play on Feb. 25 against the Washington Capitals (7 p.m. ET, NBCSP).
Jamie Drysdale snapped a 20-game goal drought with his game-winner late in the third period Tuesday against the Washington Capitals.
The goal was critical to keeping the Flyers competitive in the Metropolitan Division standings, snapping the team’s four-game losing streak and helping build some momentum heading into the Olympic break.
But it was also important personally for Drysdale, as it marked his first goal since returning from an upper-body injury on Jan. 14, and doubled as a sign of the progress he and the power play have been making in recent games.
“I think I had my chances, to be honest with you, I just couldn’t put the puck in the net,” Drysdale said. “Guys did a great job of finding me, finding holes, and it was nice to see one go in.”
Coach Rick Tocchet has praised Drysdale’s growth as one of the locker room leaders, including an important speech on the bench against Colorado. But the 23-year-old is also quietly having his best season on the ice, as he is on pace for a career high in points in addition to improving his game on the defensive side of the puck.
According to Natural Stat Trick, the Flyers’ top three performing defensive pairs this season, with more than 30 minutes played, have included Drysdale. Cam York, Nick Seeler, and Travis Sanheim have all generated more expected goals with Drysdale than without.
“Such a good skater, really high IQ,” York said of what makes Drysdale easy to play with. “He can be a one-man breakout when he wants to. Being close friends helps, too, because I feel like the communication is really good.”
The last piece for Drysdale to unlock is the power play. The Flyers have converted on 16.3% of their power play opportunities, good for 26th in the league, but they’ve slowly improved in recent weeks, scoring six power play goals over their last seven games.
Over that last stretch of games, Drysdale has anchored the top power-play unit of Trevor Zegras, Christian Dvorak, Bobby Brink, and Travis Konecny, which Tocchet first pivoted to in earnest against Vegas on Jan. 19. In 20 minutes, 45 seconds of ice time on the power play, that unit has scored four goals, including a goal in each of the last two games.
Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale (9) scored the game-winner with just over five minutes left against the Washington Capitals.
Drysdale’s shot from the point on Tuesday was an example of exactly what Tocchet wants to see the defenseman do on the power play: take point shots that are low enough for a deflection opportunity.
“Teams will pre-scout you, and we’re trying to explain to the players that on the pre-scout, if you’re overpassing, they won’t respect the middle shot,” Tocchet said. “That’s the hardest thing to defend is a middle shot when you’re out of position. If we can get those types of goals and build on it and get some guys confident with that shot, you can get those types of goals.”
Just five of Drysdale’s 22 points this season have come on the power play, including three in the last seven games. Since his draft year in 2020, Drysdale, due to his skating and playmaking ability, has possessed the potential to be a strong offensive defenseman.
If he can continue to improve the Flyers’ power play, he could surge far past his career high of 32 points, set in 2021-22.
“It’s not easy to get pucks through,” Drysdale said. “Obviously, it’s guys’ jobs to get in front of them, but at the same time, it’s your job to get them through and try and create. It’s a little give-and-take, and you’re constantly working and building and trying to create more.”
Breakaways
Konecny did not skate Wednesday for maintenance reasons. … Emil Andrae has been a scratch the last five games and could sit again on Thursday against Ottawa (7 p.m., NBCSP), Tocchet said. … The Rangers traded All-Star winger Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday for a third-round pick and prospect Liam Greentree.
The Flyers were desperate to pick up momentum heading into the Olympic break, especially against the Washington Capitals, a Metro Division opponent that they’re chasing in the standings.
The Flyers got out to a strong start, building a 2-0 lead in the first period before conceding two Capitals goals to tie the game. But the Flyers finally snapped their four-game losing streak with the 4-2 win thanks to Jamie Drysdale and an empty netter fromRasmus Ristolainen to earn two points and keep their playoff hopes alive.
Owen Tippett opened the scoring, tucking one past Washington rookie goalie Clay Stevenson, who was starting his second game in as many days. Travis Sanheim and Matvei Michkov, who general manager Danny Briere came out to publicly defend after warmups, picked up the assists.
Carl Grundstrom, back in the lineup after missing the last two games, scored a goal in his return. His shot from the circle bounced off the skate of Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun to make it 2-0.
But the game changed during the Flyers’ second attempt on the power play. The Flyers are among the league’s worst on the power play, converting on just 15.9% of their opportunities heading into Tuesday’s game.
