SAN JOSE, Calif. — Sean Mannion once played a pivotal role in the Seattle Seahawks beating the Eagles. But it came as neither player nor coach. It was as a quasi-player-coach — at least that’s how Drew Lock saw the future Eagles offensive coordinator.
In December 2023, Lock started at quarterback for the injured Geno Smith when Seattle hosted the Eagles in a Week 15 matchup. The Seahawks, like the Eagles, were slumping. But the playoffs were still within reach and Lock wanted to atone for the previous week’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers when he tossed two interceptions.
Mannion was the backup, just a chinstrap away from playing himself, but he spent most of the week, and especially game day, preparing the starter for his big moment.
“Me and Sean had to get really close that Eagles week — the week I ended up starting,” Lock said to The Inquirer a week before the Seahawks’ Super Bowl win. “Geno was trying to rehab as much as he could to be able to come back the next week. It was really me and Sean in the quarterback room most of the week.
“But the pep talk he gave me at my locker before we went out there, the stuff he’d say to me on the sideline, it didn’t sound like a fellow quarterback. It sounded like someone who was going to lead men one day. It just sounded different. You could feel it.”
Lock played splendidly despite not knowing what defense he might see after Eagles defensive coordinator Sean Desai’s demotion became public just hours before kickoff. Mannion, who was in his ninth and final season as a player, shifted into the role of coach just a few months before he would officially become one with the Green Bay Packers.
“It was how focused he kept me,” Lock said. “He saw and told me the things that I did well after a drive, or maybe the things I could have done better. I think it was more about delivery than anything.”
Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion played with the Seahawks in his last NFL stop.
Lock was solid throughout the closely contested game, but he delivered in the clutch. With under two minutes left, he guided the Seahawks on a 10-play, 92-yard game-winning drive. All the yards came through the air, with Lock targeting cornerback James Bradberry in coverage, capped by a 29-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
The 33-year-old Mannion, who was hired by the Eagles two weeks ago after a prolonged search, has several ties to the Seahawks. He was coached by both offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko, who along with Lock, became champions after the Seahawks beat the Patriots, 29-13, on Sunday night.
Last week, ahead of Super Bowl LX, they spoke glowingly about Mannion, despite his relative coaching inexperience. Janocko said he had a photographic memory.
“In the quarterback room, going over third downs, prepping for a third down day on Thursday, being able to give him two, maybe three words of a play call, he could spit out the rest after just looking at it that morning,” Lock said. “I don’t know many guys that can do that. It was just extremely impressive.”
With the NFL season officially over, attention and focus over the next two months turns to free agency and the draft. The Las Vegas Raiders are on the clock with the No. 1 pick, with a new head coach in Klint Kubiak and an expected new quarterback next season.
There is much to consider for the teams picking next. The draft is much stronger on the defensive side of the ball in Round 1, and we could see a run on defensive players similar to what we saw in 2024 when the first 14 picks were offensive players.
The Eagles own the No. 23 overall pick, and their offensive philosophy is expected to undergo changes with Sean Mannion at offensive coordinator. Will they give Jalen Hurts more weapons, rebuild their offensive line, or add another defensive star?
Here’s how we’re projecting the first round of the 2026 NFL draft with the order now officially set:
It will be a surprise if the Raiders select someone other than Fernando Mendoza at No. 1.
1. Las Vegas Raiders: Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner, gives the Raiders staff a quarterback to build around as a new era and regime begin in Las Vegas.
2. New York Jets: Arvell Reese, LB/edge, Ohio State
New York has several needs to address and will have multiple first-round picks to do so. Reese is a physical player who has excellent run and chase ability and pass rushing potential, although his best position is linebacker.
Bain is a game-wrecker. Teams may question his arm length, but his impact on the game is felt no matter where he’s aligned. He would give Arizona some much-needed youth on the defensive line and could become a cornerstone piece on its defense.
4. Tennessee Titans: Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State
Quarterback Cam Ward simply needs more weapons as the Robert Saleh era begins in Nashville. Tate is a three-level separator who can be a go-to receiver in a Titans offense that was devoid of a top target last season.
5. New York Giants: Francis Mauigoa, OT/OG, Miami
The right side of the Giants’ offensive line needs upgrades under John Harbaugh, and Mauigoa, the top overall lineman in the draft, can be an immediate starter at guard or tackle.
6. Cleveland Browns: Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State
Cleveland and new coach Todd Monken need plenty of upgrades on offense, but Tyson, a dynamic wideout when healthy, gives whomever plays quarterback next season a top wideout option.
Could Sonny Styles make an impact for a shaky Commanders defense?
7. Washington Commanders: Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State
Adding Styles would massively upgrade a spot that was constantly attacked last year. The “other” Ohio State linebacker is a reliable tackler, explosive athlete, and excels at slipping past blockers to make plays at and behind the line of scrimmage.
8. New Orleans Saints: Makai Lemon, WR, USC
Tyler Shough looked like a long-term quarterback option while closing out the Saints’ season. In Lemon, New Orleans gets a wideout to pair with Chris Olave who can win from multiple alignments and is special with the ball in his hands after the catch.
9. Kansas City Chiefs: Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame
Defensive line could be an alternative priority here for Kansas City, but Love would give this offense a much needed dual talent in the backfield, which has not been the case for most of Patrick Mahomes’ career.
10. Cincinnati Bengals: Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State
Downs is one of the smartest and most instinctual players in the draft, with the versatility to play in the box and manned up on a tight end. He would help raise the floor of Cincinnati’s secondary.
11. Miami Dolphins: Mansoor Delane, DB, LSU
Miami must improve at corner under new coach Jeff Hafley, and Delane helps accomplish that. He’s a smooth cornerback with excellent anticipatory and ball skills who proved he can shut down his side of the field in 2025.
David Bailey was one of college football’s top playmakers last season.
12. Dallas Cowboys: David Bailey, edge, Texas Tech
Bailey is a relentless pass rusher who utilizes his snap count timing and burst to win on the inside and outside shoulders of offensive tackles. He gives Dallas the needed juice they lost after trading Micah Parsons before the start of last season.
13. Los Angeles Rams (via Falcons): Jermod McCoy, DB, Tennessee
McCoy missed all of last season while recovering from a torn ACL suffered in the offseason. When he was healthy at Tennessee in 2024, he was a shutdown corner who got his hands on the football in both man and zone coverages.
14. Baltimore Ravens: Keldric Faulk, edge, Auburn
Faulk is closer to a defensive lineman than an outside linebacker, but he’s an excellent run defender who played a contain style of defense, which limited his pass rushing ability. He would give Baltimore a strong presence on run downs.
