Another year and another offensive coordinator for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
In six NFL seasons, Hurts has had six different offensive coordinators; the last was Kevin Patullo, who was fired at the end of the season after the Eagles lost to the 49ers in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
Enter Eagles’ new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion in 2026, who was an offensive assistant with the Packers for the last two seasons.
For Mannion, who played nine seasons in the NFL with the Rams, Vikings, and Seahawks, it is important to develop a relationship with Hurts.
“I think it starts really just connecting with him on a personal level, get to know him, get to know what his interests are, what makes him tick,” Mannion said last week. “Then once you start to get to know a guy on a personal level, I think the football connection becomes pretty easy. It’s been a great process with Jalen. He’s been a pleasure to work with and, really, since I got the job, being able to connect with him on a personal level and then on football has been great.”
Mannion, who is highly regarded in NFL circles, discussed what made the Eagles’ job appealing.
“Yeah, the first thing is that the Eagles have been an outstanding organization, top to bottom,” Mannion said. “You know that from afar, just with the results on the field and the culture and the kind of system of excellence that they’ve built here. Then getting to talk with Nick and see the way he views the game, see the way he views building a program and running an organization, and all the things that we really value here, right? Tough, detailed, together. You could just tell it was a great fit, and it was very much in perfect alignment with how I view the game as well. So once you get to dive into those football discussions, all the things that you know about the organization from afar become validated once you kind of see behind the curtain, and it was a great fit. I felt like we really hit it off from the start and really with all the people in the organization, it’s been a great experience.”
For the first time in his coaching career, Mannion will be calling plays, and he was asked what type of play-caller he’ll be.
“I want to be someone who is versatile,” he said. “Who is always looking to attack defenses in different ways, is always looking to evolve, and ultimately always looking to maximize the talents of our players.”
Like any first-time play caller, Mannion may have some growing pains, but hopefully, the learning curve won’t be too steep.
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