Sean Mannion, the Eagles’ new offensive coordinator, is 33 years old, has been a coach — not just an NFL coach, but a coach of any kind — for only two years, and reportedly will call plays next season even though he has never called plays before. If it sounds like the Eagles have entered uncharted territory here, if it seems they’ve brought on board a neophyte who’s too green to succeed in such an important role at such an important moment for the team, rest easy. Mannion’s youth and inexperience are nothing compared to the first OC the Eagles hired during Jeffrey Lurie’s ownership tenure.
Because that guy, in his first week in town, tried to buy a beer one night at a hotel bar. And got carded.
“I said, ‘Huh?’” Jon Gruden told the Daily News in February 1995. “I know I look young, but that young?”
Gruden was 31 when Ray Rhodes picked him to oversee and orchestrate the Eagles’ offense. The two of them had worked together in Green Bay, and though Gruden had coached in the NFL for four years — twice as long as Mannion has — he had never been a coordinator or called any plays with the Packers. Plus, Gruden was right. With his boyish face and while wearing his ever-present backward visor at practice, he looked like he might still be in college. He was younger than some of the Eagles’ offensive players, including two starting linemen — center Raleigh McKenzie and guard Guy McIntyre — and quarterback Randall Cunningham.
— Mike Lipinski | @SportsTalkPHL (@themikelipinski) January 30, 2026
“Age is not the issue,” Gruden said back in ‘95. “The issue is, ‘Can you do the job?’ … I’m not one of these guru kinds of guys who thinks he has all the answers. I’m just a guy who tried to learn as much football as he could in hopes that someday I’d get a chance to use it. And this is my shot.”
Mannion is in a similar situation — a better one, in fact. The notion that he is stepping out from under the safe cover of being the Packers’ quarterbacks coach into the tropical storm of serving as the Eagles’ OC has some truth to it, sure. The pressure that Mannion will feel from Lurie and Howie Roseman will equal or exceed any that the Eagles’ fan base might apply. But he is still accepting a plum job with an organization that won a Super Bowl last year and is coming off a season that was a disappointment by the standard that the Eagles have established for themselves.
They won 11 games. They finished first in their division. They have talent to spare on offense. “If I’m an offensive play-caller,” Fox analyst and former Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen said recently on the New Heights podcast, “I’m doing everything in my power to get that job.” This ain’t a bad gig.
Gruden’s was, or at least it wasn’t as good as Mannion’s. And it’s worthwhile to remind those Eagles fans and observers who either have forgotten or never bothered to familiarize themselves with the team’s history that yes, a relatively lengthy search for a new coordinator is not exactly a new low point for the franchise.
New owner Jeffrey Lurie (left) and coach Ray Rhodes were viewed with skepticism, and not just in their OC hire.
When Gruden was hired, Lurie had assumed control of the Eagles just eight months earlier. Rhodes not only had never been a head coach before, but he was the team’s first Black head coach, a distinction that in 1995 presented its own fierce set of pressures, expectations, and obstacles. The Eagles had not reached the Super Bowl in 14 years and had not yet won one. Veterans Stadium was decrepit, a dangerous place to play for its treacherous artificial turf, a horrible work environment for any coaching staff.
Cunningham’s skill set was not a fit for Gruden’s version of the West Coast Offense — a system based on three-step drops, perfect timing, and precision accuracy on short and intermediate passes — so backup Rodney Peete eventually replaced him as the starter. And still the Eagles went 10-6 in each of Gruden’s first two seasons as their OC, and in ‘96, they ranked fourth in the league in total offense and in passing yards, with Ty Detmer and Peete as their QBs. If Mannion can come close to matching that measure of productivity — even with Jalen Hurts, with Saquon Barkley, with DeVonta Smith, with (presumably) A.J. Brown — he’ll be doing just fine.
After a nine-year NFL career as a backup quarterback, Mannion was hired as a coach by the Packers in 2023. Mannion was promoted to quarterbacks coach in 2025 after first serving as an offensive assistant under head coach Matt LaFleur. This past year, he was credited for further developing Packers starter Jordan Love and backup Malik Willis.
Mannion was not widely seen as a contender for the position when the Eagles first launched their search. With the Eagles losing out on more experienced choices like Brian Daboll, Mike McDaniel, and Philadelphia native Kevin Stefanski, Mannion was a part of the second crop of possible candidates.
After Thursday’s surprise hiring, former players and national media members have made their positions clear on Mannion joining the Eagles staff. Reactions to Mannion taking over as the team’s play-caller have been varied, but one theme seems to be consistent through them all: it is a job that comes with a lot of pressure.
Here’s what they’re saying …
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith rips hiring, citing struggles of other past ‘inexperienced’ coordinators
On First Take, Stephen A. Smith congratulated Mannion on his new job before ripping into the Eagles’ decision to hire him. Smith likened Mannion to recent failed Eagles coordinators Brian Johnson and Patullo, who also lacked national recognition (and play-calling experience) when hired.