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: CJ Allen, LB, Georgia
The Buccaneers were in on Jihaad Campbell last year before taking wide receiver Emeka Egbuka instead in the first round. They won’t ignore the position twice, taking the Georgia linebacker with good instincts and playmaking skills at the second level.
16. New York Jets (via Colts): Caleb Banks, DT, Florida
New York has a big hole in the middle of its defense after trading Quinnen Williams at the deadline last season. Banks, who played in only three games last season because of a foot injury, has game-wrecking ability that the Jets need on their defensive line.
17. Detroit Lions: Spencer Fano, OT/OG, Utah
Detroit must do some reshuffling in its interior offensive line and needs a long-term replacement for Taylor Decker, who turns 33 in August. Fano can fit both roles, although he was primarily a tackle in college.
Former Eagle Isaiah Rodgers played well in 2025 for the Vikings, but the team needs to get younger at the position. Terrell, the younger brother of Falcons defensive back AJ Terrell, excels in zone coverage and has a nose for the football.
19. Carolina Panthers: Peter Woods, DL, Clemson
Derrick Brown continues to be one of the league’s most underappreciated defensive linemen, but Carolina needs another playmaker to pair with him. Woods wasn’t as good in 2025 as he was as a sophomore, but he still showed flashes of dominance as a pass rusher and run defender.
Could new Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker be eyeing Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren (7)?
Another year, another Toledo standout goes in the first round. McNeil-Warren is an outstanding athlete with excellent ball skills who showed he could play a single high safety role.
21. Pittsburgh Steelers: Denzel Boston, WR, Washington
A long-term option at quarterback still looks possible here, but Aaron Rodgers is likely returning next year under new coach Mike McCarthy. Pittsburgh gets a ball winner in Boston, who is tough to defend in the red zone and is a smooth route runner.
22. Los Angeles Chargers: T.J. Parker, edge, Clemson
The Chargers continue to get the most out of Khalil Mack, but their edge rushing corps needs more youth in it. Parker, who recouped his draft stock at the Senior Bowl, is a power rusher who can get after the quarterback off the edge.
Kenyon Sadiq might fill a huge need for a potentially depleted tight end position in Philly.
23. Eagles: Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Oregon
Sadiq has been mentioned as a popular pick possibility for the Eagles, and for good reason. He’s a dynamic athlete who can be a field stretcher and red zone target, and would fit a Mannion scheme that has Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan influences.
The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane reported on his podcast last month that Landon Dickerson returning to the Eagles next season is an uncertainty. While guard would become a top need if Dickerson unexpectedly departs, the depth of the interior offensive line class is much stronger on Days 2 and 3 of the draft.
Lane Johnson’s uncertainty also looms large. But look for the Eagles to give Mannion’s offense a much-needed, dynamic tight end who can also hold his own as a blocker with Dallas Goedert entering free agency.
Cleveland needs to get younger and improve its offensive line at multiple positions, and Proctor, a mauling lineman who can play guard or tackle, helps the Browns improve that area of their team.
25. Chicago Bears: Lee Hunter, DT, Texas Tech
Hunter has been on an upward trajectory since the Big 12 championship game and continues to prove he’s more than just a run stuffer. Chicago needs a dynamic defensive lineman and Hunter brings a three-down presence that is desperately needed.
26. Buffalo Bills: KC Concepcion, WR, Texas A&M
It seems Josh Allen needs more receiving help every year, and 2026 is no different. Concepcion is dynamic with the ball in his hands and would give Buffalo’s offense a much-needed vertical threat.
27. San Francisco 49ers: Caleb Lomu, OT, Utah
Trent Williams is under contract for one more year in San Francisco but is entering the twilight of his career — he turns 38 in July. Lomu, an excellent pass protector with quick feet, gives San Francisco a long-term option at an important tackle spot.
28. Houston Texans: Kayden McDonald, DT, Ohio State
Houston doesn’t have many holes on defense but could use more juice on the interior. McDonald is a run stuffer who has the quickness to shoot gaps on run downs and the power to push the pocket in drop-back scenarios.
29. Rams: Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia
Quarterback was a consideration here even with Matthew Stafford returning for 2026, but Freeling can upgrade either tackle spot for the Rams with his athleticism and experience playing both in college.
Both Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (left) and Josiah Trotter (right) starred as linebackers at St. Joe’s Prep.
30. Denver Broncos: Josiah Trotter, LB, Missouri
Denver’s linebacker situation needs to improve. Trotter, a St. Joseph’s Prep grad and the younger son of longtime Eagle Jeremiah Trotter Sr. and brother of current Eagle Jeremiah Trotter Jr., is a physical, throwback linebacker who can shed blocks and get after the quarterback in blitzing scenarios.
31. New England Patriots: Cashius Howell, edge, Texas A&M
New England is winning with older edge rushers right now but must get younger at the position. Howell is a pass rush specialist who can bend the corner despite having sub-31-inch arms.
32. Seattle Seahawks: Olaivavega Ioane, OL, Penn State
Seattle doesn’t have many needs, but center and right guard are spots that could be upgraded. Ioane is a bruising guard who generates displacement in the running game and is a stout pass protector.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Milton Williams was autographing Super Bowl LIX merchandise about a week after the Eagles routed the Kansas City Chiefs when general manager Howie Roseman sidled up next to him.
Williams had four pressures, two sacks, and a forced fumble as he and his fellow linemen pounded quarterback Patrick Mahomes a year ago in New Orleans. Roseman had come to congratulate the defensive tackle, but also to intimate that the Eagles would not be offering a contract extension to the free-agent-to-be.
“That was when all the players sign the Super Bowl merch,” Williams said to The Inquirer on Wednesday. “[Roseman’s message] was like, ‘Get the most you can.’ Once I heard that — and, meanwhile, I was talking to my agent about the deal — I thought, ‘They’re probably not going to offer.’” (Through an Eagles spokesman, Roseman confirmed that the exchange occurred.)
He was right. Williams said he was crushed. He said he wanted to stay in Philadelphia.
“We had just won a Super Bowl. Of course I didn’t want to leave,” Williams said. “But I got to do what’s best for me. They had their agenda of what they wanted to accomplish, and I wasn’t part of it. So they let me go.”
Williams ultimately signed a four-year, $104 million contract with the New England Patriots — the largest amount given to any free agent last offseason and the most in franchise history. He said he knew it would have been difficult for Roseman to match, but to him, the silence was deafening.
Milton Williams (93) helped terrorize Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX in his final game as an Eagle.
“I wanted to see, like, what the interest was,” Williams said. “I had been there four years, giving all I can, playing hurt, putting my body on the line. It wasn’t business. I wanted to see what they had, but they probably knew I was out of their price range.
