The Eagles’ round of second interviews has wrapped, bringing a lengthy search to a close. Philadelphia has decided on Sean Mannion. The former backup quarterback will be Philly’s new play-caller, the team announced Thursday.
Nick Sirianni has said his next OC will have offensive autonomy. This will be a big prestige bump for Mannion. Like David Blough, he will go from recently retired quarterback to NFC East offensive coordinator this offseason. Mannion was playing as recently as 2023, but he has gained considerable buzz in the coaching ranks. Mannion, 33, spent last season as the Packers’ QBs coach. The Eagles were the only team to interview him for an OC post this offseason.
This wraps an eventful search for Philly, who considered former HCs and more experienced options. Mannion landing the gig certainly reflects well on his interview skills, and it will be interesting to see how much leeway Sirianni gives his new hire to build an offense.
Mannion has coached under Matt LaFleur and played under both Sean McVay and Kevin O’Connell. A move to a Shanahan/McVay-style offense appears squarely in play for the Eagles. Sirianni confirmed Mannion will call plays.
“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,” Sirianni said in a statement. “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.”
The Eagles interviewed Mannion, Jim Bob Cooter, Josh Grizzard and Jerrod Johnson twice, with NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo indicating Johnson — the Texans’ QBs coach — received a second meeting today. All three have coached for much longer than Mannion, whose playing career wrapped at 31. He has mentored Jordan Love for two seasons, doing so after serving as a backup to Jared Goff and Kirk Cousins for most of his career.
Mannion prevailed in a race that featured some twists and turns. The Eagles fired Kevin Patullo on January 13, making him the third straight one-and-done OC. This job catapulted Shane Steichen and Kellen Moore to HC positions, but both those staffers had OC experience previously. The two rookie coordinators Sirianni tabbed — Brian Johnson and Patullo — were both fired after disappointing showings. Mannion’s experience level trails even Johnson and Patullo; the Eagles are banking on his playing career serving as vital experience for a pressure-packed job.
The Packers promoted Mannion to QBs coach in 2025, after employing him as an offensive assistant in his first coaching year. Love finished the season second in QBR this past season, marking a step forward for the young passer. Love’s QB rating and completion percentage numbers (101.2, 66.3) also were career bests. This happened during a season in which the Packers missed Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Tucker Kraft for extensive portions. Reed’s two-injury season included 10 missed games, while Watson did not debut until Week 8. Kraft was headed toward a monster season when he suffered an ACL tear in 9.
The Rams drafted Mannion in the 2015 third round. After playing behind Nick Foles as a St. Louis rookie, Mannion sat behind Goff for three seasons to close his rookie contract. The final two came under McVay, who only used Mannion as a starter in Week 17 of the 2017 season. Mannion joined the Vikings in 2019, setting up an extended run as Cousins’ backup. Mannion started two Vikings games during a four-year stay. Most of Mannion’s Minnesota tenure came before O’Connell arrived, but the ex-Rams OC — after a Seattle stopover — rejoined the Vikings in October 2023. Mannion finished his career back in Seattle, serving as one of Geno Smith‘s backups, to close the 2023 season.
Mannion’s career ending after Sirianni’s third Philly season adds intrigue to this unorthodox hire. The Eagles appeared to prefer Brian Daboll, but he did not hold the Philly job in especially high regard. The ex-Giants HC accepted a three-year offer to become the Titans’ OC. The Eagles, who did not make Daboll an offer, also met with former HCs in Mike McDaniel and Matt Nagy. The Cowboys blocked their interview with OC Klayton Adams, and both Declan Doyle (Bears OC) and Charlie Weis Jr. (LSU OC) withdrew from consideration. The Eagles submitted a Davis Webb interview request Tuesday, but it does not appear that meeting took place.
Jalen Hurts has enjoyed tremendous success as a starter, but the run-oriented quarterback has also been inconsistent. Last season under Patullo reminded more of a downturn under Johnson in 2023. A.J. Brown has also made relentless noise about his role, leading to trade rumors — which will likely pick up again soon — while the Eagles did not come remotely close to replicating their run-game dominance from 2024 under Patullo. Saquon Barkley was healthy throughout the season but saw his 16-game yardage total drop from 2,005 to 1,140 between his first and second Philadelphia campaigns.
