Sean Mannion

Q. When you come in here for the first time and start a relationship with QB Jalen Hurts, how does that process work? Getting to know a guy, what he likes to do, how did you kind of navigate that? (Reuben Frank)

Sean Mannion: I think it starts really just connecting with him on a personal level, get to know him, get to know what his interests are, what makes him tick. Then once you start to get to know a guy on a personal level, I think the football connection becomes pretty easy. It’s been a great process with Jalen. 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 football has been great.

Q. What do you want the identity of the offense to be? (Jimmy Kempski)

Sean Mannion: I think the biggest thing we want our offense to look like is we talk about play style a lot, playing with great effort, great physicality, being great teammates. I think it’s when you turn on the tape, what does the Eagles’ offense look like? Those are the things we really want to stand out just as a broad stroke.

Q. A lot has been made about the type of scheme you might run, but I was wondering how you balance what scheme you believe in versus what you think is best for the players you have on board? (Eliot Shorr-Parks)

Sean Mannion: There’s things I believe in and there’s things that schematically I have a background in, but ultimately it’s going to be a blend and 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, how we make the Eagles offense the best it can be and how do we put all of our players in a position to really, really succeed and maximize their strengths.

Q. How much of a learning process is it going to be for QB Jalen Hurts because he’s had a bunch of different coordinators obviously during his career. Is this kind of starting over for him again or what’s that like? (Martin Frank)

Sean Mannion: Jalen’s been outstanding in the meetings and I think having gone through multiple coordinators and stuff, you can tell he’s a really capable learner. That’s been really fun to work with on a daily basis. I think there’s always going to be some degree of connection and like I said, it’s a blend of all the things, the things that he’s really thrived in here and some of the new things we’re bringing to the table. But it’s been a great process to get to really build this thing from the ground up with him and with our staff. I think we’re really being deliberate with the teaching and building this thing with a strong foundation because it’s constantly being built, it’s constantly evolving. We’re always looking at how can we make this better? So that process has been great so far.

Q. What was the interview process like for you getting this job and how do you know that you’re ready for this big of a jump in your career? (Dave Zangaro)

Sean Mannion: I was at the East-West Shrine game and got an interview virtually and I felt like we just really hit it off right away. I felt great about the football conversations and getting to connect with [Head Coach] Nick [Sirianni] and [Executive Vice President/General Manager] Howie [Roseman] and [Chairman and Chief Executive Officer] Mr. [Jeffrey] Lurie and all the people involved. There’s a lot of people involved on the interview and things like that. From there, [I] came in here for an in-person interview and again, it was just even more validating, getting to be in the building and getting to have further discussion. It came together kind of from there and 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 and yeah, [I’m] really excited. In terms of being ready for it, I think I lean on all my experiences.

My years in Green Bay, my years as a player, learning things constantly along the way. I was fortunate to play for a while and play for a lot of great coaches. Even as a player, I knew this is what I wanted to do next. I knew I was going to get into coaching. So I always had that in mind as I’m learning things, how am I going to use this someday from a coaching perspective? I’ve been really fortunate to work with a lot of great coaches and pick up a lot of things along the way and always kind of attacked it with the end in mind in terms of knowing someday I’m going to get into coaching. Someday I hope to become a play caller. How am I going to use this? I really leaned into that throughout my career and learned a lot along the way.

Q. What was attractive about this job and what stood out to you? You mentioned some of the interactions you had with Head Coach Nick Sirianni and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Lurie, what stood out during those interactions? (Cayden Steele)

Sean Mannion: Yeah, the first thing is that 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 kind of system of excellence that they’ve built here. Then getting to talk with Nick and see the way he views the game, see the way he views building a program and running an organization and all the things that we really value here, right? Tough, detailed, together. You could just tell it was a great fit and it was very much in perfect alignment with how I view the game as well. So once you get to dive into those football discussions, all the things that you know about the organization from afar become validated once you kind of see behind the curtain and it was a great fit. I felt like we really hit it off from the start and really with all the people in the organizations, it’s been a great experience.

Q. How excited are you to work with WR Makai Lemon and what might he look like in your offense? (Ryan Novozinsky)

Sean Mannion: Yeah, Makai’s been a lot of fun to work with. I’m really excited to bring him on board and I think the way he works at practice is really impressive. He’s a tremendous young talent, but even just out at practice, you can see he practices really hard. He studies hard. He really takes a ton of pride in all the little details and that’s a sign of a true pro and he’s just getting started on that journey. But with his degree of talent and the way he’s been working, I really think he’s going to do a lot of great stuff for us now and in the future. His development’s going to be great, but really excited about him. All the things we saw at USC, catches the ball really well, good after the catch, plays with toughness. That’s something that Nick [Sirianni] really, really has built this program around and something [that] really resonated with me and Makai’s a good example of that. And like I said, the way he’s wired out at practice, you can tell he’s going to be a great player and we’re excited to have him.