“Still, an offer would have [meant] maybe they do want me to come back. No offer is ‘We good.’”
Roseman had difficult decisions to make last offseason, particularly on the defensive line. The Eagles allowed end Josh Sweat and Williams to depart in free agency, with three first-round D-linemen slated for eventual pay increases.
Tackles Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis have yet to sign second contracts, but extensions could come this offseason. The Eagles also had the younger Moro Ojomo, a 2023 seventh-round pick, waiting in the wings.
But for Williams and his father, Milton, Sr., the lack of an offer was a slight.
“What pissed me off [is] they didn’t even offer him, offered nothing,” the elder Williams told The Inquirer. “They didn’t even entertain it. They just straight up told him — Howie Roseman said, ‘Milton, go get the bag, man, because we’re not going to be able to pay you.’
“That’s what he said to my son. … My son — it was like he wanted to cry. He said, ‘Dad, all I do …’ I said, ‘I understand, son. It’s a business. You’ll get yourself something.’”
Milton Williams (93) expected the Eagles to tender him an offer, but the team addressed other priorities.
The younger Williams got plenty. But he desired more than just to increase his bank account balance, his father said. He wanted to be wanted by the organization that drafted him in 2021. Williams felt he never got the opportunity to show his abilities because he always had higher draft picks or high-priced free agents ahead of him.
“They had their agenda. They drafted them boys in the first round and invested a lot of money in them boys,” Williams said. “I was a third-round pick, and they didn’t invest as much in me. That’s what I tell [my teammates], in the NFL it’s all about money. Money makes everything go. That’s how you see who’s going to play and what percentage of snaps.
“It’s all about money, and I wasn’t making that much.”
Williams is making a lot now. At $26 million per year, he’s behind only the Chiefs’ Chris Jones among NFL defensive tackles. The larger salary meant more playing time, but also more responsibility and more pressure.
The 26-year old has met and exceeded those expectations, according to most observers. He was at the center of the Patriots’ remarkable one-year turnaround — led by new coach Mike Vrabel — from basement-dwellers to the cusp of winning a championship.
Williams is one of only three players on the team to have previously won a title and he would become just the fifth player in NFL history to win consecutive crowns with different teams if New England upsets the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday in Super Bowl LX.
“About three weeks ago, Coach Vrabel asked everybody in the organization, ‘Who here was in this situation last year in the playoffs?’” Milton Williams Sr. said. “And my son was the only one to raise his hand in the entire organization — nobody, coaches, staff — nobody else in the playoffs.
“That was powerful right there. And now they’re in the Super Bowl.”
Milton Williams (97) and linebacker Christian Elliss (53) are two former Eagles who have helped turn the Patriots around.
‘He’s a grinder’
Williams admitted that he initially felt some pressure when he inked his deal, which included $51 million guaranteed. But the Patriots had done their homework. Vrabel said he knew a lot about Williams’ character from pre-draft evaluations the Titans did when he was in Tennessee.
“We did a lot of work on him coming out of the draft … and the type of person that he was, and the family that he’s come from,” Vrabel said Monday. “So we knew the person that we were going to get, and we were confident that he was somebody that we were going to add to our roster.”
But it wasn’t until the Patriots actually got Williams in the building that they realized how hard he worked.
“It was most surprising the more I’ve been around him,” defensive line coach Clint McMillan said. “There’s a lot of talented players, but how he’s wired is the thing that I was most excited about. He’s a grinder. He puts his nose down, and he keeps working. He’s never satisfied.”
Williams wasted little time making his presence felt. He had seven pressures in the season opener, according to NextGen Stats, and 32 total through 10 games with a 13% pressure rate that was among the best at his position.
But he suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 11 and missed the next five games. It was first time he had been sidelined by injury in his career. The Patriots suffered as a result, particularly in defending the run. When Williams was in the lineup, they held offenses to just 3.7 yards per carry. When he was out, they allowed an NFL-worst 5.0-yard average.
“It was a big change because a lot of guys [offensive game-planners] were focused on where I was at,” Patriots defensive tackle and Neumann Goretti product Christian Barmore said of Williams’ absence. “But when he came back, it was an epic time because that man right there, he’s a good player. We already knew he brought a spark to our defense.”
He’s elevated his performance in the postseason and had four pressures and two quarterback hits in the AFC championship game vs. the Broncos. He told The Inquirer that he was randomly tested for drugs after the game.
“We don’t do drugs, man,” Milton Williams Sr. said. “We don’t do drugs right here. We work, man.”
Vrabel has used Williams like a chess piece up front, having him swap sides in the interior and even occasionally jump out to the edge. Roseman highlighted Williams’ versatility when he drafted the Louisiana Tech prospect who lit up the NFL combine almost five years ago.
But the majority of his snaps in Philly came at right defensive tackle because Fletcher Cox and Carter preferred to rush primarily from the left. Williams also wasn’t asked to take on a leadership role with the Eagles. He’s had to learn on the job in New England.
“I was never the guy that you would come ask questions,” Williams said. “We had other vets on our team who had done it before. I’m only 26, but I’m one of vets in the room because of my experience playing — it’s crazy.
“I’m just trying to spread the knowledge like some of the vets in Philly did when I was there.”
Williams endured a slow start to Eagles career to eventually become a Super Bowl hero.
‘Make plays on this stage, it’ll change your life’
Williams had some struggles as a rookie, and he and the team faced criticism because he was drafted just one pick after Alim McNeill, a bigger-bodied defensive tackle who became a high-impact rookie with the Detroit Lions. Senior scout Tom Donahoe preferred McNeill, and the Eagles were in position to draft him but traded down from No. 70 to No. 73 in exchange for a sixth-round pick. McNeill went 72nd, and the Eagles took Williams 73rd. Donahoe, who left the team in 2022, was caught by TV cameras begrudgingly shaking Roseman’s hand in the draft room after the pick was made.
Roseman’s projection panned out, and Williams became one of the league’s more explosive interior rushers and a high-motor guy. But he often felt idle.
“He would get frustrated because he was like, ‘Dad, I’m putting in my work,’” Milton Williams Sr. said. “I’ve been at practice before, and I see these guys and they can’t finish a drill and land on their backs or whatnot. And I see that, and he finished the drill and got 15, 20 seconds left still.
“And I said, ‘I understand. But you know what? Whenever you’re on the field, make them call your name. Bottom line.’ That’s our saying right there: ‘If they’re calling your name on the field, that means you’re doing something.’”
But when the Eagles extended their first- and second-round draft picks from 2021 — wide receiver DeVonta Smith and guard Landon Dickerson — after their third seasons, Williams wasn’t next in line. He thought he would be.
