Sean Mannion

Q. Where do you stand on QB Jalen Hurts as a runner in design? (Jeff McLane)

Sean Mannion: He’s very uniquely talented in terms of his athletic ability. It’s something he’s been effective with throughout his career. That’s part of what makes him such a special talent, but he does a lot of things well. I think he’s really operated through all facets of the offense comfortably, but the piece of him as an athlete in the running game is something unique. Those are elements we can lean into a little bit as well.

Q. Obviously being under center a lot, would you restrict having those at least plus one type of zone read and RPO? Does that restrict him from doing that as much? Is there room for him to have that facet of the offense? (Jeff McLane)

Sean Mannion: I think there’s definitely room for both. There’s room for both and I think a lot of it is just dependent on week by week or situationally. There’s a lot of different things that come up throughout the game from one week to the next, things you’re seeing from the defense. I think to have all those different elements in your back pocket, I think there’s room for many different things. The two that you mentioned certainly can both live together in some form or fashion.

Q. What do you look for in these early days? You’ve thrown so much new stuff at everybody. What do you look for to kind of get a sense of where they are and how they’re progressing? (Reuben Frank)

Sean Mannion: I think the biggest thing we want is great effort every day and then compete. That was a big thing coming into this camp for us is every day high-level competition. You’re competing against yourself, competing for a role on the roster, and then getting to compete against the defense every day is going to make us better and better. I think for us offensively, it’s, ‘Hey, can we have a really sound pre-snap operation?’ Those are some of the things early in camp, day one, we struggled with a little bit. I thought there was improvement day two. And then just assignment, alignment, execution. Are we getting lined up properly? Are we not having mental errors? Through the first two days of practice, it’s still early, but I’m happy with the progress we’ve made, and we’ve just got to keep improving from there.

Q. You evaluate the receiver position. Are you just looking for the players who play the best or are you keeping an eye on the complimentary skill sets in that group? (Dave Zangaro)

Sean Mannion: We have a very exciting group there. I think just like you said, it’s because there are so many complimentary skill sets. We look for a ton of flexibility in terms of everybody [being able to] line up anywhere and we can move people around, and it opens up a lot of exciting possibilities. That’s part of what makes this group really fun to work with. You have a lot of guys who can play off of one another in different ways. Like I said, it opens up a lot of possibilities for our offense just because that whole group, everyone’s bringing something to the table.

Q. When it comes to install, I guess going back to your playing days or your time in Green Bay, does anything change when it’s new versus having the same process there for a couple years? (John McMullen)

Sean Mannion: I think there’s a comfortability that comes maybe, but honestly, I think every camp I went into, you might’ve heard the play before, but you pick up a new coaching point each time through. I think that’s part of the joy of coaching for me is I’m installing this play now for the second time. These guys, they did a great job day one. I was really impressed with the retention after the summer break, which is a testament to our guys. They’re pros. They were clearly studying over the offseason program, over the break.

But getting back to your question, I think that’s part of the fun of coaching, the fun of playing; ‘I’ve heard this play before, but how am I going to take it to the next level?’ And for me, can I give them a coaching point that will help them execute it even better? Even though they know it, can I help them know it even better? And so each time through, I’ve found that you can learn something new about the play that helps you execute it.

Q. What’s your view of the defense? Third year under Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio, a lot of Pro Bowlers on that side. What’s your takeaway on that? (Ed Kracz)

Sean Mannion: I mean, it’s a tremendous group. Coach Fangio, he’s as good as it gets in this league and has been for a long time. It’s a great competition for us every day going against an elite unit there. I know playing against Philly the last couple years when I was in Green Bay, they’re tough. They’re tough. They play hard. They play fundamentally sound. There are a lot of great players over there and it’s an awesome challenge for us every day to go against them and it’ll only make us better.

