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Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
The Philadelphia Eagles spent the last few days before they hired offensive coordinator Sean Mannion trying to put a spin on exactly why they hadn’t filled the role yet. Mainly trying to clarify that they hadn’t “officially” offered the job to anyone so high profile names like Mike McDaniel and Brian Daboll taking jobs elsewhere didn’t mean they turned down the Eagles. Which it definitely did mean.
In terms of all the red flags Mannion’s hire represents, perhaps the biggest one of all it could mean the status quo stays in place — one in which quarterback Jalen Hurts and his limited skill set continue to play conservative, slow-paced football.
“Couple things I’m inferring (from Mannion hire),” The Ringer’s Diante Lee wrote on X. “The real priority is Hurts. I’d guess Philly would only take a guy this early in his career b/c he’s a former QB. Likely a multiyear situation for Mannion. Hiring to establish continuity is probably a good idea. Scheme ain’t changing.”
The Eagles fired offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo after one season on January 13 after the defending Super Bowl champions suffered a disappointing home loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Wild Card Round.
Mannion comes to the Eagles from the Green Bay Packers, where he spent the last 2 seasons as an offensive assistant. Mannion spent 9 seasons as a backup quarterback in the NFL from 2015 to 2023.
History tells us that while Mannion taking the OC job with the Eagles is certainly high risk, it’s also high reward.
Eagles OCs Have Been Feast or Famine
Mannion will be Philadelphia’s fifth offensive coordinator in 5 seasons. Of the last 4 offensive coordinators, 2 have been hired as NFL head coaches and 2 have been fired after one season.
“One thing on the Eagles OC job: the idea that it’s not appealing couldn’t be further from the truth, based on what I’ve gathered,” NFL insider Jordan Schultz wrote on his official X account. “The talent on the roster is legit. The hunger from the front office to keep improving the roster is legit. And they’ve had two OCs in the last few years go on to become HCs (Shane Steichen, Kellen Moore). If you have success, you’re going to be a HC candidate. It’s as simple as that. The narrative some are pushing just isn’t the case.”
Power Dynamics in Play in Philadelphia
Mannion steps into a hornet’s nest of behind the scenes drama in Philadelphia, where the last impression anyone got of the team in the loss to the 49ers was the offense’s ineptness and head coach Nick Sirianni and NFL All-Pro wide receiver A.J. Brown screaming at each other on the sideline.
All that equals Mannion … maybe needing to rent instead of buy when he considers his housing prospects.
“There is a pressure-cooker feel to the role, as Patullo can attest, stemming from both inside the building and out,” ESPN’s Tim McManus wrote. “Three trips to the Super Bowl and two titles over a nine-year span have only intensified the already outsized levels of public expectation and media scrutiny.”
Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame
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