“It’s not that [Mannion] doesn’t deserve this opportunity. The issue is not him, it’s the Eagles,” said Smith. “They have fired the last two people they plucked from nowhere to be first-year offensive coordinators. You’re looking at Brian Johnson in 2023, fired after his first season. … Kevin Patullo is fired in his first season.
“Two of your three coordinators [were] guys you plucked from relative obscurity that didn’t really have that much experience … I’m like, if you’re the Philadelphia Eagles, why would you do that? Why is that the way to go?”
"First of all, congratulations. … It's not because of anything pertaining to his ability. … The issue is not him, it's the Eagles. They have fired the last two people they have plucked from nowhere to be first-year offensive coordinators."
Smith also felt that Mannion’s inexperience could lead him to be the first person blamed if team tensions start to flare.
“A guy comes in there, and he’s relatively inexperienced, the second things go awry, especially if you keep A.J. Brown there, it’s going to be an immediate reason to be skeptical about how this season is going to go,” said Smith. “That’s the kind of thing that caused the Eagles problems in the past, and I don’t know why they would put themselves in a position for that to be a problem again.”
Chris Long rooting for his ‘old teammate,’ even if he’s playing ‘Russian Roulette’
Former Eagles defensive end and Super Bowl LII champion Chris Long was recording his Green Light podcast when the news of Mannion’s hiring became public.
“Sean Mannion — my old teammate?” Long said, sharing his instant reaction. “Great dude. [Expletive] great teammate”
Mannion was drafted to the St. Louis Rams in 2015, where he shared a lone season with Long before the defensive end signed with the New England Patriots. That same year, Mannion was the third-string quarterback behind Case Keenum and Eagles legend Nick Foles.
Sean Mannion, 33, will be the Eagles’ youngest offensive coordinator since 31-year-old Jon Gruden in 1995.
Long will root for Mannion, but he is still not convinced being the offensive coordinator in Philadelphia is a safe bet. If he was in Mannion’s position, he would have been gunning for the Denver Broncos’ vacant offensive coordinator job instead.
“In Philly, it feels like the trend is that you either get a great job [after], or it’s like a career suicide type [of] deal to be an OC. It’s Russian Roulette being an OC in Philly over the last five years,” said Long. “Denver seems safer, but if you’re 33 and you have a chance to be an OC in the NFL, I’m not going to stop you from taking the [expletive] job.”
FS1’s Colin Cowherd says Birds fan will know if the Eagles ‘whiffed’ again by Thanksgiving
FS1 host Colin Cowherd, who is no stranger to making analogies, likened Mannion’s hiring to that of any young person getting their first job out of college. Like any new hire, according to Cowherd’s comparison, one factor will determine if Mannion will succeed.
“I am always rooting for people that go into jobs where you’re like, I’m not sure they’re ready,” Cowherd said. “It’ll all come down to this: How smart is he? Smart people learn stuff faster. … Philadelphia’s whiffed on some coordinator hires. They’ve hit on some coordinator hires. You’ll know by Thanksgiving.”
Although Mannion never coached under Rams head coach Sean McVay, he did play under the offensive guru for two seasons in 2017 and 2018. At the time, Mannion was the backup to quarterback Jared Goff. Because of this, Cowherd sees Mannion as an extension of McVay’s prominent coaching tree.
Cowherd is not ready to call him the next McVay yet, though.
“I don’t expect him to be great in, you know, he’s not Sean McVay. He worked next to Sean McVay. He is not Sean McVay. We just don’t know. … He could be brilliant. Sean McVay — he’s really become one of the coaching tree guys of note in this league, and some of them have worked, and Raheem Morris in Atlanta didn’t work. So who knows?”
Cowherd went on to echo similar comments to Long, calling Philadelphia “the toughest coordinator job in the entire league” due to the high level of scrutiny around it.
Banged up offensive line? Underperforming star skill players? A quarterback who failed to lift his team? The 2025 edition of the Philadelphia Eagles checked all those boxes on offense. Sure, you could make a scapegoat out of the first-time offensive coordinator, but placing the blame squarely at the feet of Kevin Patullo would misrepresent the extent of the Eagles’ problems.
The Athletic’s Michael Silver recently wrote an article about the Eagles’ offensive woes, and, in a conversation with The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane, framed these issues in the context of the franchise’s ongoing search for Patullo’s replacement.
00:00 Why is the Eagles’ offensive coordinator search taking so long?
13:27 Factors that prompted Mike McDaniel and Brian Daboll to pass on Eagles
19:00 The Jalen Hurts effect
28:45 The national media perspective on Hurts
32:37 Could Jeff Stoutland’s responsibilities be changing?
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.
And here’s a link to Mike Silver’s article: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6976115/2026/01/16/eagles-offense-jalen-hurts-nick-sirianni-aj-brown/
A new docuseries will provide an in-depth look at the history of Black quarterbacks in the NFL. With a history that spans John Walton, Randall Cunningham and Jalen Hurts, the Eagles will likely play a starring role.