“I was waiting. I was in the last year of my deal. I’m like, ‘It’s now or never,’” Williams said. “Every time I step out on the field, if I wanted to be there I was making sure I was making plays. But I was also putting out good tape for a situation like this.
“If they don’t want me to sign [early], I was going to change that, and watch me be a professional and get better every year as a player.”
Milton Williams (93) struggled at times as a rookie but would vindicate the Eagles’ decision to select him in the third round.
Williams said he watched the Eagles regress without him this season. Their issues were many, but mostly on the offensive side. Williams said he kept in touch with various players and coaches and that Brandon Graham recently reached out to tell him he was proud of him.
The Patriots have leaned on Williams’ knowledge of Super Bowl week since he had experienced it twice previously. Vrabel put together a roster of underdogs. Williams may be the highest-paid, but he knows how it feels to be overlooked.
“We got a lot of guys who got released because they thought they weren’t good enough or they wanted to go in another direction,” Williams said. “So they got a lot of stuff in the back of their minds to motivate them and push them. ‘OK, you didn’t think I was good enough? I’ll show you.’ You make plays on this stage, it’ll change your life.
The journey started in Crowley, Texas, about a 20-minute drive south of Fort Worth. At Bicentennial Park, Williams would run hills with his father. He still goes back there to maintain the hunger he first had when he felt disregarded.
“He’s had a chip on his shoulder all his life, from little league on up,” Milton Williams Sr. said. “He’s not the rah-rah type person. He’s just going to put the work in. And now that people are finally seeing what he can do, he’s just working. It ain’t over. They ain’t seen nothing.
The Eagles failed to make it back to the Super Bowl this year, but, as The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane can vouch for during his trip to the Bay Area, the team is still dominating conversations around the league. That’s because in the past week, the Eagles hired a new offensive coordinator, parted ways with a revered assistant, and, much to their relief, got word from their defensive guru that he’ll be returning for another season. Jeff checks in from San Francisco to talk with The Inquirer’s Olivia Reiner, as the two sift through what they’ve been hearing and what fans can expect now that the Eagles’ coaching staff is rounding into form.
00:00 Jeff Stoutland’s exit, and its “messy” handling
14:55 With Stout out, could Lane Johnson be next?
17:11 Why Vic Fangio came back
27:30 Jeff McLane talks with Klint Kubiak about pupil Sean Mannion 30:15 What Jeff and Olivia know about Mannion and his potential impact on the offense, Jalen Hurts
44:40 How the Eagles’ coaching moves reflect on Nick Sirianni
unCovering the Birds is a production of The Philadelphia Inquirer and KYW Newsradio Original Podcasts. Look for new episodes throughout the offseason, including breaking news updates and reactions.
With the release of ESPN’s new 30 for 30 about the Philly Special on Friday night, Doug Pederson is back on the minds of Eagles fans. And that’s not the only reason why. The former Eagles coach was also spotted this week answering fan questions in an unusual way: over the public address system of an airplane.
Pederson talked about seeing Jalen Hurts grow after they drafted him in 2020, despite already having Carson Wentz as their starter. He also offered some advice for new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion.
"You know, we drafted Jalen Hurts for a reason."
They asked Doug Pederson about the new OC hire and he spent 90 seconds waxing poetic about his QB instead. pic.twitter.com/lpgrMOkUOP
“We drafted Jalen Hurts for a reason,” Pederson said over the microphone. “And we saw something in Jalen Hurts that we felt like he was going to be the starter at some point, he was going to be in the franchise at some point. Sooner, obviously, than later. In his defense, I think this is going to be his sixth offensive coordinator in his career.”
A former quarterback and coordinator himself, Pederson said he understands how difficult that can be, and noted that the Eagles have managed to be very successful despite all the turnover.
“That’s hard,” Pederson said. “But yet you look at the success the Eagles have had over the course of, really, since he’s started. They’ve won a Super Bowl, they’ve been in another Super Bowl. They’ve been to many playoff games. They’ve won a ton of football games. And, every year they’ve had a different offensive coordinator.”
Former offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, who was replaced this offseason by Mannion, faced heavy criticism from fans during the 2025 season due to the team’s struggles on offense.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts will have another new offensive coordinator next year.
So Pederson’s advice to the Birds’ new OC? Work with Hurts.
“I don’t know a ton about [Mannion]. I just know he got to come in and he’s got to work with Jalen. He’s got to figure out what Jalen does best,” Pederson said. “Utilize his strengths, utilize the talent on offense get the run game going to where it was a year ago when they won the Super Bowl. If he does that then they’re going to have a lot of success moving forward.”
According to the fan on the flight who posted the viral video on Reddit, Pederson was there as part of a FanDuel Super Bowl event and took part in an interview before answering fan questions — like who he would rather have on his team, Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes. Pederson also gave his prediction for Sunday’s Super Bowl, where he picked the Seattle Seahawks over the New England Patriots.
Pederson has not coached since the 2024 season after he was fired following a three-year stint with the Jaguars. But he’s open to returning — and according to the Redditor on the flight, Pederson said he has some interest in currently open offensive coordinator positions, but that he is also enjoying spending time with his wife.
SAN FRANCISCO — Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald headlined the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class featuring five players but not six-time Super Bowl winning head coach Bill Belichick.
Brees and Fitzgerald both made it in their first year of eligibility in results announced at NFL Honors on Thursday night after prolific careers. Luke Kuechly and Adam Vinatieri made it in their second seasons of eligibility, while Roger Craig was the lone pick among seniors, coaches and contributors.
“One of the coolest moments was getting up on that stage with all the other Hall of Famers,” Fitzgerald said. “That moment kind of crystallized it for me.”
But the class is also noteworthy for Belichick’s absence as at least 11 of the 50 voters opted against giving him a vote despite a career with 333 wins in the regular season and playoffs and the most Super Bowl titles of any head coach. A report last week that Belichick fell short in his first year of eligibility was met with widespread criticism of both the voters and the process for choosing Hall of Famers.
“His stats speak for themselves,” said Vinatieri, who played six years for Belichick.
“I thought he’d have a real good chance to be up there as well. The people who voted made their votes and I think he’ll be up here one day.”
The man who hired Belichick in New England to set the stage for the Patriots dynasty also fell short, with owner Robert Kraft failing to get enough votes.
This is the second straight year with a smaller class after only four people made it last year as new rule changes have made it harder to get into the Hall. There had been at least seven people inducted in the previous 12 classes before last year.
That contributed to the snub for Belichick and Kraft, who were grouped with Craig and two other players — Ken Anderson and L.C. Greenwood — who have been retired for at least 25 seasons. The voters picked three of the five candidates with the highest vote-getter and anyone else above 80% getting the honor.