Their woes continued in the second period, after Washington’s Aliaksei Protas scored on a shorthanded rush to pull the Caps within 2-1. Things went from bad to worse when Anthony Beauvillier picked up a Dan Vladař rebound and buried it to tie the game at 2-2.
Flyers’ Rasmus Ristolainen (center) celebrates after scoring an empty net goal in the third period on Tuesday.
The Flyers got a third chance at a power play late in the third period, and this time, it was clinical. Drysdale buried a shot from the point 30 seconds into the man-advantage to give the Flyers the 3-2 lead, which was ultimately the game-winner. Ristolainen sealed the win for the Flyers with an empty-net goal, his first of the season.
Breakaways
Garnet Hathaway was a healthy scratch … Travis Konecny played in his 700th NHL game. He ranks 13th among Flyers players all-time in games played for the franchise … A source tells the Inquirer that Ty Murchison is out for the year after undergoing surgery for an upper-body injury, and Alex Bump is expected to return for Lehigh Valley on Feb. 14.
Up Next
The Flyers will play their final game before the Olympic break against the Ottawa Senators (7 p.m. ET, NBCSP) on Thursday.
Sean Couturier hasn’t scored a goal since Dec. 7, a long, 27-game drought. He has only five goals and 21 assists this season, and just five points since the New Year, all assists.
He knows the skidding Flyers are looking for him to contribute more offensively.
“Probably gripping the stick at times when I get really good quality chances, I’m not finishing,” Couturier said. “Definitely need to be better and help out this team more offensively, producing goals. I think I’m still making plays out there. I just need more out of myself.”
Couturier hasn’t been scoring much, but he has been generating chances. According to Natural Stat Trick, Couturier’s expected goals for percentage of 57.08% at five-on-five ranks second on the team, behind rookie Denver Barkey. In other words, the Flyers have been outchancing their opponents with Couturier on the ice.
Part of his issue is luck — his shooting percentage sits at just 5.9%, down from 9.7% last year and well below his career average of 10.7% entering this season. The Flyers have generated 52% of the scoring chances with Couturier on the ice, but have been outscored by 32-28. Coach Rick Tocchet also pointed to Couturier’s movement as part of the reason for his struggles.
“I think with Coots, when he gets it in the offensive zone, especially behind the net, he doesn’t move his feet,” Tocchet said. “… When you move your feet, options open, when you stand still, options close, and that’s really what it comes down to. I think he has a habit of staring his option down. He doesn’t move his feet, and that’s habits.”
Tocchet and Couturier had a long conversation on the ice before practice Monday, and Couturier spent the practice working to implement those changes.
Over the last two games, Tocchet has moved the Flyers captain back down to the fourth line in order to test out Trevor Zegras at center. Moving Couturier down ultimately helped permanently sour his relationship with former coach John Tortorella, but Couturier said his communication with Tocchet has been positive. The two have had a number of conversations about his role and how he can best help the team.
“He’ll get his minutes,” Tocchet said. “I’ve just got to move him around.”
That includes using him on the penalty kill and for key late-game faceoff situations. Against Los Angeles on Saturday, Couturier started the game with Garnet Hathaway and Nic Deslauriers, but in the third was moved up to play shifts on Owen Tippett’s line and Travis Konecny’s line. Couturier ended up with 16 minutes, 29 seconds of ice time, fourth among Flyers forwards.
Flyers center Sean Couturier has played with Garnet Hathaway and Nic Deslauriers the last two games.
For his part, Couturier has been embracing the change as an opportunity to refocus on the fundamentals and get his offensive touch back.
“Getting back to the basics, it’s not a bad thing,” Couturier said. “Playing with [Hathaway] and [Deslauriers], they’re pretty hardworking guys that are structured, and they play hard and win battles. So I try to use that to my advantage and simplify my game.”
Breakaways
Konecny and Sam Ersson were the only Flyers missing from Monday’s skate. Konecny took a maintenance day, while there’s an “outside chance” Ersson could return before the Olympic break. Tocchet said the injury was “not super serious.” … Fellow goalie Aleksei Kolosov was recalled from the AHL. … Konecny was named the NHL’s third star of the week behind Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jared McCann.
The Flyers did not get the memo about the early start on Saturday.
Adrian Kempe and the Kings got out to an early 2-0 lead in the first period with two point-blank goals, and the Kings nearly made it 3-0 just seconds later, until an Andrei Kuzmenko goal got called back for offside.
