All-New Offense?

The Philadelphia Eagles’ weeks-long search to find its next offensive coordinator ended early Thursday evening, as the team announced the hiring of former Green Bay Packers assistant Sean Mannion.

Mannion, 33, originally joined the Packers in 2024 as an offensive assistant and was promoted to quarterbacks coach last season. While his coaching resume is lean by NFL standards, it’s worth noting that Mannion oversaw a breakthrough season for Packers quarterback Jordan Love. Malik Willis, a young reclamation project, also demonstrated tangible signs of growth last season when pressed into service.

GETTY IMAGES: Packers QB Coach Sean Mannion was officially named offensive coordinator.

It’s not hard to see the intrigue that Mannion carries. A fast-riser and well-regarded around the league as a bright offensive mind, Mannion has been around some of the sharpest offensive specialists in the game today, including Sean McVay, Kevin O’Connell, Kevin Stefanski, Klint Kubiak during his nine-year run as an NFL quarterback, his final season being 2023 as a member of the Seattle Seahawks’ practice squad.

Most recently, Mannion spent two years coaching for Matt LaFleur in Green Bay. He has been exposed to various schemes and philosophies, which should serve him well in Philadelphia.

Mannion’s rise has been meteoric, but not unprecedented. Just think back to the coordinator of two seasons ago, Kellen Moore, who joined the Cowboys’ coaching staff as the quarterbacks coach in 2018 — a year after hanging up the cleats. He was promoted to offensive coordinator the following season and hasn’t looked back.

Upon the announcement, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni released a statement:

“I’m thrilled to have Sean Mannion on board as the new offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles. My goal throughout this process was to operate with an open mind regarding the future of our offense to find the best fit for the Eagles. Over the last few weeks, I had an opportunity to meet with a number of talented candidates and great offensive minds. I am appreciative of the time I was able to spend with each of them. Some came with years of experience running an offense and calling plays. Others were young, sharp, and dynamic coaches on the rise. I felt it was important to be patient and thorough to allow the right fit to reveal himself to us. Sean did just that.

“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. 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. As a result, he has a wealth of knowledge and experience that will be invaluable to our team moving forward. I can’t wait to see Sean with our team, and I want to welcome him and his wife, Megan, to the Eagles family.”

The hiring of Mannion was undoubtedly a big swing for the Eagles, and hardly one without risk. Mannion, like former Eagles play-callers Brian Johnson and Kevin Patullo, will be a first-time playcaller. Playcalling is an art, not a science, and Mannion’s ability to call a game with rhythm, sequencing and strategy remains to be seen. Taking that into account, however, inevitable growing pains should be expected and factored into the equation. There will inevitably be periods of turbulence, which is where patience must be exercised as he grows into the role.

It was certainly an expansive and thorough search for the Eagles, who began the coaching search with accomplished playcallers atop the list in Mike McDaniel and Brian Daboll. The team was willing to go with the unfamiliar name with no connection to Sirianni, an indication that Mannion impressed the team immensely during their fact-finding mission. It can also be argued that the Eagles landed a coach on the ascent a year early, who may well have been in demand next cycle.

Given Mannion’s inexperience, one would assume the team would add a veteran offensive mind in a complementary role to act as a sounding board and offer support, and while that notion is still plausible, the Eagles may have already provided that — well, sort of.

On Friday morning, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Eagles added former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard to the staff to undertake the role of pass game coordinator, which last season was a title held by Parks Frazier. Grizzard, 35, twice interviewed for the Eagles’ offensive coordinator vacancy, but the Eagles found a role to get him in the building.

Grizzard, who called plays last season in Tampa (though the offense dipped in efficiency relate to the prior season), is another highly regarded offensive mind who will team with Mannion in reimagining and modernizing the Eagles’ offense. As the Bucs’ pass game coordinator in 2024, Grizzard handled the third-down play-calling under then-offensive coordinator Liam Coen.

Prior to his time in Tampa, Grizzard spent seven seasons as a member of the Miami Dolphins’ coaching staff (2017-2023), assuming a variety of titles over that span — including a two-year stint helming the wide receiver room.

— Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com