Craig, who was in his 28th year of eligibility, was the only one of those five to make it. Craig was the first player ever to have 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in the same season, which happened in 1985, and he led the NFL with 2,036 yards from scrimmage in 1988 when he helped San Francisco win the Super Bowl.
Craig also was part of the title-winning teams for the 49ers in the 1984 and 1989 seasons. His 410 yards from scrimmage in those Super Bowl wins are the third-most ever behind Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Franco Harris.
The four modern-era candidates all overlapped for several years, waging many battles against each other.
“Very early on you realized there was something special and unique about these guys,” Brees said.
Vinatieri was one of the most clutch kickers in NFL history, making the game-winning field goals in the first two Super Bowl victories during New England’s dynasty with Belichick and Kraft in charge. He joined Jan Stenerud and Morten Andersen as the only players in the Hall who were primarily kickers in their careers.
Vinatieri helped launch the run with one of the game’s greatest kicks — a 45-yarder in the snow to force overtime in the “Tuck Rule” game against the Raiders in the 2001 divisional round. He made the game-winning kick in OT to win that game and then hit a 48-yarder on the final play of a 20-17 win in the Super Bowl against the Rams.
Vinatieri is the NFL’s career leader in points (2,673) and made field goals (599) over a 24-year career with New England and Indianapolis. He also leads all players with 56 field goals and 238 points in the postseason.
Brees is second all time to Tom Brady with 80,358 yards passing and 571 touchdown passes. He spent the first five seasons of his career with the San Diego Chargers before signing as a free agent with the Saints in 2006, where his career took off as he helped lift a city still recovering from Hurricane Katrina.
Brees delivered to New Orleans its first Super Bowl title following the 2009 season, when he won MVP of the game after beating Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. Brees made the Pro Bowl 13 times in his career, won AP Offensive Player of the Year in 2008 and 2011, was an All-Pro in 2006 and was a second-team All-Pro four times.
Fitzgerald spent his entire career with the Arizona Cardinals after being drafted third overall in 2004. His 1,432 catches and 17,492 yards receiving in 17 seasons rank second all time to Jerry Rice.
Fitzgerald topped 1,000 yards receiving nine times — tied for the fourth-most ever — and helped the Cardinals reach their only Super Bowl following the 2008 season. Fitzgerald set single-season records that postseason with 546 yards receiving and seven TD catches, including a go-ahead 64-yard score with 2:37 to play in the Super Bowl before Pittsburgh rallied for a 27-23 win over Arizona.
Kuechly’s career was brief but impactful. The first-round pick by Carolina in 2012 was an All-Pro five times, with seven Pro Bowl nods and a Defensive Rookie of the Year award. Over his eight-year career, Kuechly led all linebackers in the NFL in tackles (1,090), takeaways (26), interceptions (18) and passes defensed (66).
Voters reduced the list of 15 finalists in the modern era category to 10 and then seven before voting for five to make it. The top three vote-getters and anyone else above 80% got into the Hall.
Offensive linemen Willie Anderson and Marshal Yanda, and edge rusher Terrell Suggs made it to the final seven in the modern-era category and will automatically be finalists again next year.
Ever since that touchdown helped the Eagles beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, it’s fascinated Eagles fans — the lore, the backstory, and, of course, the confetti that followed. There have been T-shirts and murals designed to commemorate the play, food specials named after the moment, and a number of tattoos inspired by the event that now decorate the bodies of Eagles fans from all over.
“I don’t know of any other play that people have tattooed up and down their bodies,” former Eagles center Jason Kelce says in ESPN’s new 30 for 30 documentary about the Birds’ first Super Bowl win. “I was in a stadium in Chicago, and a cook raised his sleeve and had the Philly Special X’s and O’s tattooed on his forearm. This is in the Bears’ stadium.”
Now, fans will get a new look behind the play and the people who made it happen in The Philly Special, which premieres at 9 p.m. Friday. The iconic moment, which helped an underdog Eagles team bring the Lombardi Trophy to the city for the first time in franchise history, is told through the eyes of the five men involved — Kelce, Corey Clement, Trey Burton, Nick Foles, and Doug Pederson.
“My wife and I sat down and watched it, and I’m not going to lie, it brought me to tears,” Pederson, the former Eagles coach, said on 94 WIP on Wednesday, the eighth anniversary of the play. “I really felt like they did an outstanding job to me catching sort of the essence and the spirit of Philadelphia, the city, the fans, the passion.”
Helping bring the city to life during the hourlong documentary was Shannon Furman, who grew up in South Jersey and is based in Marlton. Furman, a Penn State graduate, was one of the film’s directors, along with Angela Zender.
Although the play is central to the film, its story begins much earlier. It briefly follows each of the five central characters’ journeys to Super Bowl LII, from the moment they were drafted (or in some cases weren’t) to the moment the Philly Special was called at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
While taking a trolley ride through town, with stops at various Philly landmarks, Pederson, Foles, Kelce, Clement, and Burton discuss their first impressions of the city, while Kelce also finds a way to take a shot at Dallas in the process.
“When I got drafted, my agent said, ‘You know, Jason, you’re going to love Philadelphia. It’s got a great spirit to it. I think you’ll fit in pretty well,’” Kelce said. “There’s a humbleness to it. There’s a cockiness to it. A city that was born on the back of blue-collar workers and manufacturing. Stetson hat factory. To all you Cowboys fans, you think cowboy hats is a [expletive] Texas thing. That was created in Philadelphia. So, [expletive] you guys.”
Kelce may have received promising advice from his agent, but Foles was issued a stern warning by former Eagles head coach Andy Reid. He remembers a conversation he had with Reid as a rookie, not long after he was selected by the Birds in the third round of the 2012 NFL draft.
Andy Reid and Nick Foles during the 2012 season.
“I had a sit down with Andy Reid,” Foles said. “I remember he asked me poignantly, ‘Do you have faith or believe in anything?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m a Christian.’ He said ‘All right, you’re going to need that, because this city has torn grown men apart.’”
Some of that “tearing grown men apart” happens on the radio. Burton, the former Eagles tight end who threw the touchdown pass on the Philly Special, recognized that early.
“I remember my first day in Philly,” Burton said. “My cousin picked me up, and he had the WIP radio [station] on. I was like, ‘What is this?’ People calling in from all over the place, talking crazy.”
For Clement, meanwhile, it was a dream to sign with his hometown team. The former Eagles running back, who grew up in Glassboro, remembers telling the team he would be at the facility “in an hour.” Pederson also was familiar with the city, having played for the Eagles (1999) and been an assistant (2009 to 2012) before becoming head coach (2016 to 2020).
