PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles are hiring Sean Mannion as their offensive coordinator, the team announced on Thursday.

Mannion will replace Kevin Patullo, who was fired after five seasons with the Eagles, including just one as the team’s offensive coordinator.

Mannion, 33, is just two years removed from his playing career. The former quarterback was the Green Bay Packers’ quarterbacks coach last season. Mannion will be calling plays for the Eagles, a league source confirmed to The Athletic.

In a statement, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said, “I’m thrilled to have Sean Mannion on board as the new offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles. My goal throughout this process was to operate with an open mind regarding the future of our offense to find the best fit for the Eagles. Over the last few weeks, I had an opportunity to meet with a number of talented candidates and great offensive minds. I am appreciative of the time I was able to spend with each of them. Some came with years of experience running an offense and calling plays. Others were young, sharp, and dynamic coaches on the rise. I felt it was important to be patient and thorough to allow the right fit to reveal himself to us. Sean did just that.

“It was quickly apparent in meeting with Sean that he is a bright young coach with a tremendous future ahead of him in this league. I was impressed by his systematic views on offensive football and his strategic approach. Sean’s 11 years in the NFL have provided him a great opportunity to learn from and grow alongside some of the best coaches in the game. As a result, he has a wealth of knowledge and experience that will be invaluable to our team moving forward. I can’t wait to see Sean with our team, and I want to welcome him and his wife, Megan, to the Eagles family.”

Why Sean Mannion?

Mannion emerged as a hot candidate for the Eagles in recent days despite having only two years of coaching experience. A nine-year NFL veteran as a backup, Mannion has been exposed to different coaches and different systems throughout his career.

Among the coaches he played for or worked with in the NFL are Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur, Zac Taylor, Jedd Fisch, Klint Kubiak, Kevin O’Connell, Dave Canales, Kevin Stefanski, Wes Phillips and Grant Udinski. That exposure will be beneficial as the Eagles attempt to evolve their offense and improve the passing game.

The Eagles finished No. 19 in EPA/drive, No. 15 in EPA/dropback and No. 21 in offensive points per game, even though it was the most expensive offense in the NFL based on cash spent.

Mannion’s specialty is working with quarterbacks. In his one year as the Packers’ quarterbacks coach, Jordan Love completed 66.3 percent of his pass attempts for 3,381 yards, 23 touchdowns, and six interceptions in 15 games. Malik Willis also impressed as a backup quarterback.

Now he’ll be charged with helping quarterback Jalen Hurts, who will be working with his seventh play caller in seven years.

The risk in the hire is that Mannion lacks play-calling experience — or coaching experience overall — but the Eagles are taking a swing at the upside for someone who’s an ascending coach. It’s a similar trajectory to that of Kellen Moore, who went from backup quarterback to one year as a quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator in Dallas.

A tall task ahead

The Eagles’ offensive struggles under Sirianni have been most pronounced under first-time play callers. Sirianni began this two-week search by moving on from one: Patullo. That a second internal promotion led to a second straight offensive shortfall placed significant pressure on Sirianni this year. He said the Eagles were “doing everything we can to win now” in their search for a new offensive coordinator. Hiring Mannion represents a considerable risk. Mannion began his coaching career in 2024 as an offensive assistant under Packers coach LaFleur, who promoted Mannion to quarterbacks coach last season. It is clear that the Eagles are partly relying on Mannion’s nine-year NFL career as a quarterback.

How much oversight will Mannion require? Sirianni, an offensive-minded coach, has fielded his best offenses when embracing a loose grip on the offensive controls with experienced play callers working under him. Sirianni has not fully called plays since delegating that job to former offensive coordinator Shane Steichen midway through the 2021 season. Still, Sirianni has espoused that his offensive staff operates as a collaboration. His experiences with Steichen and Moore have further equipped him schematically. While Mannion is expected to call plays, Sirianni will continue to have an influence on the offense, too.

The Eagles were thorough in this OC search. Mannion was one of four candidates who interviewed twice with the Eagles. Former Colts offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, Buccaneers offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard and Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson were the others. Former Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel and Giants coach Brian Daboll also interviewed for the job. The Eagles likely used the entirety of the search to hash out how they will fix the issues that presented in 2025.