Q. What made Run Game Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach Ryan Mahaffey the logical choice to step in and coordinate the run game? (Andrew DiCecco)

Sean Mannion: Me and Ryan have worked together and I think some of the things that we’re bringing, Ryan has a background in and his background is unique. He’s been with the offensive line for a lot of time. He’s been with the receiver group. Ultimately our run game, our whole offense as a whole is a collaborative process. It’s really being built by all of us and Ryan’s a very detailed guy. He understands the schematic elements. He knows how all the pieces fit. Having worked with the blocking unit with the offensive line, having worked with the receiving group, because we all have a hand in the run game and he’s a tremendous teacher, detail oriented. He’s going to be a great fit for that role.

Q. Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio had mentioned you were interested in getting Offensive Line Coach Chris Kuper to be the offensive line coach. What stood out about him? (John McMullen)

Sean Mannion: I first was with Chris as a player when he was in Minnesota and you could just tell he’s a great teacher, detailed, obviously has a very unique background, having played a long time in the NFL. I think the way he’s going to be able to connect with all of our players, especially a veteran group of guys with our group specifically, it’s going to be a great fit for us. But he’s a great teacher, great communicator, really good at coaching the fundamentals, understands a wide variety of scheme and some of the things that we want to do. He’s been a great fit and really, really excited to have [Offensive Line Coach Chris Kuper] Coop on board. I could tell when I first met him, I was like, “This guy really knows football. He really knows how to teach and he really knows fundamentals.” I’m a big believer, coaching is teaching in his truest sense and I pride myself on being a good teacher.

You asked about Ryan [Mahaffey], you asked about [Offensive Line Coach Chris Kuper] Coop, really all the people that we have on staff, I really feel great about our group collectively because it’s people who know how to teach, are detailed, they work hard and they’re great high character people. That’s exactly who you want to work with on a daily basis. Coop certainly [is] the embodiment of that.

Q. How’s it going to work in terms of verbiage? Is it basically your language coming in that everybody learns or is it going to be different from that? (Tim McManus)

Sean Mannion: Yeah, that’s a great question. Kind of like I spoke to before, it’s a blend. There’s things schematically that we’re bringing. There’s things that the Eagles’ offense has really thrived with doing in the years past. In terms of the verbiage of the terminology, it’s a process of seeing, “Hey, what makes sense to keep? What are things that with some of the new changes coming in [that] need to change?” So that’s something we’ve looked at really from day one, understanding kind of the background of the scheme here, what are some of the things we want to add, things we want to tweak and how do we build kind of the language of our offense, but that’s been a great process. There’s elements that are new and there’s elements that will remain in terms of terminology, but that process has been a lot of fun because ultimately, like I said before, it’s all about bringing something to the table and then how can we continue to make it better? How do we continue to build it, streamline things and that’s really the whole process of the language of the offense, is really a good example of kind of where that takes place.

Q. What is your evaluation of QB Jalen Hurts’ skillset and how it’s going to lend itself to the scheme? (Olivia Reiner)

Sean Mannion: 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 what’s been really fun to watch these last two weeks of phase two. He’s always wanting more things to work on, wanting more things regarding fundamentals, timing, understanding the scheme. He’s hungry for more. Those are the guys that are really fun to work with. In terms of 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, really thought provoking questions. He’s detailed and attacks his fundamentals. He’s always a guy who stays after practice and is working on things. Those are the guys you love to work with.

Q. With the wide receiver room in general, what’s your vision for that group? Executive Vice President/General Manager Howie Roseman earlier this offseason called them basketball team of versatility. What do you see as the vision for that group? (Brooks Kubena)

Sean Mannion: Yeah, it’s a really exciting group. Obviously, we kind of talked about [WR] Makai [Lemon]. [WR DeVonta Smith] Smitty’s been awesome and it’s a really fun group. I really look at all of our position groups. Our offense is not about any one piece. It’s how we all fit together. The wide receiver group specifically has been a lot of fun. I think we have a lot of guys with complimentary skill sets. They’re tough. They compete every day at practice. They really attack the fundamentals, catching the football, yards after catch, all those things. So really excited about that group and how they fit with one another and then how they fit with the larger picture of the offense.