But from that point on, the Flyers got their legs back. Trevor Zegras brought the team within one on the power play under a minute into the second period, and Travis Konecny tipped in a point shot from Rasmus Ristolainen seconds into the third period to tie the game. But in overtime, Konecny hit the post on a breakaway opportunity against Darcy Kuemper, and then Quinton Byfield and the Kings capitalized shortly after on the other end.
“We made some good plays, had a couple bounces that easily could have went in,” Konecny said. “I’ve got to put it away there in overtime.”
The Flyers may not have left Saturday’s game with two points, continuing their four-game losing skid, but it wasn’t all bad.
After going down 2-0 early, the Flyers killed two consecutive penalties late in the first and then drew a power play of their own, which helped build momentum heading into the second period.
Dan Vladař looking to block a potential shot from the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
“We play the team game,” said Rick Tocchet. “We can’t afford to play our own game. We just can’t. It’s not an individual sport. We have too many guys that — they don’t mean to do it, but they have to understand we have to play a certain way if we’re going to compete. We did in the second or third, and we cleaned stuff up.”
Defenseman Nick Seeler said he didn’t think the overall game plan for LA changed in the second, but the team failed to execute on that game plan in the first.
After the first intermission, he said, the team regrouped.
“Our process was there, and I thought we started forechecking, and their guys got a little tired from the pressure we were putting on them,” Seeler said.
‘Trying to do the right things’
Tocchet said he thinks the team is dealing with nerves, leading to some of the issues early in games. The Flyers also haven’t had as much practice time as Tocchet would like, but they will have multiple opportunities to practice next week before the Olympic break.
But someone who’s helping the Flyers set the emotional and physical tone for each game is Konecny, who scored the game-tying goal and nearly had the game-winner.
“He’s trying to do the right things,” Tocchet said. “He’s getting open, he’s sprinting. He’s getting those goals. That’s what I’m trying to get these guys to understand. Get to those areas quick. There might be some sticks and bodies. You’ve got to get inside. I call it racing to get inside. [Konecny’s] racing to get inside.”
Travis Konecny, (11), and Christian Dvorak, (22), fighting for the puck during the second period against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
After the Flyers’ loss in Boston, Konecny was frank that he’s sick of losing, and just wants to make the playoffs again. Picking up at least one point in the standings Saturday was important, given where the Flyers currently sit with 58 points in the Metro division.
With the top three teams, Carolina, Pittsburgh, and the Islanders, starting to separate themselves a bit from the pack, it’s more important than ever that the young Flyers roster stays composed and mentally prepared to fight for a playoff spot.
“I just don’t want these guys to get bummed out because we lost,” Tocchet said. “We did some good things without the puck, and that’s what we have to do.”
Zegras back at center
Trevor Zegras played his second game in a row at center, playing primarily with Bobby Brink and Matvei Michkov. Playing center, the position he was drafted by Anaheim to play, was always in the Flyers’ plans for Zegras, but as the season has progressed, he was moved back to the wing, and at least in the early goings, he thrived in that role.
“I think we were moving our feet without the puck tonight, which was great,” Zegras said. “I thought [Brink] was awesome away from [the puck], getting over the top of people, and when guys are doing that stuff and you’re getting turnovers, that’s where the skill comes out.”
Early into the second period, Zegras scored his first goal in seven games on the power play on a feed from Brink. The goal was Zegras’ first point since a two-assist night in Utah on Jan. 21.
Trevor Zegras scores the first point for the Flyers during the second period against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
Zegras said the thing he felt most comfortable with from game one to two back at center was his face-offs. He won five of his eight draws on Saturday.
“Face-offs are the big one,” Zegras said. “I wasn’t great in Boston. Obviously, I’ve been talking to [Sean Couturier], because that’s something he’s really good at. It’s something I’m always working on, for sure.”
Konecny pointed to face-offs more generally as a key issue in the Flyers’ slow starts, including on the Kings’ first goal of the game, and in overtime.
“The linesmen, they’re kicking a lot of guys out, and especially like D-zone draws, which are hard, when you’ve got one guy in there and then I lose that one, and then it ends up in the back of the cage,” Konecny said.
Brink, who played primarily with Zegras, ended up taking five draws, losing four of them.
