10 things you didn’t know about Eagles OC Sean Mannion – NBC Sports Philadelphia

He’s a Flyers fan, he once backed up Nick Foles and he’s the fourth Packers quarterbacks coach to become an assistant with the Eagles.

Curious about the Eagles’ new offensive coordinator?

So were we! So we dug up 10 things you didn’t know about Sean Mannion, and they’re pretty interesting!

1. As a senior at Foothill High School in Pleasanton, Calif., Mannion set a Northern California record with 582 passing yards in a 59-37 win over James Logan in Union City in the first round of the 2009 North Coast Section 1 playoffs. Mannion did it without throwing a pass in the fourth quarter. He was 27-for-40 with five touchdown passes, and 15 of his completions went to Cameron Rowland for 340 yards. He threw for 388 yards in the first half and broke the Northern California record of 548 yards set eight days earlier by Jason Lee of Downey High in a game against Johansen-Modesto. Lee broke the record of 546 yards set by Steve Woodward of Tamalpais in a 38-25 win at Novato back in 1966. 

2. Mannion passed for 13,600 yards during his four years at Oregon State. That broke the Pac 12 record of 12,327 yards set by Matt Barkley, the Eagles’ 4th-round pick in 2013. Mannion’s leading receiver at Oregon State was Brandin Cooks, who’s had six 1,000-yard seasons in the NFL. Among his other teammates were guard Isaac Seumalo, who spent the 2016 through 2022 seasons with the Eagles, and cornerback Steven Nelson, who was a starter for the Eagles in 2021. Mannion’s position coach at Oregon State was John Garrett, older brother of former Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett and older brother of Jud Garrett, who was on the Eagles’ practice squad in 1990. 

3. During his senior year at Oregon State, Mannion picked up the nickname, “Machine.” Garrett was watching film of a recent game with the offense when he called Mannion a machine, and the offensive linemen immediately labeled Mannion “Machine,” and began calling him that all the time and even mimicking a machine, walking mechanically like a robot when they crossed his path. The nickname stuck. “Not with my approval, I need to make that clear,” he told The Oregonian. 

4. Mannion was the fourth quarterback taken in the 2015 draft. Florida State’s James Winston and Oregon’s Marcus Mariota were the first two overall picks to the Bucs and Titans and the Saints drafted Garrett Grayson out of Colorado State 75th overall in the third round. Mannion was the 89th pick overall to the Rams, one pick after the Vikings selected five-time Pro Bowl edge Danielle Hunter. 

5. Mannion’s first NFL head coach with the Rams in 2013 was Jeff Fisher, who was the Eagles’ secondary coach and defensive coordinator under Buddy Ryan. Fisher’s offensive coordinator in Mannion’s first two seasons was Brian Schottenheimer, now the Cowboys’ head coach. Mannion did not play as a rookie but backed up Rams starter Sam Bradford, who two years later would play for the Eagles. He also backed up Nick Foles in 2015 and Jared Goff in 2017 with the Rams. He also played with future Eagles Chris Long and Robert Quinn during his four years with the Rams. In 2013 and 2014, Mannion’s position coach was Frank Cignetti, whose brother Curt coached Indiana to the national title this year. 

6. Mannion made his NFL debut on Nov. 29, 2015, in the fourth quarter of the Rams’ game against the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. Mannion entered the game with the Bengals up 31-7. He went 6-for-7 for 31 yards, and his first NFL completion went for six yards to running back Tre Mason. He didn’t throw his first and only NFL touchdown pass for another six years He started for the Vikings in a Week 17 game in 2021 against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers at Lambeau Field and went 22-for-36 for 189 yards with a 14-yard TD pass to WR K.J. Osborn. Current Eagle A.J. Dillon ran for two touchdowns in the Packers’ 37-10 win. Jordan Love finished that game at quarterback for the Packers, and four years later Mannion would become his position coach. That was Mannion’s final NFL game.

7. Mannion’s offensive coordinator with the Vikings in 2019 was future Browns and Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski. His quarterbacks coach his two years with the Vikings was Klint Kubiak, currently offensive coordinator of the Super Bowl-bound Seahawks and a favorite to become the Raiders’ new head coach. Also on those Vikings staffs were defensive quality control coach Nick Rallis, who became the Eagles’ linebackers coach in 2021 and then Jonathan Gannon’s defensive coordinator in Arizona in 2023, and WRs coach Drew Petzing, who became Gannon’s offensive coordinator and is now in that role with the Lions under Dan Campbell. 

8. Mannion finished his career with the Seahawks in 2023 playing for Pete Carroll. He finished the season on Seattle’s practice squad after backing up Russell Wilson and Geno Smith. He was on the Seahawks’ practice squad at the same time as future Hall of Famer Jason Peters, the Eagles’ seven-time Pro Bowl left tackle. The Seahawks’ defensive coordinator that year was current Eagles defensive tackle coach Clint Hurtt. 

9. Mannion is a Flyers fan. In an interview with the Oregonian in 2014, he was asked some random questions about his likes and dislikes, and he said this: “I really like the Philadelphia Flyers. I always get asked why I like the Flyers, and it’s because I started watching two years ago when the Flyers played the Penguins in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and it was a great series. At the same time, HBO had a special on the Flyers for the Winter Classic, so then I watched that and got to know the team. I watch all their games when they’re on TV. Claude Giroux is my favorite player.” Mannion also revealed in that interview that Chipotle is his favorite place to eat and True Detective, Game of Thrones and the Newsroom were his favorite TV shows.

10. Mannion is the fourth Packers quarterbacks coach to join the Eagles’ coaching staff. Zeke Bratkowski was Packers QBs coach from 1975 through 1981 under Bart Starr and spent 1991 through 1994 as Rich Kotite’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Marty Mornhinweg was Packers QBs coach in 1996 under Mike Holmgren before spending 2006 through 2012 with the Eagles as offensive coordinator and assistant head coach. He returned to the Eagles in 2020 as a senior offensive assistant. And Andy Reid was Packers QBs coach in 1997 and 1998 under Holmgren before spending 1999 through 2012 as Eagles head coach.