“The Philadelphia hiring for me was a whirlwind of emotion,” Pederson said. “You’re a little bit scared in a way because it’s such a big step. I played here. You know the city, you know the fan base, you know exactly what you’re getting into. You’re not going to make everybody happy. You just settle in and you realize, ‘Hey, this is what you’ve been preparing yourself for.’”
The Eagles’ 2017 season was a whirlwind. The team got off to a 10-2 start behind Carson Wentz before the second-year quarterback and MVP favorite tore his ACL in the team’s Week 14 win over the Los Angeles Rams. With their Pro Bowl quarterback injured, Foles was forced into action.
During one of the group’s stops, Foles asked Pederson and Kelce what their confidence level was like with him stepping in.
“Season’s done,” Pederson said jokingly. “I started believing the media.”
Kelce interjected: “Me and a few guys that had been there for the Chip [Kelly] years with Nick; felt confident that Nick could play really well. We had seen it before.”
Eagles offensive lineman Lane Johnson dons a dog mask as he walks off the field after the team’s 15-10 divisional round playoff win over the Atlanta Falcons in 2018.
With the loss of Wentz, those outside the organization started to count the Eagles out. And that underdog mentality fueled the Eagles, who had printouts of media rankings hanging all over the facility, including in the bathroom, and donned dog masks throughout the playoffs.
But Kelce, Foles, Clement, and Burton were used to being underdogs. It was part of the documentary Furman wishes she had more time to tell.
“I wish we could have really gotten into everyone’s backstory a little bit more,” Furman said. “Because those five characters are really, like, real underdog stories, which is what the whole film is.”
Clement and Burton were undrafted free agents. Kelce was a walk-on at the University of Cincinnati — and hardly a lock to stick with the Eagles after he was drafted in the sixth round. Pederson, a former backup quarterback, was heavily criticized nationally when the Eagles hired him. And then there’s Foles.
Foles’ NFL journey was difficult. The backup-turned-starter was twice cast off, including by Kelly after his first year with the Eagles, despite the team reaching the playoffs. He played for six teams over his 11-year career. After his first stint with the Eagles, Foles found himself in St. Louis, where he began to question whether he wanted to walk away from the sport before Reid brought him to Kansas City and helped revive his career.
“I just said, I don’t know if I can do it anymore,” Foles said. “Then it came over me, which one am I more afraid of? Am I more afraid to leave the game? No, I’m not afraid. I’m trying to leave the game. I’m afraid to go back to the game. And my spirit was like, ‘Well, that’s what you need to do.’ Ultimately, that equipped me for what was to come.”
What was to come was a battle the film likened to Rocky vs. Apollo Creed or Ivan Drago. Cliche or not, Foles found himself standing in U.S. Bank Stadium below giant banners featuring one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, Tom Brady, and himself in a moment one can’t help but compare to an almost identical scene in Rocky, when the title character finds himself staring up at a giant banner of Creed.
Eagles quarterback Nick Foles and Eagles head coach Doug Pederson during the second quarter at Super Bowl LII, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018.
‘You want Philly Philly’ — or is it dilly dilly?
It’s fourth-and-goal with 38 seconds left to play in the first half of Super Bowl LII and Pederson sent a play to Foles — only it wasn’t the Philly Special. Players looked out of sync, confused. So the coach decided to take a minute to think things over.
“Here we are fourth-and-goal at the 1, and I called a timeout,” Pederson says. “I’m easing back up to [the] coaches box, just looking, just searching for the right play. I’m just searching. I’m listening to the coaches. And I turn my mic off and now I’m talking face-to-face with Nick, and he just walks up and is like, ‘How about Philly Philly?’ My pause was just like ‘That’s it. That’s the play.’
“The coaches heard it, Philly Special, and it was honestly like crickets. I could hear chirping on the headset. Nobody said a word. It was like, ‘Philly Special? In this moment?’”
Once the play was called, everyone involved admitted they had something to be nervous about — except Foles. Clement was worried the snap would go over his head. Burton hadn’t thrown a touchdown pass since high school. And Kelce was worried how he would snap the ball, although he felt like if they could execute, the Patriots “wouldn’t see it coming.”
Meanwhile, Foles was just trying not to smile.
“In my mind, it was just the play that would work,” Foles recalls. “It wasn’t like a play that I thought would be famous. It was like, this will work for [messing up] the Patriots. The one thing I was thinking about when [Pederson] said, ‘Yeah, lets do it,’ when I turned around was don’t smile. Do not smile. Look serious.
“Because I was so excited. I knew it was going to work. That was my one coaching point. Do not smile.”
The only problem, Foles didn’t actually ask for the “Philly Special.” Instead, he asked for “Philly Philly.” And to this day, he still doesn’t know why he called it the Philly Philly. However, the directors had their own conspiracy theory as to why Foles slipped up: the popular Bud Light “dilly dilly” commercials that were being aired at the time.
“Yes, those were on the TV, the ‘dilly dilly’ commercials,” Foles said. “And there is a very good chance that got engrained somehow into my mind. And that’s why people do commercials. Because it somehow, in your subconscious gets ingrained, even if you don’t want it to. That’s probably what it was.
“It was probably me watching the AFC championship game and seeing commercials. I don’t know how Doug knew what I was asking for though. That’s not — he must’ve seen the commercials too. So, that worked on both of us.”
At one point, the film even shows two Super Bowl officials enjoying a “dilly dilly” commercial on the Jumbotron during a break in the game.
That wasn’t the only way the Philly Special snuck into Foles’ subconscious before he asked for it. He also said watching Tom Brady drop a similar pass right in front of him earlier in the game also reminded him that the play was an option.
Throughout the film, there are plenty of Philly fans, notable citizens, and local spots featured — including Reading Terminal Market, Skinny Joey’s, Termini Bros Bakery, Manco and Manco Pizza, and Zahav, where Foles recalls fans serenading him out of the restaurant with E-A-G-L-E-S chants before leaving for the Super Bowl. The group also makes stops at the Philly Special statue outside of Lincoln Financial Field, as well as atop the Art Museum steps, a location Rocky made famous just over 40 years before Kelce’s unforgettable Super Bowl parade speech that captured Philly and its underdog mentality perfectly.
It was important to Furman for this documentary to not only retell an iconic moment in Philly sports history, but to also represent the fandom behind the team.
“They’re just an important part of everything,” Furman said. “Philly fans get a bad rep sometimes. So we’re hoping this film shows where their passion comes from and why this story was so important to them. The first one was a moment Philly fans, some of them, thought they were never going to see it. So that’s why we wanted them to be a big part of the story.”