The first episode of Peacock’s four-part docuseries, Field Generals: History of the Black Quarterback, will premiere on Feb. 5. The remaining episodes of the series, which was executive produced by NBC Sports’ Maria Taylor, will be released on the following Thursdays and close on Feb. 26.
Field Generals: History of the Black Quarterback will document the stories of the league’s pioneering signal callers. It will focus on how race, politics, and culture shaped their playing careers from the AFL-NFL merger to the turn of the 21st century.
The show will feature interviews with Cunningham, Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick, and Rodney Peete, who all played quarterback for the Eagles. Cunningham, the first Black quarterback to be a starter for the Eagles, enjoyed a 10-year career after joining the team as a rookie in 1985. Peete, McNabb, Vick, and Hurts followed Cunningham for the Eagles.
The series also will feature interviews with non-Eagles, including James Harris, the first Black quarterback to start a playoff game; Warren Moon, the first Black quarterback to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame; and Doug Williams, the first Black quarterback to both start and win a Super Bowl.
“This is truly a brotherhood,” Vick said in the trailer for Field Generals.
Prime Video released a three-part series in 2024 titled Evolution of the Black Quarterback, the first episode of which featured a conversation between Vick and Hurts.
“I do know that the city of Philadelphia is receptive to any quarterback, Black or white, as long as you’re winning,” Vick told The Inquirer in 2024. “Fortunately, we had some great ones, myself, Donovan, Rodney, Randall … I feel like the evolution of the Black quarterback started in Philadelphia.”
Hurts is not listed as an interview subject in Peacock’s announcement of Field Generals. The only active player included is Lamar Jackson, one of two Black quarterbacks to win the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award twice.
The other is Patrick Mahomes, who started Super Bowl LIX opposite Hurts. The Eagles’ 40-22 win over the Chiefs was the first time in NFL history two Black quarterbacks started in the Super Bowl.
A record-setting 16 Black quarterbacks started their team’s opening game in 2025. For the first time in the history of the NFL, exactly half its teams had Black starting quarterbacks.
The previous record was set in 2024, when Hurts and Mahomes were among 15 Black quarterbacks to start under center in Week 1.
“As we celebrate the rich history and all the great ones that come before me, you realize how monumental it is for the furtherance of the game and the position,” Hurts said after a screening of Evolution of the Black Quarterback in 2024. “I know this [year] is the record for Black quarterbacks starting in the NFL, and that’s something to be noted because it’s come a long way.”
The Eagles are hiring former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard to the role of pass game coordinator, a source said. Grizzard, 35, was in the mix for Mannion’s job and had multiple interviews with the Eagles for the offensive coordinator role.
Grizzard was the offensive coordinator and called plays for one season after joining the Bucs in 2024 as a pass game coordinator. Before Tampa Bay, he worked with Mike McDaniel in Miami and was with the Dolphins under Adam Gase, too.
Grizzard has been a fast riser, though not quite as fast as Mannion. He played at Yale and was a student coach there, too. He was hired to David Cutcliffe’s staff at Duke as a 23-year-old and was there for four seasons as a graduate assistant and then a quality control coach before leaving for the NFL.
This past season was Grizzard’s first calling plays full-time, and he oversaw a steep drop-off in Tampa after former coordinator Liam Coen departed for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Bucs, however, dealt with multiple key injuries. Grizzard was in charge of third-down play calling in 2024 as the pass game coordinator. That season, the Bucs led the NFL in third-down conversion rate (51.1%).
Nick Sirianni said the Eagles’ goal during this search was to make sure the offense continued to “evolve.” They have now hired two outside voices to key positions.
It’s unclear what Grizzard’s hire means for Parks Frazier, who was the pass game coordinator under Kevin Patullo. More changes could be coming to the staff as the Eagles try to revamp their offense.
Staff writer Jeff McLane contributed reporting to this story.
Gumienny, who grew up in Port Richmond cheering on the Polish American String Band and has been the chief operating officer for the Eagles since 2023, called Sam Regalbuto, president of the String Band Association, on New Year’s Day to see if a makeup event would be possible. It would, but the string bands needed an outdoor venue to host their competition.
“I was like, ‘Wow, we have probably the biggest and most well-known outside venue in Philadelphia,” Gumienny said.
Gumienny and the Eagles were able to offer Lincoln Financial Field to host the 2026 String Band Spectacular. The event, which is open to the public, will begin at 2 p.m. at the Linc on Saturday.
Julianna Bonilla (middle) and Stanley Wells (right) kiss after being officially married by Hegeman String Band captain Kelliann Gallagher (left) during this year’s Mummers Parade.
The show will give the string bands an opportunity to perform their four-and-a-half minute shows in front of judges and compete.
“They’ve been preparing all year,” Gumienny said. “They prepare 12 months to perform this on New Year’s Day. It’s a Philadelphia tradition. So we try to make sure that they can take everything that they’ve practiced all year and show off.”