Breakaways
Aleksei Kolosov was recalled from Lehigh Valley and backed up Vladař against the Kings after Samuel Ersson was injured in Thursday’s loss to Boston… Lane Pederson was re-assigned to the AHL.
Up Next
The Flyers return to Xfinity Mobile arena on Tuesday (7 p.m./NBC Sports Philadelphia) to take on the Washington Capitals.
The crowd inside Xfinity Mobile Arena for Philly is Unrivaled already was high-energy. Then Marina Mabrey brought the house down with an Unrivaled-record 47 points in the second game of the doubleheader.
The Belmar, N.J., native plays in Connecticut and has no real connection to Philadelphia, but the crowd went crazy for every three-pointer like she was one of their own.
“I brought my Jersey to Philly, and I hope that you guys enjoyed it,” Mabrey said. “Thank you for welcoming me with open arms.”
Friday’s Unrivaled doubleheader at Xfinity Mobile Arena was the first time the three-on-three league had left its Miami-area home. Unlike the WNBA or NBA, the teams are not tied to a specific city or region. That makes the league a fascinating “social experiment,” TV analyst Renee Montgomery said.
Unrivaled is driven by fans’ love for players and for the game, Rose BC’s Lexie Hull said. A number of the 21,490 fans in the building came in repping their favorite players across the women’s basketball world, with plenty of love for superstar Paige Bueckers and Philly locals Natasha Cloud and Kahleah Copper, or in T-shirts declaring that “Everyone Watches Women’s Sports” or that “Philly is a Women’s Sports Town.”
“Philly is a basketball city,” Montgomery said. “… I think there’s certain cities that lean in and they don’t just halfway do anything, and I feel like Philly is that type of city. They see that Unrivaled chose this place to be the first one, and Philly’s like, ‘Bet, let’s show out.’ That’s what it felt like to me.”
The neutral crowds make Unrivaled a different environment in the pro sports landscape, but neutral didn’t mean there was any less passion.
“One thing I know about Philly is, it’s really passionate about its sports, good and bad, through and through, the City of Brotherly Love,” Bueckers said. “You feel that, and we felt that tonight, just how passionate they were and are about women’s basketball.”
Philadelphia has never been home to a WNBA franchise, and was home to an American Basketball League franchise for just two years before the team folded in 1998. But with an expansion franchise set to come to Philadelphia in 2030, Unrivaled’s sold-out crowd at Xfinity Mobile Arena was just a taste of Philly’s appetite for women’s professional basketball.
Hull said she hoped to see Unrivaled continue to thrive in that niche, serving markets like Philadelphia that don’t have WNBA franchises yet. Unrivaled’s Philly tour stop set the record for most fans at a regular-season professional women’s basketball game, and a building record for Xfinity Mobile Arena.
“With the growth of the sport, there’s just so many people that want to see it live and don’t have the opportunity to fly to a [WNBA] city and watch a game during the season,” Hull said. “This gives them the opportunity to get to watch and grow the game, so it’s awesome.”
Sixers Kyle Lowry, Andre Drummond, Trendon Watford, and Dominick Barlow, and New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu were among the basketball stars in the building.
But of course, one of the most excited fans in the building was South Carolina head coach and local basketball legend Dawn Staley. For Phantom BC’s Aliyah Boston, who played for Staley in college, it was an amazing surprise to see Staley courtside again.
“I was shocked, when I came out, one of our assistants was like, ‘See Coach Staley?’” And I was like, ‘What? What?’ Saw her right over there, gave her a hug.”
Boston said that the two still have a “special relationship,” and she had to go up to Staley at halftime to ask for feedback on her game.
After playing for Staley, Boston said she had an idea of what to expect of playing in Philly, and the intensity and toughness needed for the tight game matched her expectations.
“The biggest thing for her was just that mindset,” Boston said. “She talked about her upbringing and that grind in Philly, and that’s the approach that she wants us to take on the court. Just have that dog mentality. Being able to hear that for four years just continued to shape me into who I am as a player today.”
Friday’s event was a huge head start in showing the players just how good of a women’s basketball market Philly can be. With the record-setting, energetic crowd, the conversation now turns to how to keep the momentum going until the WNBA franchise establishes itself in 2030.
Unrivaled players were excited about the prospect of adding new tour stops and continuing to travel in the seasons to come, and Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell confirmed Friday that the league plans to do more road trips next year.
Could Philly be on that list a second time?