Q. A lot of the guys on offense have been here for several years in Head Coach Nick Sirianni’s system and everything like that. How have you found the transition for these guys to what you’re trying to teach? Do you find they’re still kind of set in their ways? Are they willing to learn? How has that been working? (Martin Frank)

Sean Mannion: No, it’s been great. They’ve been super willing to learn. Like I said, it’s a great group of guys to work with. I think the biggest thing is all these guys are so hungry to learn. They’re so hungry for the individual periods where we’re teaching them technique. That’s all you want as a coach is guys that are willing to learn and want to work at it. Across our entire roster, those are the type of guys that [Executive Vice President/General Manager] Howie [Roseman]’s brought in. Those are the type of guys we get to work with every day. Like I said, again, from the offseason program, you have a summer break and coming back, I thought day one and two– and we had some pre-snap stuff to fix, but their retention from the Spring was outstanding and it allows for us to pick up right where we left off and kind of keep building from there.

Q. Going back to Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio, with how much he’s emulated across the league, how instructive is it specifically with the pre-snap stuff, like the motions and some of the formation tells? How helpful is it for you to see how he responds to some of that stuff? (EJ Smith)

Sean Mannion: Yeah, it’s a little bit of a chess match every day. You’re scripting things in practice and then you’re studying how our defense [is] responding to them, the things we’re doing. There might be some commonalities across the league, and in other weeks there might not. It’s a little bit dependent on the other team’s play caller and their defensive system and what we’re doing to try to attack it. But certainly each day we’re studying and trying to see, ‘Okay, is there something we can build off of? That formation or that motion or that route distribution?’ And you’re trying to gauge how we’re able to affect the defense and what else could there be off of that? Some of that might carry over from one opponent to the next. Like you said, Vic’s been emulated around the league, but there are differences, too. It’s a little bit of a weekly thing, but you’re always studying to see what’s happening out there.

Q. Do you want a true fullback, or when you look at the duties that might be there, what are the thoughts where it could come out of someone out of the backfield or a tight end? (Brooks Kubena)

Sean Mannion: I think without getting too far into the details of it, I think as multiple as we can be formationally, I think that’s always something we want to try to do and especially train these guys to do multiple things throughout camp. There’s a ton of practice left. We have to try to push these guys to learn as much as they can. How flexible can everybody be in terms of their alignments and assignments while at the same time understanding we’re putting them all in the best position to be the best players they can be.

Q. As far as the backs catching the ball out of the backfield, how prominent is that in the offense? How do RB Saquon Barkley and RB Tank Bigsby fit into that? (Zach Berman)

Sean Mannion: Again, don’t want to get too far into specifics, but I think they’re all very, very capable of that. The backs have protection responsibilities. Sometimes they might be a free release back. A lot of it kind of depends on the play. It depends on maybe what the defense is bringing and what we need from a protection standpoint. But they’re all capable pass catchers and route runners. I think a lot of it sometimes comes down to the protection element and do we need a sixth man in protection, a seventh man in protection, so on and so forth. Then some of it is defensively, is there a matchup we want to attack? But they’d certainly bring that skillset to the table. It’s something that every day, like I said, we’re trying to push these guys and have everyone have as much flexibility with what they can do so that when we get in the season, we know how [to] put these guys in the best position possible.

Q. Both T Lane Johnson and T Jordan Mailata have said the scheme is offensive line friendly. I would like to hear why you think that is. And then obviously, you’re going to be taking from somewhere if you’re going to be helping the offensive line. Where is the contraction coming from? (Jeff McLane)

Sean Mannion: I think I understood the first part of your question, but I guess in terms of being O-line friendly, I think one of the things I preach, [Offensive Line Coach Chris Kuper] Kup preaches with the offensive line group every day is ‘assignment commitment.’ We want these guys to go up there, know exactly where to go and play fast. So, throughout all of our teaching, we want to make as many things black and white for them as possible so that we’re all on the same page and we’re off and running. If the defense changes a look, at least we all know exactly where we’re going and we’re going with total assignment commitment to attack our aiming points, attack our targets. That will ultimately allow us to play fast, play physical, have the play style that we want. But we want to make everything as cut and dry, black and white for the offensive line so that they really can fire off and have– like I said, the term we use is ‘assignment commitment’ to what they’re doing.

