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Accountability is one of Nick Sirianni’s five core principles. The Philadelphia Eagles head coach isn’t one to accept excuses. Neither is anyone in his locker room, especially not in the offensive line room where Jeff Stoutland has been pounding that mentality into his players for nine seasons.
Eagles starting left tackle Jordan Mailata is the second newest kid on the block – next to best friend Landon Dickerson – but it didn’t take him long to figure out how high the standard is in the building. The 6-foot-8, 365-pound immovable object realized there were no days off as soon as the franchise picked him in the seventh round (233rd overall) of the 2018 NFL draft. His attitude hasn’t changed, whether starter or third-stringer.
“The standard has always been high, regardless of how many years I’ve been a starter or wasn’t the starter,” Mailata told reporters. “I’ve always held myself to a high standard because of the players we have in the room. The standard that the coaches set for us, the expectations that we have to meet as players to play as an Eagle. And so, for me, and I guess the rest of the locker room, we all play or try to achieve that high standard that is set early on once you step foot in this building.”
It’s all about accountability, something that Stoutland isn’t afraid to throw in his player’s faces. If you go out there and flash bad technique, he’s going to let you know about it all week during film study. And all his guys understand that and respect it. They don’t want to let “Coach Stout” down.
“That’s one thing I love about walking into this building, the sense of accountability,” Mailata said. “No matter how much you get paid someone is going to hold you accountable and I feel like I’ve adopted this attitude where I do hold myself, again, to that high standard to which is set. I’m able to be held accountable, look at the film, and be honest with myself.”
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Mailata’s Growing ‘Bromance’ with Landon Dickerson
It’s funny to hear an oversized human talk about his burgeoning “bromance” with another super-sized person. Yet Mailata doesn’t hide his feelings for second-year guard Landon Dickerson, his blocking buddy on the left side of the offensive line.
Dickerson is projected to start at left guard this season as he and Mailata continue to build their chemistry on and off the field. The two are thick as thieves while going golfing and bowling together, among other things.
“Building that Brotherly Love off the field,” Mailata said. “I mean, you guys [the media] see Landon and I, just that relationship that we have on the field and off the field, the carryover is a lot, and we have a good bromance going on.
“[The other guys] are looking at us, like what’s going on here? I see him as my little brother and I’m glad that we have that relationship just off the field and when you’re on the field you just want to play harder and faster.”
That bromance has caught the eye of Eagles GM Howie Roseman, too. He sees Mailata and Dickerson possibly turning into the next Lane Johnson and Brandon Brooks. That’s a big reason why the team drafted Cam Jurgens in the second round. They didn’t want to break up the Mailata-Dickerson partnership on the left side by moving Dickerson to center.
“I think for us going through the season and seeing Landon and Jordan next to each other, I mean, that’s imposing. We felt like the chemistry that they had developed going forward and how young those guys are, just developing that left side,” Roseman said. “And we’ve seen something like that when we played really well when we had Brandon [Brooks] and Lane [Johnson], and lucky for us, obviously, Lane is still an unbelievable player and person and we’re really glad to have him.
“But I think as we went through it and kind of looked at where we were and saw how powerful that side is and how important that was going forward and the chemistry that they developed, we felt like going forward that was the right thing for us to keep that way.”
‘Thingamabob’ Gets Unmasked: Keeping Everything Secret
Mailata made headlines in late March when he was outed as ‘Thingamabob’ for his singing prowess on the popular TV show “The Masked Singer.” That’s right, the former Australian rugby player has an incredible voice and put it on full display in the talent competition when he belted out several songs, including Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect.” Mailata can hit all the high notes.
Mailata recently explained how his appearance on the show was the brainchild of a casting producer at “The Masked Singer” who happened to be an Eagles fan. He had seen the videos of Mailata serenading his teammates in the locker room and reached out. It took a little bit of convincing – Mailata was still playing football, with designs on a Super Bowl run – but eventually, the beefy left tackle headed to Hollywood to participate.
“I was like, ‘Nah, I’m not doing it, I gotta focus, I’m trying to play in the Super Bowl,'” Mailata said. “And then I told them we’ll play it by ear, if we’re still playing in February they can kick cans but if we’re not, then I’ll see — ask me again after we finish up and sure enough, like a week later, after we were done, I was in L.A.”
The whole thing took about three weeks to film and Mailata had to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and promise to keep his appearance under wraps until the air date. He did and the rest is history.
“No one knew. I kept it … secret,” Mailata said. “I had to sign NDAs. I didn’t want to lose that money. It was cool to see everyone’s reaction once it got released because they were definitely buzzing.”
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