Sean Mannion talks about his vision for the Eagles’ offense

Despite being one of the first hires by the Eagles early in the offseason, offensive coordinator Sean Mannion is just now speaking to reporters for the first time in his new role. Mannion spoke on Thursday about building a new offensive scheme, working with Jalen Hurts, and some of the other new coaches he’s added to his staff.

Here’s what the OC had to say:

On wanting the Eagles job

Mannion explained that he had a virtual interview with the Eagles when he was down at the East-West Shrine Game after the season, and he felt like they really hit it off with everyone, including Nick Sirianni, Howie Roseman, and Jeffrey Lurie.

“Felt like it was a great fit — great fit for me, great fit for my family, great fit just in terms of the football side of things here. Really excited.”

As for how he knew he was ready for such a bigger role, and the OC noted he leans on all of his experience both on staff in Green Bay and as a quarterback in the league. Even back when he was a player, he knew that he wanted to take the coaching route after he retired, so it’s something he was preparing for even before his playing career was over.

He later spoke about why he was excited about this role with the Eagles.

“The first thing is the Eagles have been an outstanding organization top to bottom — you know that from afar just with the results on the field, and the culture, and the system of excellence that they’ve built here. And then getting to talk with Nick [Sirianni] and see the way he views the game, see the way he views building a program and running an organization, and all the things we really value here: Tough, detailed, together.

You could just tell it was a great fit and it was in perfect alignment with how I view the game, as well. So I think once you get to dive into those football discussions, all of those things you know about the organization from afar become validated once you kind of see behind the curtain.

It was a great fit. I felt like we really hit it off from the start.“

On offensive philosophy and scheme

As is typical, Mannion didn’t want to give away too many specifics about the upcoming Eagles offense, but echoed the play style built under Nick Sirianni — playing with great effort, great physicality, and being great teammates.

The OC said that ultimately he has things he believes in, and would like to do schematically, but it will end up being a blend of things, including what works best for the players.

He later talked about how installing a scheme is all about proper timing and proper rhythm in terms of how the different elements of a system all work together — how one route marries with the timing of another route. From there, it’s about training the quarterback to listen to his feet, explaining that if the footwork is there and they’re in rhythm, it’ll feel like the ball wants to come out.

“I want to be someone who is versatile, 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.”

On Jalen Hurts

Mannion said that building a relationship with QB1 all starts with getting to know each other and connecting on a personal level.

“It’s been a great process with Jalen [Hurts]. 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 a football level has been great.”

The OC later said that Hurts has been outstanding in meetings, and having gone through so many coordinators, it’s obvious the QB is a really capable learner. He notes that there’s always going to be a little bit of a connection between the things that Hurts has had success with in Philly and what they’re trying to do this upcoming season, but it’s been a great process for the two to build the offense from the ground up.

“Jalen’s been awesome. I really think he can do anything we ask of him. He’s accurate. He’s a great athlete. He really attacks the fundamentals. That’s been really fun to watch these last two weeks of Phase 2 — he’s always coming wanting more things to work on, wanting more things regarding fundamentals, timing, understanding the scheme. He’s hungry for more, and those are the guys that are really fun to work with.

In terms of his skillset though, he has great arm strength, great accuracy, obviously a tremendous athlete, and he really attacks the game. He has a great process in the meetings, he always asks really thought provoking questions, he’s detailed, and he attacks his fundamentals. He’s always a guy who stays after practice working on things, and those are the guys you love to work with.“

Mannion was asked about Hurts ability to run with the ball, despite it not being utilized much last season. The OC said that Hurts’ unique ability will be part of what they do, but they’re really going to look to attack defenses in a multitude of ways. The offense is going to build a system they are constantly looking to evolve and tweak things along the way.

Other notables

Mannion talked about rookie WR Makai Lemon and is really excited for what he’s already brought this offseason and his potential in the offense. He noted that Lemon is really talented after the catch, plays with toughness, and catches the ball well.

The offensive coordinator said that he’s really excited about the wide receiver room and that it’s a group of players with really complimentary skillsets.

He had a lot of great things to say about run-game coordinator/TE coach Ryan Mahaffey, explaining that they’ve worked together for awhile and they are building this Eagles offense in a collaborative fashion among all the coaches. Mannion said Mahaffey is a great teacher, detail oriented, and thinks he is a great fit for his new role.

Mannion later said that the offensive line is a really fun group to work with and the OC thinks that they’ve got a good understanding of some of the things they’re doing differently.

The new OC also spoke about his choice for new OL coach Chris Kuper, saying he’s a great teacher and has a unique background with a lot of experience. Mannion is confident that Kuper will mesh really well with the Eagles veteran group of linemen, specifically.

He credited all the people who helped inspire him and help him along the way, including his Dad who was a long-term high school football coach, both of his parents who were teachers, and all the coaches he played and worked for over the years. Mannion also named Sirianni, noting that even though they’ve only worked together for a few months, he’s already learned so much from the Eagles head coach.

“He’s built an unbelievable program here. [Nick Sirianni] really has total and absolute commitment to the things that are important to winning — stresses them all the time, is a great communicator, a great leader for our organization.”

Click here to read article