It will be on Mannion to manage all this, as Sirianni has not called plays since midway through his rookie season. It will be interesting to see if Sirianni remains a central presence on offense, as he was during Johnson and Patullo’s seasons in charge, or allows Mannion to run the show — as he did with Steichen and Moore. Via PFR’s Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Search Tracker, here is how Philly’s latest OC search unfolded:
- Klayton Adams, offensive coordinator (Cowboys): Interview blocked
- Jim Bob Cooter, offensive coordinator (Colts): Conducted second interview 1/28
- Brian Daboll, former head coach (Giants): Interviewed 1/20
- Declan Doyle, offensive coordinator (Bears): Interview requested; withdrew from search
- Josh Grizzard, former offensive coordinator (Buccaneers): Conducted second interview 1/28
- Jerrod Johnson, quarterbacks coach (Texans): Conducted second interview 1/29
- Mike Kafka, former interim head coach (Giants): Interviewed 1/17
- Sean Mannion, quarterbacks coach (Packers): Hired
- Mike McDaniel, former head coach (Dolphins): To interview
- Matt Nagy, former offensive coordinator (Chiefs): Interviewed 1/21
- Zac Robinson, offensive coordinator (Falcons): Interviewed 1/16
- Bobby Slowik, senior pass-game coordinator (Dolphins): Interviewed 1/23
- Frank Smith, former offensive coordinator (Dolphins): Interviewed
- Davis Webb, quarterbacks coach (Broncos): Interview requested
- Charlie Weis Jr., offensive coordinator (LSU): Withdrew from search
Finallllllly I can finally stop having listening to 975 and WIP whine and complain about not having an OC yet and it’s all Nicks fault and they can get back to what’s relevant, complaining about the Phillies and Sixers again.
Philly media is a joke. All losers.
I dont know any Philly media but try 98.5 in Boston. If the Pats win the SB next week they will spend the next day talking about how they did it wrong and why it is actually somehow bad for the Maye/Vrabel legacy.
I worked up in New Bedford for like a year, those guys on 98.5 really stretch the idea of “sports talk radio” bc they barely talk about sports.
WIP is for gamblers and a holes. Practically unlistenable these days.
I don’t know much about Mannion. But he’s gotta be better than KP.
Don’t worry, they will manufacture outrage and drama. Remember, WIP is the station that the very next day AFTER the Eagles won the Super Bowl Spike Eskin had the debate of the day be whether Hurts was elite or not.
I wish Spike was still doing Sixers articles dedicated to the worst fake trades… god they were so awful
Spike is the picture you see under nepotism, for a holes.
Trust in Howie and Jeff.
I do but I need to trust in Nick more. He’s got to be a little more assertive as a HC and not come off as weak when the offense sputters. He needs to be more outwardly present and say he’s working to fix it and even call plays if he has to. He’ll be the next man out the door if he can’t avoid 2023 and 2025 again.
“The Packers promoted Love to QBs coach in 2025.”
PROOF READING !!
Shut up
I’m cautiously optimistic about this hire. His lack of previous ties to Sirianni, playing under BDN to start his career, and his work making Malik Willis look great this year are all net positive’s.
You’re forgetting that Sirianni and Hurts seem to be the ones causing the problems. Hurts tends to rub the other players the wrong way and Sirianni gives him the Russel Wilson treatment then blames the play calling and “gets more involved”.
And your source for these tensions are?
The voices in his head. And the the voices confirm each other.
Honestly I’m ok with this. I would have preferred a vet with experience calling plays but being an NFL QB that can substitute in best cases. Patullo was as career staffer with no playing NFL experience. Same with Bryan Johnson, career staffer.
As long as he doesn’t leave in a year, the Eagles made a good selection. He’s young but he needs to establish himself a bit more before leaving to try and become a head coach. The offense and the QB need consistent, continuity and chemistry. This could be a guy to grow with Jalen for the next few years. Exciting if so.
The good news is it’s over.
Alot of people are high on Mannion. Comes from an offensive minded coaching tree. Interesting hire with a high ceiling. Im optimistic.
no one interviewed him for an OC position other then the eagles. I’m worried about this pick. I hope I’m 100% wrong but I’d rather went with Nagy IMO.
No idea how he’ll do as an OC, but he’s one of those guys people in the game have seen as a future coach since his early playing days. Working under KOC can’t have hurt.
Man, ion know about this yall
He can’t be worse than KP or BJ. Why not
Another guy with no experience, guess Siranni can tell him what he wants. Probably why experienced guys say no.
Only reason Kellen took job was because he was down bad fired from Cowboys then Chargers the next year changed staffs.
He has to be a step up from Patullo ( very low bar). Even with Kellen Moore it took the offense a quarter of a season to start gelling so we may need to have some patience. He obviously knows Patullo got fired for being predictable and boring so he may air on the side of mixing things up. This is a classic high risk high reward hire. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
Alot of career backup QB’s seem do well as head coaches and coordinators.
This guy is becoming an OC why his college teammate is going to the Super Bowl.
Cool story
If someone has a cup of coffee with Sean McVay do they put it on their resume?
Strengths: Had coffee with Sean McVay.
step 1 : hire the OC .. step 2 : move brown to the raiders for crosby
Oh god how old am I
♫ This is a man’s man’s man’s world ♫
They decided or didn’t have a choice?