Q. As a play caller, how do you compensate for the lack of experience and who are the influences in your career that you take from? (Zach Berman)

Sean Mannion: I’ve always been kind of working towards the hope of getting the opportunity to do this. So even in Green Bay, you’re always going through, as the quarterback coach, you’re saying, “All right, what calls do I have to have [Green Bay Packers QB] Jordan Love ready for?” You’re kind of thinking through the process of the game throughout the week, “what’s [Green Bay Packers Head Coach] Matt [LaFleur] going to look to call here? What’s my favorite third down call?” You’re always kind of taking yourself through that process mentally. It was the same thing as a player. You’re saying, “Hey, what’s my favorite call in the high red zone?” If it’s a high blitz game, what’s my favorite call? When am I going to come to the sideline and be like “Hey, can I get this one on our next third medium where you might be getting a lot of pressure?”

You’re always taking yourself through that process, kind of flexing those muscles. Then even now, scripting practice, you’re still going through that same operation. “Hey, it’s first and 10, it’s second and eight, it’s third and eight. What are the things that I really want us to get work on for those specific situations?” So you’re always putting yourself through those paces.

And your other question about some of my influences, I think it really for me starts with my dad. My dad was a longtime high school football coach, been around the game my entire life. He’s a teacher. My mom’s a teacher. You can hear me talk about the teaching influence a lot when it comes to coaching, but just the drive, the work ethic, the relationships with the players, the commitment to fundamentals. My dad was a huge influence on me there. My college coach, Mike Riley, longtime coach at Oregon State, just a great leader of men, great communicator.

Matt LaFleur, he gave me my first job in this league and I’ll always be grateful to him for that. I learned a ton from him as a player. I learned a ton from him as a coach. He’s a tremendous coach, a great man, a great leader, learned a ton from him. It’s been a lot of fun working with Nick [Sirianni]. Nick’s an outstanding coach. He’s built an unbelievable program here. He really has total and absolute commitment to the things that are important to winning, stresses them all the time. He’s a great communicator, a great leader for our organization. I know I’m only a few months in with Nick, but I’ve already learned a ton and I can’t wait to keep learning from him because he’s a tremendous resource for me. He’s a tremendous leader of this organization and it’s been great so far and it’s going to be great moving forward.

Q. A lot of the players and coaches that have worked around you during your playing career and as a coach talk about the importance that you put on footwork for the quarterback position. I guess what is it about the system that you’re installing that makes footwork so key and what are some of the other fundamentals for the position that you really harp on? (E.J. Smith)

Sean Mannion: Yeah, that’s a great question. I think the quarterback position, there’s so many things that go into it. I think everything has a predetermined timing and rhythm to the play. It’s really installing a scheme that has proper timing and proper rhythm in terms of how the different elements involved in the concept work with one another. So making sure that the timing of one route marries with the timing of another route. Then you train the quarterback to really understand that and listen to his feet. That’s something that we talk about. If your footwork is sound and your rhythm’s good, it’s just going to feel like the ball wants to come out, right? Then if it’s not, then you move on. Those are all the things that go into training quarterbacks, but it really starts with the schematic element. How do we make sure all the different route distribution timing, you’re moving people around, but how do we make sure that the timing of the play is sound? And then how do we train the quarterback to understand what that timing is and how to best operate within it?

Q. You mentioned that QB Jalen Hurts can do everything with his skillset. He’s been a really good running quarterback throughout his career, not as much last year that number went down. When you envision using him next year, how important is it for you to get him back to being a threat in the running game? (Eliot Shorr-Parks)

Sean Mannion: Jalen has a unique skillset in that way. So that’ll certainly be a part of what we do, but we’re looking again at all areas as an offense to really attack defenses on a weekly basis. He is uniquely skilled in that way. That will be a part of it, but it won’t be the only part of it. It’s going to be a system that we’re building and constantly looking to add, evolve, how do we tweak things? How do we make it better at all times? That’s certainly something that he’s done a really nice job of. It’s something that makes him unique and makes him such a unique talent. So it’ll be a part of that and all the other parts of his game too, we’re going to lean into as well.

Q. The work ethic, when you talk to some of the guys you’ve been around, they all sort of talk about you’re one of the hardest workers that have ever been around. How much of a point of pride is that and where does that come from? (Bo Wulf)

Sean Mannion: Yeah, that’s a very high compliment for people to give me. It’s something I’ve really prided myself on my whole life. Talking about my dad as an influence, he’s a tremendous hard worker. I just think it doesn’t really feel like work when you love it. This is a tremendous opportunity. I’m so grateful to Mr. Lurie and Howie and Nick for trusting me with this and I’m going to attack it every day with relentless effort and energy and positivity. It’s one of those things that when you really love football, which I absolutely love football, it doesn’t feel like work and the hours don’t feel long because you really enjoy what you get to do every day. It makes it a lot of fun.

