Quarterback Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles has faced criticism through the media this offseason. But it’s safe to say Hurts has the support of his newest offensive coordinator, Sean Mannion.
During his introductory press conference Thursday, Mannion spoke glowingly of Hurts and suggested there’s nothing the quarterback won’t be able to accomplish in his offense.
“Jalen’s been awesome. I really think he can do anything we ask of him,” said Mannion. “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 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. Those are the guys that are always fun to work with.”
Mannion is entering his first season as Eagles offensive coordinator. It will also only be the third season of his coaching career.
Mannion served as Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach in 2025.
Sean Mannion to ‘Blend’ His Offense With Jalen Hurts, Eagles Personnel
The Eagles have a lot of great offensive pieces. But the unit is coming off an underachieving season under previous first-year offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.
Mannion will have to avoid the pitfalls of his predecessor to experience success.
His first objective — develop a strong rapport with Hurts, who is no strange to coordinator changes. Mannion will be Hurts’ 11th offensive coordinator of his college and NFL career. At the NFL level, he’s had six, only one of which for more than one season.
For that reason and a variety of others, Mannion described Philadelphia’s 2026 offense likely to be a mixtures of a lot of different things.
“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. “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.”
What Else Mannion Said About Hurts
More change could be coming to the Eagles offense this offseason. Pundits still expect the team to trade top wideout A.J. Brown.
To replace him, though, the Eagles have made a few different wide receiver additions, including first-rounder Makai Lemon.
Establishing a strong downfield passing game could open up things again for Saquon Barkley. Barkley didn’t come close to repeating his 2,000-yard season from 2024 last season. Barkley, though, remains the unit’s best player.
But the Eagles getting back to the Super Bowl will likely depend on Hurts gelling with Mannion.
On Thursday, Mannion couldn’t make it any clearer how impressed he is with Hurts’ physical tools.
“In terms of his skill set, though, he has great arm strength, he has great accuracy, obviously a tremendous athlete, and he really attacks the game,” added Mannion. “He has a great process in the meetings. He always asks really thought-provoking questions. He’s detailed and attacks his fundamentals.”
Mannion played quarterback in the NFL as late as three years ago for the Seattle Seahawks. His last appearance in a regular season game was with the Minnesota Vikings during 2021.
It’s taken Mannion just three years to become an offensive coordinator. He was an offensive assistant in Green Bay during 2024 before becoming the team’s quarterbacks coach last year.
Eagles New OC Speaks out on QB Jalen Hurts