The 2026 season presents the Philadelphia Eagles with their latest opportunity to fix their offensive dysfunction.
Next up in line to give it a try: New offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, a former backup quarterback in the NFL who has climbed the coaching ranks to a prominent role with Philadelphia.
A few priorities existed atop Mannion’s agenda upon arrival. First, he must find a way to help Saquon Barkley produce at a rate closer to his 2,000-yard 2024 showing than the inconsistent experience that was his 1,140-yard campaign in 2025. From there, Mannion’s next objective — get Jalen Hurts and the rest of the Eagles’ passing game back on track — might be easier to accomplish.
“Obviously there’s things I believe in, and there’s things that schematicaly I have a background in. But ultimately, it’s going to be a blend,” Mannion told reporters on Thursday when asked about his approach in his first season as Eagles OC. “It’s constantly going to evolve and it’s all with that exact goal in mind that you just said.
“It’s about maximizing things for the players. How do we make the Eagles the best team we can be, and how to make the Eagles offense the best it can be, and how do we put all of our players in a position to really succeed and maximize their strengths.”
Mannion has his work cut out for him. While the pieces are largely in place to produce a consistently successful offense, Philadelphia hasn’t been able to live up to such expectations annually. In 2023, they collapsed in spectacular fashion, leading to the departure of former OC Brian Johnson. His successor, Kellen Moore, enjoyed a bounce-back season that was successful enough to earn him the top job in New Orleans. His replacement, Kevin Patullo, oversaw a return trip toward the bottom third of the NFL last year, walking a direct path toward termination at the end of a grueling 2025 season that also likely frayed the relationship with star receiver A.J. Brown beyond repair.
If the Eagles are truly an even year team, Mannion is in line for plenty of fun. But the playcaller knows it’s not that easy, that it might not include Brown, and how much of their potential rests on the shoulders of Hurts.
