The Eagles have a new offensive coordinator with Sean Mannion joining the fold as a first-time play-caller.

Dave Spadaro

For Nick Sirianni, as he went through the process of hiring an offensive coordinator, casting a wide net with approximately 17 individual interviews likely many more and certainly several who were interviewed multiple times it became very obvious who was the right person for the job: Sean Mannion stood out and it wasn't really all that close.

"I went into it like, 'I'd like to have someone to have that experience that's done this,' and, you know what? Obviously, Sean does not have experience calling the plays but that to me was second," Sirianni told a group of Eagles beat reporters prior to the NFL Scouting Combine. "We got into it and that kind of changed. No, this was the best guy for the job. Regardless of what system or what experience, what I was really looking for was, the detail with everything that was explained to me, because the detail is really, really important. The conviction of what they believed in, why they believed in it, and how you would call it and all of those things as you go through it, became apparent that Sean was the guy for the job."

Mannion, a quarterback in the NFL for nine seasons and for the last two years with Green Bay as an offensive assistant and then the quarterbacks coach in 2025, brings with him extensive experience in the Kyle Shanahan/Sean McVay coaching system, known more closer to a West Coast offense as systems go in the NFL, but he's going to bring his own touch to what the Eagles have in personnel.

And, said Sirianni, the offense will also run some of the same concepts it used during the course of Sirianni's highly successful time in Philadelphia. All ideas are being considered as the offensive coaching staff works together to return the attack to one of the very, very best in the NFL in 2026.

"I think we talked about this with Kellen (Moore, offensive coordinator in the 2024 season) when he came in," Sirianni said. "Were we running Kellen's system? Yeah, but we would have been crazy not to run some of the things that we've been successful with in the past and that's one exercise that's been fun just to go through, like, hey, who were we in the past five years? Why were we super-successful?

"Obviously, this past year, we were as low as we've been on offense. Why have we been super-successful against certain types of defenses and there is a lot of uniqueness to what we have done that mixing it in and sprinkling that into another type of system. It's ever evolving. We're going to work into this system, but you may say, 'I wanted to be an outside zone (running) team, but it looks like we're going to be more of a gap team.' Or vice versa. Or you could say, 'I wanted to be more play-action, but it looks like we're going to be more nakeds and move the pocket and things like that.'

"You're going in with this idea, but I think that some of the things that you can sprinkle in from the things that we've done, I think it will be a good mesh of things. You want to have something that you can put your hat on, because I think we've always had (that), but we've adapted to the things that your players do well."

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The NFL's new year starts in three weeks, so it remains to be seen the exact personnel the Eagles will employ on offense in 2026. The baseline, what they have now, is promising: Star talent with Jalen Hurts at quarterback, a great backfield led by Saquon Barkley, standout wide receivers with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, an offensive line that is experienced, and now led by a new coach with new responsibilities.

There is work to be done, and no doubt Executive Vice President/General Manager Howie Roseman understands the landscape far better than any of us, but the Eagles have a lot to work with already, a cohesive vision, NFL Draft capital, and a proven track record.

For Hurts, it is another challenge of having a new offensive coordinator, but he has proven his ability to learn quickly and adapt and thrive. All of the things Mannion believes in, Sirianni said, fit the skill set of Hurts.

"I think what's awesome about Jalen is he's shown he can do a lot of things really well, and that's a sign of a good football player," Sirianni said. "You may have a scheme, you always wanna fit it to the players, but what's a great thing about great players is, they can usually fit to any scheme. Like, if we're saying that we're gonna run a little bit more play action, a little more outside zone, a little more boot action off of that.

"Again, those are some things that maybe we're saying, right? I'm sure you guys can read, but he's super athletic, being able to get that stretch read. He's gonna have a lot of pull, you know, when we're in the gun. He's got a lot of pull on the defense that he could run the ball the other way. Well, it's the same thing if it's a boot, he's gonna have a lot of pull on that.

"He's super. He's been really productive in the play action pass game. We haven't run as many boots and nakeds here in the past, but I know he's good at those when he does those. And so, yeah, I think I feel, again, because Jalen's the type of player that he is, I'm comfortable that you could tell me whatever system we're gonna put in."

The offense is under construction. A new takeoff, if you will, for the Eagles offense. Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio has his challenges on the other side of the ball with some key players scheduled for free agency, but as we saw in the 2024 to 2025 seasons, that is not an obstacle for him.

The offense? A new look. How much, exactly, we don't know. But the level of excitement and confidence and curiosity for what's ahead? Off the charts. And you can feel it from Sirianni as he enters his sixth season as one of the most successful head coaches in NFL history.

"Some of the things that we think we are leaning to doing," Sirianni said, "is a different way of going about it. I'm excited about it."