Breeze BC’s Kate Martin, who played for the Golden State Valkyries in their inaugural season last year, shared the advice she’d give to anyone playing for a Philly expansion franchise, after the Valkyries quickly became the most-attended team in the WNBA in their first year.
“When you start to build that sense of community, that people feel more like they have a relationship with you, they want to come, they want to support,” Martin said. “Making the atmosphere fun, making people feel welcome, making people feel excited about basketball.”
Kate Martin, who plays for the Breeze and the WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries, knows a thing or two about building a fan base.
Here are five things to know about the man who will be calling plays for the Birds next year:
He was a quarterback at Oregon State
Mannion played for the Beavers from 2011 to 2014, and still holds 18 Oregon State records, including most passing yards, passing touchdowns, and most completions in school history. He held the record for career passing yards in the Pac-12 with 13,600, until Washington State quarterback Luke Falk passed him in 2017.
After graduating, Mannion was drafted by the Rams in the third round of the 2015 NFL draft.
Sean Mannion played against the Packers before he was a member of their staff.
He’s played in the NFL
Mannion spent nine seasons with three NFL organizations: the Rams, Vikings and Seahawks.
He was a career backup, appearing in 14 NFL games, starting three of them, and throwing for 573 yards with one career touchdown pass (to K.J. Osborn) and three interceptions.
.@KJ_Osborn made sure Sean Mannion got his first TD ball 💜
Following the 2023 season, Mannion retired from playing and secured an interview to join the Bears’ coaching staff. He reached out to Matt LaFleur, who had coached him while he was a player, to ask him for advice on his interview.
“I jumped on a Zoom call with him in the second half and he showed me what he was going to present, and I told him, ‘Wow, that’s pretty good. I think you should come up to Green Bay right when you’re done with that interview,’” LaFleur told ESPN. “And I’m surprised that they let him out of the building. They tried to get him, but I guess we had more to offer. But we’re lucky to have him. I really do think this guy’s going to have a bright future for us and certainly in the coaching profession.”
Mannion was promoted to quarterbacks coach in 2025. Now, in 2026, he’ll be a first-time play-caller at age 33.
Sean Mannion was part of a staff that made consecutive playoff appearances in Green Bay.
His dad also coaches
Mannion’s father, John Mannion, is a longtime high school football coach. He has coached at Mountainside High School in Beaverton, Ore., since 2017, and in 2023 he was honored by the American Football Coaches Association with the Power of Influence Award.
John told ESPN that a 7-year-old Sean came along on a scouting trip to another school, and spent the entire game taking his own notes on a yellow notepad. When he was hired by the Packers, John, who’d kept the notepad ever since, gave it back to him as a gift.
He’s following Andy Reid’s path
The last time the Eagles hired the quarterbacks coach from Green Bay, that man was Andy Reid, who was head coach of the Eagles from 1999-2012. If it worked once…
There were the usual favorites on both sides of the ball — as well as a few new faces — and a grizzled veteran that fans can’t seem to agree on.
Eagles fans want pending free agent linebacker Jaelan Phillips back next season, but they're split over veteran Brandon Graham, who came out of retirement last year.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
The Eagles have long-since been eliminated from Super Bowl contention, after their wild-card round loss to the San Francisco 49ers. But the conversations around what went wrong with the Birds last year are ongoing, as the team continues to search for a new offensive coordinator and prepares for what’s sure to be a busy offseason.
We asked you, our readers, which Eagles you want to see stay or leave the team for next season. Here’s what we found — and how some of those results compared to what beat writer Jeff McLane expects the team to do …
The Eagles’ All-Pro cornerback duo, Quinyon Mitchell (96.4%) and Cooper DeJean (96.1%), graded out the best of any Birds players. But they weren’t alone. Jordan Davis (96.1%) tied DeJean after a breakout year.
The best defense
It’s not just those two. Overall, 19 Eagles earned over 90% stay votes in this year’s poll, despite the early playoff exit — 12 of those players were on defense or special teams, including Zack Baun (95.8%), Jalyx Hunt (95.3%), and more.
On the offensive
There were fewer on offense — seven in total — who received at least 90% stay, including four offensive linemen: Lane Johnson (91.8%), Jordan Mailata (95.9%), Landon Dickerson (93.6%), and Cam Jurgens (91.2%).
Hurts remains popular
Quarterback Jalen Hurts (85.7%), however, was not one of them. That doesn’t mean he’s unpopular — he finished just a few percentage points shy of his Super Bowl MVP season (89.5%), and is not going anywhere.