When Gumienny let the Eagles’ neighbors in the South Philly sports complex know that the Linc would be hosting the string bands, the other teams were eager to help. The Phillies, Flyers, and Sixers all made financial contributions to help stage Saturday’s show, and the Union chipped in from Chester to help cover some costs.
“The other sports teams were like, ‘How can we contribute? How can we be a part of it?’” Gumienny said. “There are costs associated, obviously, with doing this. … A lot of people don’t understand all the costs that go on behind the scenes. And, obviously, the string bands [are] on, call it a tight budget. So we wanted to do whatever we can.”
The bands will perform on a stage on the Eagles sideline. The string bands will play toward the crowd, which will be seated in the lower level on the western side of the stadium. Gumienny said he’s estimating between 8,000 and 10,000 spectators will come to the Linc for the showcase, despite the cold weather in the forecast.
However, one of the 14 bands, Avalon String Band, said it is withdrawing from the event due to the weather. It is unclear if others will join them.
“With extreme cold predicted for this weekend, our top priority is the health and safety of our members, and the forecasted conditions may put them at risk,” the band posted on Facebook.
“I think it just highlights Philadelphia,” Gumienny said. “The spirit of Philadelphia, the pride of Philadelphia, the passion … The pride and passion of Philadelphia always shines, and I think things like the Eagles, our local sports teams, are always highlighted in this. And then, obviously, things like the Mummers parade that really coincide with what Philadelphia is.”
Former Eagles center Jason Kelce pauses during his colorful Super Bowl parade speech on the Art Museum steps while dressed in Mummers attire.
While all 14 string bands were able to march during the parade on New Year’s Day, the weather forced them to abandon their planned routines, and sent five people to the hospital. The postponement was the first in the parade’s 125-year history. Saturday’s event will give the bands an opportunity to show off their originally planned routines, which take months of planning and preparation.
“I’ve had a member of the Quaker City String Band reach out and just say, ‘Look, thank you so much, we put a lot of hard work in to do this, and to be able to showcase it at the stadium is awesome,’” Gumienny said. “It’s been super positive, and they’ve been super appreciative and such a good partner to work with. For us and our staff, we get to do something a little bit new and unique to us. But anything that shows off Philadelphia and shows off the stadium, we love it.”
For Gumienny, the chance to host the string bands is personal, too. In addition to his fond childhood memories of enjoying Port Richmond’s Polish American String Band, his late father-in-law was a captain of the Harrowgate String Band.
“Back as a little kid, I used to remember either going down to the parade or watching it on TV,” Gumienny said. “It doesn’t get much more Philly than the Mummers.”
Spectators looking to attend the String Band Spectacular can purchase general admission tickets through Ticketmaster. The event will be broadcast by WFMZ-TV, the same channel that broadcasts the parade on New Year’s Day.
Sean Mannion, for all intents and purposes, is an unknown. The Eagles’ new offensive coordinator has been a coach for just two seasons. The 33-year-old has never devised or implemented a scheme. He’s never authored a game plan. And he’s never called plays.
He could end up the next Bill Walsh or the next Tom Walsh. More than likely the former backup quarterback will end up somewhere between those polar extremes when it comes to offensive minds of the last four decades. But it’s nearly impossible to assess with any certainty how the neophyte will fare in Philadelphia.
The hire says more about Nick Sirianni’s future than it does about almost anything related to Mannion or the Eagles offense. Whether he made the ultimate decision or not, the coach will have to take ownership for selecting one of the least experienced coordinators in the NFL, if not the least experienced.
Sean Mannion will have a major challenge as he sorts out the Eagles’ offensive issues.
Sirianni could be rewarded with immediate success. The Eagles could even have marginal offensive improvement that would allow Sirianni to maintain Mannion for more than one season. But if there is further regression, or even sudden failure, the gamble could push Sirianni into a firing line that saw nine coaches lose their jobs over the past several months.
And here’s why: The line between success and failure for Sirianni is thinner than for most because he doesn’t have a discernible offensive philosophy or calls plays. He does a lot as a CEO-type coach, more than some on the outside are willing to concede.
But winning here is suddenly not like winning at most places. Sirianni helped raise those expectations. But clearing that bar or falling short of it would both seemingly have him back where he’s been four times before: having to replace an offensive coordinator.
Shane Steichen and Kellen Moore became head coaches, while Brian Johnson and Kevin Patullo ended up either fired or demoted. That disparity explains varying perceptions of the job, but ultimately Sirianni chose a candidate who didn’t interview for any of the other 14 coordinator openings.
That doesn’t mean the Eagles didn’t find a diamond. Mannion played under some of the brightest offensive minds in the game today. He rose to quarterbacks coach in Green Bay in just his second season and became an assistant the Packers didn’t want to lose.
“He’s seen as a climber,” said an agent who represents coaches, “and Nick might have gotten in on the ground floor.”
But the Eagles are again making a projection — one even bigger than those they made with first-time play callers Johnson and Patullo.
Former Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel (left) and former Giants coach Brian Daboll became offensive coordinators elsewhere.