Q. They’re talking about help that they get. Help that maybe previously they didn’t get. They talk about inside help, but obviously at some point– (Jeff McLane)

Sean Mannion: Yeah, I think I understand your question now. I think one of the things that’s unique about the offensive line is they are all working in conjunction with one another and with the tight ends. I think a lot of it is the time they spend with one another. It’s a tight knit group. The unit, there’s a lot of times where they may be working drills with one another, maybe different than a receiver who’s running an individual route versus air. There’s so much offensive lineman playing in conjunction with another offensive lineman or with a tight end or how the back’s track fits into certain things. I think all those things lend itself to your original question where it does feel, I think to them that, ‘Hey, it’s a friendly system where I have help because I’m working with my running mate here,’ whether it be the tight end, running back, or offensive lineman.

Q. How do you spend your time on the practice field and in meeting rooms? Obviously, your background is at quarterback, so do you have to be intentional about moving around with the other position groups or do you lean on your expertise and find yourself with the quarterbacks? (Bo Wulf)

Sean Mannion: Yeah, I definitely have to be intentional. I’d say it’s a blend of all those things. Some of it has to do with the special teams time. The quarterbacks aren’t in the special teams meetings, so I can always kind of steal some time in the QB room there. The offensive line, unless we’re using field goal, field goal block, you get a little bit of extra meeting time to spend with them there. But yeah, that’s been one of the adjustments for me in this role is one, you’re addressing the unit every day, and that’s been great having all of our unit meetings where the whole unit’s in there together. I think that’s so critical. But then also spending time with every group. That’s been a lot of fun, honestly. It’s been great to get to lean into the fundamentals of all the different positions.

Q. Are there learnings through that of like, ‘Oh, I hadn’t thought about it that way from that position group’s perspective?’ (Bo Wulf)

Sean Mannion: No, I think the biggest thing is that you get questions from a different perspective. I think that part’s fun to get to talk about the details of combination blocks up front with the guys. And obviously [Offensive Line Coach Chris Kuper] Kup and [Run Game Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach] Ryan [Mahaffey], they’re in the meeting rooms all the time as a position coach answering those questions. But when I’m in and out of all the different units, that part’s been a lot of fun.

Q. The other day, QB Jalen Hurts said as much as he’s trying to learn from you, he’s also trying to be of service to you given his experience. How have you leaned on him throughout the install process and as you build this offense? (Olivia Reiner)

Sean Mannion: It’s been a constant back and forth. Jalen’s had a ton of success in this league and has played in a lot of games. I always want to know the things that he feels comfortable with and if there’s something that maybe we need to go into more detail on for him. There are so many things that you love to dive into, the really nitty-gritty of a play, and help him with total mastery. A lot of it is, for me as a play-caller, getting a feel for what are his comfort calls? What are the things that on a second-and-long he feels super confident in? It’s been a great partnership with Jalen since we got here. The back and forth’s been outstanding and he asks really thought-provoking questions. It’s been a lot of fun to work with him.

Q. Have you spent much time studying other teams that transitioned to this type of offense? And what did you find in terms of how to get a system up and running as quickly as possible? (Tim McManus)

Sean Mannion: We study tons of teams around the league. That’s the fun of the offseason. Before these players are in here, obviously we’re implementing our offensive system, building our offense, but you’re always looking around the league. You’re always looking at college and finding new ideas from everywhere. That’s one of the fun parts about our staff. We have people who have familiar backgrounds. We have people from different backgrounds. So ultimately, it’s about how do we make this offense, the Eagles offense, the best that it can be? It’s always evolving and you’re always looking to improve it. You’re always saying, ‘Is there a new element that we can add that can really help us?’ You look everywhere for those things.

Q. Do you want to call plays from upstairs in the booth or down on the field? (Merrill Reese)

Sean Mannion: We’re still working through all of that. We have some simulated games here at practice where I’ll get to get a feel for both of them, but I think either way, it’s going to be a good experience. There’s certainly– that’s something we’ve already charted out a couple days to kind of work through both of those options.

Q. With QB Tanner McKee and QB Andy Dalton as splitting backups, does your experience help with that approach when you try to get guys as many reps as possible? (John McMullen)

Sean Mannion: I think it does. If nothing else, I’ve been in their shoes, and I know it’s important to try to get these guys into a rhythm at practice and get them comfortable. They’ve both done a great job. It’s a very exciting group, top to bottom. All four of those guys are fun to work with. Ultimately, we want to get as many chances to get all of them on the field and get as many reps as possible each day.