Sonny Jurgensen, the Hall of Fame quarterback whose strong arm, keen wit and affable personality made him one of the most beloved figures in Washington football history, has died. He was 91.
A Washington Commanders spokesperson confirmed Friday the team learned of Jurgensen’s death that morning from his family.
Jurgensen arrived in Washington in 1964 in a surprise quarterback swap that sent Norm Snead to the Philadelphia Eagles. Over the next 11 seasons, Jurgensen rewrote the team’s record books.
Eagles players (from left) Sonny Jurgensen, Pete Retzlaff, Timmy Brown and Tommy McDonald in 1963.
He topped 3,000 yards in a season five times, including twice with Philadelphia, in an era before rules changes opened up NFL offenses. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and remains the only Washington player to wear the No. 9 jersey in a game.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Mack Hollins stood barefoot on the drab gray carpet at the San Jose Convention Center, surrounded by reporters and cameras, and couldn’t have felt more grounded in the spotlight.
It might have made more sense if the New England Patriots wide receiver was on one of the risers for Super Bowl LX opening night, considering all the attention the eccentric Hollins received. He’s far from a celebrity on a team lacking in stars, but the journeyman can’t help but stand out wherever he goes.
Whether it’s the cartoonish outfits he wears on game days, his stylish hairdos, or his idiosyncratic practices and beliefs — like hardly ever wearing shoes off the field — Hollins makes an impression. On the gridiron, the ninth-year pro continues to make an impact despite never being a top receiver on any of the six teams for which he’s played.
Hollins, who spent his first three seasons with the Eagles, has embraced his singular odyssey in the NFL.
“I’m totally fine with that [journeyman] label, whatever it is, because I chose wherever I went — outside of getting released from Philly and picked up by Miami,” Hollins said two days after opening night from a riser (and barefoot) — at the Santa Clara Marriott. “Every choice after that I got to pick. And I always was able to pick where I saw value and they saw value in me. And I’ve learned over the years that people that value you, don’t go where the money’s the best or you think the opportunity is the best.
“Go where it feels the best. And you only learn what feels the best from trial and error. So, yeah, if I’m a journeyman, so be it. At least I got to do it my way.”
Hollins’ way could include bookending his career with Super Bowl victories. He’s one of three active players on the otherwise youthful Patriots who have previously won a title — cornerback Carlton Davis and former Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams are the others. (Only former Los Angeles Rams receiver Cooper Kupp and linebacker Ernest Jones have rings for the opposing Seattle Seahawks.)
Mack Hollins was a contributor as the Eagles’ fourth receiver in their first Super Bowl title season of 2017.
Hollins won in his rookie season in 2017. He wasn’t targeted as the fourth receiver, but he played 17 snaps and had a few key blocks in the run game as the Eagles beat the Patriots, 41-33, in the Super Bowl LII shootout.
He said he didn’t appreciate how tough it would be to get back to the big game.
“Not at the time. I was like I don’t know why [Tom] Brady is like this big deal,” Hollins said of the seven-time champion quarterback. “It’s not that hard. You just go there. You win three playoff games and you’re like going to get a ring. Literally, did not know it would be eight years before I’d get back to one.”
In that rookie season, Hollins caught 16 passes for 226 yards, including a memorable 64-yard touchdown against Washington on Monday Night Football, and was viewed as a field-stretching prospect. But he suffered a groin injury and surgery sidelined him for all of 2018. He returned the following season, but struggled to return to form.
The Eagles released him in December and the Dolphins claimed him the next day.
“In an ideal world, do I wish I would have had 1,000 yards every year and still be in Philly nine years later?” Hollins said. “Yeah, because then I wouldn’t have had to move my family six times. I didn’t have to like get six new jerseys for my family six times. But it worked out just the way it was supposed to.”
It wasn’t easy. The Dolphins didn’t reach the postseason in any of Hollins’ three seasons in Miami. And he remained a deep reserve at receiver, although he shined on special teams. But signing with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022 altered his career trajectory.
The connection Mack Hollins (10) made with coach Josh McDaniels when arriving to the Raiders would help the receiver down the line.
Hollins flourished in coach Josh McDaniels’ offense and finished behind only All-Pro Davante Adams in receiving with 57 catches for 690 yards and four touchdowns. But he didn’t make the playoffs with the Raiders either, and wasn’t utilized as much when he transitioned to the Atlanta Falcons the next season.
But he became one of Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s more reliable receivers in Buffalo in 2024, and this season — after being reunited with Patriots offensive coordinator McDaniels — he posted numbers (46 catches for 550 yards and two touchdowns) that approached his career highs.
And perhaps more importantly, he helped a young group of receivers adjust to McDaniels’ system.
“Some of the younger guys have gravitated toward him and asked him, ‘How do we do this? How do we do that?’ And he’s been great with that,” receivers coach Todd Downing said. “And just the relationship part — getting to know him on a personal level isn’t very hard. I love his authenticity.”
Rookie Kyle Williams has been one of the receivers Hollins has taken under his wing. He said there’s more to the 32-year-old than meets the eye.
“He’s a little odd in his own way, not in a bad way, but in his own way, which everybody is,” Williams said. “But then you get to start knowing him, having conversations and I’m like, ‘Oh, he’s really cool. He’s chill.’ I can chop it up outside with him.
“He’s just been a great brother, a great vet. And if I have a question on any conspiracy theory that I have, I know it’s one person I can ask.”
Mack Hollins’ quirks have been evident throughout his career, but he’s been a beloved teammate and a productive pro.
Hollins can confabulate with the best of them, whether it’s about regenerative agriculture, or his quest to build the world’s largest aquarium — “Big enough so I can swim in it” — or his penchant for going sans footwear.
“I feel like I’m more connected to the ground. As corny as that sounds, and people are like, ‘Oh, you’re such a hippie,’” Hollins said. “I think the body is developed to connect to a lot of things. The same way you can feel energy when you walk in a room with people or the way you feel about something, you can’t put it into writing, but it’s just a feeling.
“And I feel like when I’m connected to the ground or when I walk outside or I get to be outside, I feel better, I feel more connected to the earth, and I feel like my body is less stressed out.”
Williams said Hollins would play barefoot if permitted. He and other Patriots have occasionally followed in his steps.
“I’ve dibbled and dabbled into it,” Williams said. “I think it’s better at home. I’m not comfortable letting my dogs out around 100-some eyes. But when I’m at home, I can walk around and do it faithfully.”
Some Eagles fans might have known about Hollins’ pet snakes or exotic fish, but their exposure to him was limited. He may be most remembered in Philly for his celebration after that long touchdown vs. Washington in 2017 when he did the then-famous “Floss” dance.