They opened their search with former head coaches Mike McDaniel and Brian Daboll at the top of their list, sources said. That doesn’t mean the Eagles were ready with offers. They had an informal conversation with McDaniel over a video call and met in person with Daboll for a more formal interview.
McDaniel and Daboll eventually took coordinator jobs with the Los Angeles Chargers and Tennessee Titans, respectively. The Eagles interviewed others around the same time, but the search expanded and included more than a dozen coaches interviewed and others in which some form of contact was made.
Some made it clear they wanted to pursue other opportunities. Some declined to be interviewed and opted to stay in their current positions. And some the Eagles deemed not the right fit. Aside from Mannion, Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, former Tampa Bay Bucs offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, and Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson met with the Eagles for a second time. A source told The Inquirer on Friday that Grizzard will join the Eagles as the team’s new pass game coordinator.
“Some came with years of experience running an offense and calling plays. Others were young, sharp, and dynamic coaches on the rise,” Sirianni said in a statement. “I felt it was important to be patient and thorough to allow the right fit to reveal himself to us. Sean did just that.”
Sirianni led the process, as he should. But general manager Howie Roseman was heavily involved. And owner Jeffrey Lurie, despite maintaining his winter residence in Florida, was conferenced into the interviews.
The Eagles will say that Sirianni made the final call, but recent history shows Lurie has asserted himself or Roseman’s connections when he has deemed it necessary. The Eagles’ track record in plucking head coaches from relative anonymity — e.g. Andy Reid, Doug Pederson, and Sirianni — is strong.
Sirianni did well with his first coordinator hires: Steichen, who had prior experience, and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who did not. He struck out with their replacements: Johnson and Sean Desai.
How much input did Jeffrey Lurie (left) and Howie Roseman have into the Sean Mannion hire? That answer could inform what happens after 2026.
Moore and Vic Fangio have been viewed as Lurie-Roseman-led correctives, and understandably so. The owner and GM interviewed Moore for the head coaching job in 2021, and Roseman made the initial calls to Fangio when the Eagles first tried to hire him in 2023 and when they finally did a year later.
They don’t have an obvious link to Mannion. Sirianni may have been permitted to make the decision all on his own. He did win a Super Bowl just a year ago, and earned a contract extension as a result. Lurie and Roseman may also be giving him all the rope he needs.
There are many unknowns at this stage, beyond Mannion’s qualifications. He will call plays, a source said. But will he have autonomy over the offense or will Sirianni oversee the operation? Will the scheme and terminology be his or will there be a meshing?
The Eagles aren’t planning to hold a news conference. Sirianni’s next media availability will probably be at the NFL scouting combine next month. Mannion will be shielded until the spring. They likely see little reason to divulge their plans unless required.
There’s also a lot to figure out. Beyond the Xs and Os, there’s the coaching staff and the roster. The Eagles do know who their quarterback will be, barring something unforeseen. It’s hard not to view the inability to snag a proven name as an indictment on Jalen Hurts, just as much as it was on Sirianni.
Locals may view Hurts through the prism of his excellence in the biggest games, but consensus from the rest of the league isn’t as generous. Of course, many of them don’t have his ring or Super Bowl MVP.
Mannion will be charged with elevating Hurts into being more consistent in the dropback game. He has been credited with helping Packers starter Jordan Love and backup Malik Willis advance and with helping them become better pocket passers.
Will Sean Mannion’s chops as a former QB help him win Jalen Hurts over?
It should matter that Mannion played the position and that he’s done it recently. But there could be the question of whether he has enough gravitas for the stoic old soul in Hurts. Sirianni might have suggested two weeks ago that he would include the quarterback in the coordinator search, but his involvement was minimal at best, sources close to the situation said.
Sirianni needs a modern passing game that utilizes under-center play action, not just for Hurts, but for the entire offense, especially the wide receivers. A.J. Brown may be more inclined to want to stay if he sees the possibility of an explosive air attack.
Mannion spent most of his formative playing years with Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay, but he also spent time with Kevin Stefanski, Matt LaFleur, Kevin O’Connell, Zac Taylor, Gary Kubiak, Klint Kubiak, Dave Canales, and Grant Udinski.
Most have fallen under the Kyle Shanahan umbrella. They’ve all deviated from the core principles in some form, but the marrying of the run and pass through under-center play action has been one of the foundations of its success.
Hurts has had to learn to play under center in the NFL and has made incremental improvements, but the Eagles have been far behind the curve. There are other facets as important in modern offenses, but that change should be coming to the Eagles.
It could affect offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland’s role. He has long been the run game coordinator, but he didn’t have as much input last season when the Eagles shifted their game planning and play calling to offset the early struggles on the ground, NFL sources said.
How does revered offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland fit into a Sean Mannion-guided staff?
Mannion could be allowed to bring in his own staff, but it’s unlikely he has assistants at the ready. Sirianni could use the new coordinator as an opportunity to make a few changes. It seems unlikely that the esteemed Stoutland would be one, although the new scheme could allow him to focus exclusively on the O-line.