Brown takes a hit
That’s nothing compared to the dip A.J. Brown (62.3%) saw. The wide receiver came in at 88.8% stay following last year’s Super Bowl run. But after a season wrought with controversy, where Brown looked like he may have taken a step back, fans have soured a bit on Brown.
Tight ends on the move?
Backup tight end Grant Calcaterra (36.8%) fell over 55 points from last season — down from 92.3% stay after 2024 — but fans still love Dallas Goedert (79.4%). However, Jeff McLane thinks both pending free agents will be wearing different colors next year.
Love ’em or hate ’em
Overall, the results on the offensive side paint an interesting picture, with no one player landing in the middle 20%, between 40-60% stay. Fans know what they want.
Special requests
That includes the team’s specialists. An overwhelming majority want punter Braden Mann (94.2%) back next season. The same can’t be said for veteran kicker Jake Elliott (23.2%), who saw the biggest year-over-year drop. McLane thinks the team will agree.
A difference of opinion
Franchise legend Brandon Graham (40.6%) un-retired midway through the 2025 season, and he said after the season that he felt he still had more in the tank. He was one of the most polarizing players in the poll, with a slight majority voting for him to go.
The kids are all right
Howie Roseman also had a good year, according to fans. The Eagles’ rookie class, headlined by Jihaad Campbell (95.6%) and Drew Mukuba (90.3%), graded out well after its first NFL season.
The new guys
The Birds traded for Jaelan Phillips (81.4%) at the trade deadline. While the move didn’t ultimately lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl, the pending free agent quickly became a fan favorite. Running back Tank Bigsby (94.7%) graded even better — and higher than Barkley.
Check out the full results
We’re done breaking it down for you. Let’s put the numbers directly at your fingertips — simply hover over or click on a player on the chart to see not only what percentage of stay votes they received, but also what McLane thinks will happen.
So what does the future hold for these players? The NFL’s new league year begins on March 11 — that’s when teams are permitted to execute trades and begin signing new players. Stay tuned.
Allen Iverson is being criticized for an allegedly disrespectful visit with a children’s cancer charity in Australia, after a viral Reddit post called out the former Sixer for “absolutely disgusting” conduct at the hospital.
Challenge, a Melbourne-based charity supporting children with cancer, has hosted NBA players such as Shaquille O’Neal, Cameron Johnson, Josh Giddey, Seth Curry, and Carmelo Anthony for visits in the past.
Challenge chief executive officer David Rogers told The Inquirer in a statement on Tuesday that Iverson spent almost two hours engaging with media, executives, and high-profile sports figures, but “in stark contrast,” described the Hall of Famer’s conduct with the children and families as “unacceptable.”
Iverson was set to do a 45-minute meet-and-greet with children and families supported by Challenge. Iverson was more than 90 minutes late, and according to the Reddit post, decided not to sign anything or speak to anyone, adding that his security said he was “having a bad day.”
“My little brother who is 12 years old and is currently receiving chemotherapy for ALCL lymphoma, was so excited to meet one of his idols,” the Reddit post reads. “He came out to be extremely disgusted and disappointed in Allen Iversons[’] [behavior], and so were the other [families].”
Iverson took one group photo and then ended the visit. The poster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Challenge was deeply disappointed with the meet and greet involving Allen Iverson,” Rogers said in the statement. “There was nothing further we could have done as an organization to improve the experience and, despite working diligently on the day to manage a challenging and at times disrespectful approach from his management team, we believe Allen Iverson ultimately let down the children and families who came to meet him.”
Iverson and his management team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The incident was one of a number of reportedly bad events on Iverson’s recent tour of Australia. Former NBL player Chris Anstey posted on Instagram that Iverson skipped a scheduled free guest-speaking experience with CreativeCubes.Co in Melbourne, canceling two hours after the event was set to begin.
Another former NBL player, Jason Cadee, said on a podcast that Iverson was invited to HoopsFest in Perth, and he spoke for just a few minutes on stage before skipping his scheduled meet-and-greet.
“Iverson comes across and he speaks,” Cadee said. “He walks in the room and he speaks, he spoke pretty well for about seven minutes or eight minutes, gives the mic up and just leaves, that’s it. Apparently there was supposed to be photos, supposed to be some time to mingle, [but he was] out. That was it.”