Q. You mentioned your dad, I think I saw a story where you might have been seven years old or something. You went to one of his games and you kept notes on a legal pad and showed them to him and then he gave you the legal pad years later. Is that true? I mean, can you give us a few more details about that? (Ed Kracz)

Sean Mannion: That’s funny you mention that. My dad, as a high school coach, would go and watch his next opponent if they had maybe a summer passing league tournament or something, just see what they were running. He would always keep notes on a yellow legal pad. So at some point when I was a kid, I must have been six or seven years old. I brought one and I was taking notes and drawing plays. Then when I actually got my first coaching job with the Packers, as a gift, he framed it for me. So I still have it in my house. It’s pretty cool. The scheme has evolved since then, I will say, but it was a really cool, special gift that he kept. Now with my kids, I’m keeping everything. I’m keeping all that stuff because it was really special for him to keep that for me and hopefully one day I’ll have a chance to pass it on to my girls or to my son.

Q. You mentioned some of the coaches who have influenced your ability to get into coaching. What about quarterbacks that you might have played with or played behind or played against? I mean, were any of them a really big influence on you as far as becoming a coach? (Martin Frank)

Sean Mannion: Yeah, absolutely. I’ve been really fortunate to be around a lot of really great influences that have made me who I am today. Being with [Detroit Lions QB] Jared Goff in LA, tremendous accuracy, anticipation, a decisive player. [Las Vegas Raiders QB] Kirk Cousins is someone, at [my] next stop in my playing career in Minnesota, [he had] tremendous accuracy, tremendous anticipation, toughness, an absolute professional in terms of how do you attack a week of preparation, just a really great competitor. I really can’t speak more highly of Kirk and our time together. Then other guys along the way, [New York Jets QB Geno Smith] Geno Smith, one of my teammates in Seattle, [Seattle Seahawks QB] Drew Lock, another good example, the resilience that it takes to be a quarterback in this league. Geno obviously had his ups and downs early in his career and it was really, really cool to see him get another opportunity and to keep working and keep getting better, that day-to-day improvement.

I know Geno would speak about that like, “Hey, it didn’t work out initially, but I’m not going to stop getting better.” Ultimately he’s gotten more and more opportunities to play and Drew’s another good example of it. Drew was actually [in] a game a few years ago. He hadn’t had a chance to play in a while and I think it was against the Eagles on Monday Night Football. He came back in and — there’s so many stories in your time as a player that you encounter. Not specific to the quarterback position, but when you ask about quarterback, I think there’s lessons you learn from so many different people along the way.

Q. What kind of play caller do you want to be? (Dave Zangaro)

Sean Mannion: 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.

Q. The term that Head Coach Nick Sirianni used was “marrying the run and the pass game,” what goes into that? How do you do that? (Zach Berman)

Sean Mannion: Yeah, that’s absolutely a huge part of what we want to do. We want to make sure that as many different elements of our offense fit together, that they look the same and how do we build this wide array of things that kind of start off of a similar type of look? So I think a lot of it goes into the planning throughout the week, looking back at weeks past, looking back at seasons past, “Hey, what are other things we’ve shown from these type of presentations to the defense?” Then being creative, thinking outside the box, that’s where I’m really excited about the group of coaches we brought in. Everyone’s been bringing outstanding ideas to the table. It’s a really good group of guys who are very intelligent, very creative, really work at it, study all these different things around the league and college.

So again, we can always look to add new elements, but yeah, the piece you spoke about of marrying the run game in the pass game is critical to our offense, but it’s been a really fun process leaning into that as we’re building this thing.

Q. With your background with zone blocking schemes, how’s that going in terms of applying that to an offensive line that has size and has been doing vertical in a lot of ways? (Brooks Kubena)

Sean Mannion: That’s been a lot of fun. I’m really, really happy with where we’re at. Again, two weeks on the field with the guys, just finishing phase two. We’re constantly building this thing and we’re five weeks into our time with the players, but really, really happy with where we’re at. You spoke about the offensive line group specifically, what an awesome group to work with on a daily basis, a ton of talent, a bunch of great guys, great football character. These guys love to work at it. They love to work on their fundamentals. They’ve really taken a lot of the changes that we’ve been making. I feel like they’ve got a really good understanding of what we’re trying to do from a bird’s eye perspective as an offense and then also kind of on the more micro level in terms of the really key fundamentals that make it go.

But they’ve really been leaning into that. It’s a really fun group to get to work with, a talented group and a fun group. And like I said, great football character in that room.