In question is how involved Sirianni will be in the offense. He could act as a senior consultant to Mannion, or he could hire a trusted veteran to help the young coordinator. Sirianni might want to avoid someone who could be considered a threat or a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency alternative.
Or maybe he just reassigns Patullo to that role. There may not be anyone better suited to understand the rigors of being the Eagles’ offensive coordinator — both inside the building and out. Patullo had little margin for error.
Mannion should be granted a longer grace period. But how long is Sirianni’s? They’re likely bound together.
It almost surely did not escape Jeffrey Lurie’s notice that his offense turned out OK the last time he hired a Packers quarterbacks coach.
It shouldn’t escape ours, either.
Sean Mannion may not be the next Andy Reid. The Eagles didn’t hire the 33-year-old Green Bay assistant with the thought that he would become Reid. But Reid was Mannion at one point in time: an under-the-radar position coach without play-calling experience who was hired for a big boy job well ahead of schedule. This was back when Mannion was six years old, of course.
It has. Mannion and Reid don’t have much of a connection apart from having both sat at the same desk (figuratively … although, knowing Lambeau Field, maybe literally, too). Matt LaFleur is not Mike Holmgren. Sean McVay is not Bill Walsh. The lineage of Packers quarterbacks coaches who became offensive coordinators includes one Ben McAdoo. Having occupied the position is a trait neither prescriptive nor predictive. It is descriptive in one sense, though. A lack of play-calling experience should not be a deal-breaker for a team that is looking to overhaul its offensive identity.
In fact, play-calling isn’t the thing that will determine Mannion’s success or failure as Eagles offensive coordinator. It is the thing that we will focus on, no doubt. For a variety of reasons. First, because play-calling is the only part of the job that we actually get to see. Second, because guys like Walsh and Reid and McVay (and Mike Martz, Kyle Shanahan, etc.) have led us all to believe that football games are won the same way Jimmy Woods won video games in The Wizard. Which is silly, when you stop and examine the time card. Even at 70 plays per game and a full 40 seconds between plays, an offensive coordinator spends less than an hour of his work week calling the plays. The bulk of the job is the 79 hours that precede it.
Can Sean Mannion have the same strong working relationship with Jalen Hurts that Kellen Moore (right) experienced?
The Eagles need Mannion to be a good coach. Jalen Hurts needs Mannion to be a good coach. Those two things are one and the same. Because Jalen Hurts is the Eagles. Where they go from here as an offense depends almost entirely on who he is as a quarterback. Rather, it depends on who Hurts can be. Who he is? That isn’t good enough. All of us saw that this season. Not all of us understood what we saw. But we saw it. Plain as unflavored yogurt.
That’s not to say the Eagles’ disappointing 2025 campaign was all on Hurts’ shoulders. Seven months isn’t nearly long enough to transform from a player capable of winning a Super Bowl MVP to a player who simply isn’t good enough. His advocates are correct in that. Hurts would have been equally capable of winning the honor this season as he was in 2024, assuming the rest of the offense was also as capable as it had been. Therein lies the disconnect. You’ll make a you-know-what out of yourself if you’re assuming Hurts’ supporting cast will ever be as good again.
It’s funny. Nick Sirianni’s detractors constantly portray him as the unwitting beneficiary of a world-class roster. He is the dim-witted only son bequeathed an empire, a head coach who happened to stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. He showed up in board shorts at his interview and then rode the wave of Howie Roseman’s roster. But a roster that good doesn’t stay it for long.
Rarely is the same rubric applied to the quarterback. No, A.J. Brown wasn’t the same singularly dominant receiver he has been, which compounded his general malaise. No, the offensive line didn’t manhandle opponents the way it had in previous seasons. Yes, Saquon Barkley was a little less dynamic than he was when he was jumping backward over erect defenders. Each of those claims is perfectly valid. As is the rebuttal: welcome to life as most NFL quarterbacks live it.
Hurts can’t be the same as he was. He needs to be better. That’s going to take some very good coaching, provided he is no longer willing and/or capable of being the freewheeling scrambler he was in 2022. Being that player afforded Hurts the luxury of not needing to do the things that most other championship quarterbacks must do. He didn’t need to parallel process his pocket navigation, feeling pressure subconsciously while focusing downfield. He didn’t need to recognize that the deep crosser would clear before settling for the hitch in his foreground. He didn’t need to wait for a defense to man-up Brown on a vertical route to generate an explosive play.
It’s probably time to acknowledge that Jalen Hurts’ supporting cast isn’t going to suddenly revert to its 2024 form.
Hurts needs to do those things now. That’s the problem. Those things aren’t sustainable. Lane Johnson isn’t going to play forever. Even if he does, he won’t always be the same player. And the four guys alongside him won’t all remain healthy as consistently as he has.
Same goes for the pass-catchers. Here’s a quick a thought exercise. In the four years since the Eagles traded a first-round pick for Brown on draft day, has any other team managed to swing a move at the position that was even 75% as impactful? The Chiefs have spent five off-seasons trying to replace Tyreek Hill. The Patriots haven’t had a receiver of that caliber since Randy Moss. A great quarterback makes the most of what he has.