“I still have the dance,” Hollins said. “Every once in a while when somebody needs it, I can pull it out. The backpack Mack never died. He’s just over to the side.”
Mack Hollins (13) has been a key part of a historic turnaround in New England this season.
Hollins is perhaps the NFL’s best embodiment of Walt Whitman’s famous line from “Song of Myself”: I am large, I contain multitudes.
“I think people sometimes will look away from what life is supposed to be because they’re chasing something that isn’t realistic,” Hollins said. “They see the end result. A bodybuilder goes on stage, you see him, you’re like, ‘Oh my goodness. Look at that. Look how strong he is, how his body is sculpted.’ But they skip all the pain he went through to tear his muscles apart and rebuild them.
“Life is simple. It just takes heart to get what you want.”
Mike Cordisco is not the first person to compare football to religion, but he might be the first person to spend years photographing Eagles tailgates to make the comparison clearer.
Cordisco’s newest project, Sermon on the Lot, is a 98-page book that compiles photos the Cherry Hill native took at Eagles tailgates between 2018 and 2025.
The goal of the project, Cordisco said, was to push past the typical rowdy image of Eagles fans before a game and show their passion as a kind of religious fervor.
Beyond the project’s title, the book itself is designed to look like something one might find in a church pew, with silver embossing on the front and a midnight green ribbon bookmark.
It also features a sermon written by Philadelphia journalist Dan McQuade, who died last week at 43.
Select photos from Sermon on the Lot will be on display at Unique Photo in Center City. Cordisco, 34, is hosting a gallery opening on Friday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and says it will remain in place until mid-March.
Cordisco’s origin story in becoming a photographer is simple. He bought his first camera in 2016 to document his trips to baseball stadiums. It was around the same time he moved within Philadelphia’s city limits for the first time.
Baseball is Cordisco’s “true passion.” He played high school baseball at Cherry Hill West and spent one season on the club team at Rutgers-New Brunswick, where he attended college. He spent a few years working for minor league clubs, working game day operations for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs and selling tickets for the Frisco RoughRiders.
After three years in Texas with the RoughRiders, Cordisco moved to the Bella Vista neighborhood of Philadelphia and got a job as a database administrator with Better Tomorrows, a Camden-based nonprofit.
Cordisco was still making frequent trips to MLB stadiums in an effort to see them all, but grew frustrated with trying to document them on his cell phone camera.
“I was straining, lying on the ground, straining on railings to get these perfect shots on my iPhone,” Cordisco said. “And I was like, ‘You know what, why don’t I just get a camera?’”
Cordisco’s love for photography grew, and eventually he became interested in not just documenting moments, but telling stories with his lens. He collected his baseball photography into a project titled If They Don’t Win It’s a Shame, which “exposes American culture and society within the confines of its national pastime,” according to Cordisco’s website.
“It’s a way to tell all these stories and use my experience in the field, [to] visually tell these stories that I’m interested in,” Cordisco said.
Once Cordisco started to take photography more seriously, he knew he wanted to put together a project that would capture Philadelphia, which he considers to be “the one identifiable U.S. city.”
The city’s sports teams seemed like a natural place to begin framing Philly’s identity. Cordisco did not have personal allegiances to the Philadelphia teams, as his family had roots in New York, but he knew how much Philly cared about its teams from growing up in its suburbs. He began to shoot the places where he saw the city and its teams entwined.
“I was photographing diners that might have Eagles merch in the windows and people’s Phillies and Eagles bumper stickers,” Cordisco said.
He also began photographing the occasional Eagles tailgate. He became captivated by the community that surrounded Lincoln Financial Field on Sundays. By 2022, he had narrowed the project down to focus on tailgating.
A photo of Eagles fans tailgating from Mike Cordisco’s photo project, “Sermon on the Lot.”
“Through the middle of this season, I went to every single one,” Cordisco said. “It was just, for me, the best way to really show and visualize Philly culture.”
Those photos became Sermon on the Lot. Cordisco chose to drape the project in religious metaphors to frame football, and particularly Eagles fandom, as a religion — one with its own set of rituals, traditions, and ways of worship.
“On Sundays, you go to Mass,” Cordisco said. “But in Philly, you go to the parking lot and tailgate an Eagles game.”
Even though the scope of the project changed from its initial aim to portray Philadelphia, Cordisco still feels the city’s identity lies within Sermon on the Lot.
“There’s no way it can’t come through,” Cordisco said. “I think my photos and the work definitely still show that classic grit and character that Philly is known for in the images … It’s still there, even if it’s maybe a layer or two deeper in the work.”
Dan McQuade, seen here in a Daily News photo from 2014, died on Jan. 28, of neuroendocrine cancer, one day after his 43rd birthday.
McQuade’s missive
Cordisco was seeking a Philadelphia writer to pen a foreword for his book. He was a frequent reader of McQuade’s work, so Cordisco sent McQuade a cold email in September to see if he would be interested writing something for the project.
“There was nobody else who could have written that,” Cordisco said. “He had no idea who I was, I just e-mailed him one day and he got back to me and said that he would love to do it.”
To fit the project’s religious theming, McQuade’s foreword takes the form of a sermon. It is about the two men who showed up to former Eagles owner Leonard Tose’s house after news broke that Tose had agreed to sell a portion of the team and move it to Phoenix in 1984.
The two men, Barry Martin and Robert Vandetty, left Tose a note asking the owner to reconsider, as McQuade detailed in a 2023 story for Defector. Martin and Vandetty’s note closed with a simple phrase: “Go Birds — Philadelphia Birds.”
“‘Go Birds’ is your greeting, your mantra, your rallying cry,” an excerpt of McQuade’s sermon reads. “The Eagles trademarked it, but it does not belong to them. It is yours. Think of Barry and Rob. They risked arrest to say ‘Go Birds.’ When you go forth today, I beseech you to say it too.“
Cordisco said McQuade went “above and beyond” in his involvement with the project, offering ideas on how to display the work at the Unique Photo gallery showing. McQuade’s words will hang alongside Cordisco’s photos on the walls of the Center City photo store.
Cordisco started Sermon on the Mount more interested in how the Eagles reflected Philadelphia than the team itself. But now, thanks to the community he found in the parking lots, he considers himself a Birds convert.
“I went out to the tailgates and just saw how much it truly meant to people,” Cordisco said. “Not even just the wins and losses, but just being there. I talked to people that have been tailgating in the same RV for 40 years now, and they would tell me all these stories about how they raised their kids at the tailgates.
“Making that connection with so many people only strengthened my fandom of the Eagles.”