Just to reiterate: Hurts doesn’t need to be Tom Brady. He needs to be better than he was in 2025 in order to win with the supporting cast most quarterbacks have, which is the supporting cast he is likely to have moving forward. Mannion will play a significant role. His profile is intriguing.
Nobody can understand a quarterback like somebody who has played the position. Kellen Moore was a quarterback. His quarterbacks coach was a quarterback (former NFL backup Doug Nussmeier). Shane Steichen was a quarterback. None of them were as good as Hurts. But they understood what quarterbacks see, how they process, what they need. Sirianni and Kevin Patullo were wide receivers. So were McVay and Shanahan. Again, neither prescriptive nor predictive. But we are talking about Mannion.
Mannion is a quarterback, and he has played the position in lots of different settings, under lots of different coaches, including McVay and Kevin O’Connell, as well as Klint Kubiak and Kevin Stefanski. He has coached under LaFleur, who has won a lot of games with a quarterback (Jordan Love) who lacks a lot of what Hurts brings to the table. Mannion’s coaching profile is about as ideal as you can draw up for a guy who has only been a coach for two seasons.
Sean Mannion understands quarterbacks because he was one… very recently, in fact.
It is also a vote of confidence in Sirianni. The Eagles could easily have opted for a coach who possessed the play-calling experience that Patullo lacked. Jim Bob Cooter, Matt Nagy, Bobby Slowik — any would have made a fine interim-head-coach-in-waiting. Instead, they went with a coach who lacks anything close to the political capital that Moore brought to the table when they hired him to replace Brian Johnson after 2023.
Will it work? Who knows. It is the only honest answer. All we can say: it is a sensible move. In the end, it all depends on the quarterback.
After a search that lasted 16 days to find the replacement for Kevin Patullo, the Eagles on Thursday announced that 33-year-old Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach Sean Mannion is their next offensive coordinator.
Mannion played mostly as a reserve for nine NFL seasons and was a player in the NFL just two seasons ago. He has been a coach for the previous two, and now has risen from first-year offensive assistant to first-year quarterbacks coach to first-year offensive coordinator with the Eagles.
Get the theme here? We’re talking numbers. And while Mannion hasn’t been a coach long enough to have too many data points to parse to infer much about what his hire means, there are at least some meaningful stats and numbers that could be meaningful.
Let’s have a look.
66.3%
That was Jordan Love’s completion percentage in 2025, Mannion’s first as quarterbacks coach. That was Love’s best mark in his three full seasons as a starter in the NFL. The 66.3% completion rate wasn’t the only high Love set in 2025. He also had his best season as a starter by passer rating (101.2, which ranked sixth among all NFL starters), and threw his lowest total of interceptions (six, down from 11 in each of his first two seasons as a starter).
Jordan Love had a strong 2025 despite a substandard performance against the Eagles.
All while the Packers dealt with a constant list of key injuries on offense.
What’s more, backup Malik Willis had an 85.7% completion rate in 35 attempts in relief of Love.
The NFL MVP race is between Drake Maye and Matthew Stafford, but Love was third in the NFL in pass EPA (expected points added) at +95.6, according to Next Gen Stats. EPA measures the average points added by the offense on each play.
Love had the same EPA per drop back as Stafford (+0.20).
Could more play action be in the cards for Jalen Hurts during the Sean Mannion era?
28.3%
Mannion has had a lot of influence in his years as a player and coach from some well-regarded offensive minds. How might he shape the way the Eagles’ offense looks moving forward?
Love’s numbers could offer some clues.
His play-action rate of 28.3%, for example, was fifth-highest in the league. Jalen Hurts ranked 23rd at 23.8%, according to Next Gen.
13%
Hurts threw more deep balls per attempt than any other quarterback, despite what you may think about the Eagles and their conservative nature. According to Next Gen, which counts a deep pass as a ball that travels 20 air yards, Hurts threw a deep ball on 13.2% of his throws.
Right behind him was Love, who went long on 13% of his passes.
Throwing them is one thing, completing them is another. Hurts rated 14th in deep ball completion rate (38.3%) while Love completed only slightly more (40.4%, 10th).
Look for Sean Mannion’s scheme to borrow heavily from those of Sean McVay (left) and Kyle Shanahan.
59%
Only four teams ran less motion before the snap than the Eagles’ rate of 44%. Green Bay, meanwhile, used motion on 59% of its offensive plays, which was the eighth-highest rate in the NFL.
Motion is a staple of the offenses run by Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan, whose influences are all over Mannion’s past. McVay’s Rams were fourth in motion rate while Shanahan’s 49ers were third.
Of course, the best coaches find a way to use their players to fit their players’ strengths, but Mannion is likely to incorporate a lot of the things he’s learned along the way.
13,600
Here’s a bonus set of numbers that have nothing to do with Mannion’s coaching career but are worth mentioning anyway.
This first one is worth it because Mannion is a quarterback guy whose new job is largely about maximizing Hurts’ skill set.
Mannion may have thrown only 36 passes at the NFL level, but he was a prolific college quarterback at Oregon State, where he threw for 13,600 yards, a number that ranks 19th in FBS history.
1
Mannion had one career NFL touchdown pass, and it came in his final game, which was his third career start.
On Jan. 2, 2022, Mannion filled in for Kirk Cousins (COVID-19) in a Week 17 game vs., ironically, the Packers. In a 37-10 loss, Mannion completed 22 of 36 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown. He rushed twice for 14 yards and was sacked twice.
K.J. Osborn caught Mannion’s touchdown pass, a 14-yard connection on the final play of the third quarter.
How’s that for a useless trivia answer?
.@KJ_Osborn made sure Sean Mannion got his first TD ball 💜
MOBILE, Ala. — Standing in the north end zone of Hancock Whitney Stadium on the University of South Alabama’s campus, Clint Hurtt, the Eagles defensive line coach, had the sun shining on him while decked out in a black Eagles T-shirt and black pants. Hurtt was the head coach of the National team at the 2026 Senior Bowl, and was responsible for planning, delegating, and monitoring the two-hour practice session.
For Hurtt, who has more than a decade of NFL coaching experience that included two seasons as the Seattle Seahawks’ defensive coordinator, the opportunity to run the show along with the hands-on experience leading a group of players are “things you can’t take for granted.”
“If you have aspirations to be a head coach one day, it’s a different circumstance in terms of getting practice schedules together for the players, for the coaches, the installation, all those things that happen throughout the day,” Hurtt said Thursday. “There’s things that you know that happen when you’re following the lead of the respective head coach that you work for, but to do it yourself, it’s a great experience to be a part of. And obviously you’re not doing it alone. The [other] coaches are obviously a big part of that, and they help out with that stuff.”
The focus is on helping build up and coach the next generation of NFL players this week, but Hurtt’s name has also circulated in coaching searches. He interviewed with the Miami Dolphins last weekend for their vacant defensive coordinator job under new head coach Jeff Hafley.
Hurtt, 47, didn’t delve into much detail but confirmed the interview “went well and the feedback I got was that it went really well.”
The preparation for his Senior Bowl assignment started well before Hurtt got boots on the ground in Mobile earlier this week. Hurtt, who played collegiately at Miami and began his coaching career shortly after, said his staff assembled from other NFL teams had meetings on Zoom to organize the daily practice and game day plans for the Senior Bowl. He leaned on Eagles running backs coach Jemal Singleton, the offensive coordinator for the National team this week, to help orchestrate the offensive plan.
From planning for two-minute drills to red-zone work throughout the week, Hurtt is shouldering more on-field scheduling responsibilities than he typically would with the Eagles.
Before coming to the Eagles, Clint Hurtt spent seven seasons with the Seahawks, including two as defensive coordinator.
“When you’re the head, you have to have answers for everybody, for all position groups,” Hurtt said. “[Having been] a coordinator, before being used to that, coaching linebackers and the secondary and things of that nature. So it’s been really good and enjoyable with these kids. And they’re all hungry for knowledge.”
One player benefiting from Hurtt’s coaching is Western Michigan edge rusher Nadame Tucker, one of the standouts of the week for the National team. Tucker, who spent his first three seasons at Houston before having a breakout season in 2025 with 21 tackles for losses and 14½ sacks for Western Michigan, said he “gravitated toward [Hurtt]” and appreciated his similar approach to football.
“I feel like coaching D-line, to get guys to listen to you, that’s how you should be, man,” Tucker said after practice Tuesday. “So he’s my great idea of a D-line coach. He’s a stern guy, a guy that’s going to pull the best out of the players and want the best out of his players. … I just keep working with him and learning from him and learning from all the [coaches].”
Hurtt is using this week to gain more exposure to coaching and the detailed nature of running practices, things he never experienced.
“When you want to go into a job interview to try to escalate, improve your career and move up the ladder, there’s things that you have to learn along the way. But it’s hard to do that if you don’t get exposure,” Hurtt said. “I always constantly self critique, every evening, try to sit back and say, ‘OK, what went well today? What I’ll continue to do, what things can we improve on?’ Always looking for critical feedback. And because I like the criticism, I’m always self-talking on what are the things that we can do to get better, where can I be better, to be better for the players and be better for the staff.”
Hurtt’s head coaching experience will come to an end on Saturday with the Senior Bowl game (2:30 p.m., NFL Network). But for now, he’s relishing this opportunity with the future NFL players who are soaking up knowledge from Hurtt and his coaching staff.
“Being passionate, you want the kids to feel your energy and where you’re coming from, because then they understand how you want things to be,” Hurtt said. “The coaches [are] obviously doing that, too. It’s a great energy from our defensive coaching staff and offense as well. But I want every coach to be authentically themselves, too. Don’t try to replicate anybody else that’s around you. Got to be you, because that’s what the players are going to respond to the best.”
