Sean Mannion on Becoming the New Offensive Coordinator

[0:00] So when you when you come in here for the first time and start a relationship with Jalen, how do you how does that process work? [0:07] Like getting to know a guy, what he likes to do. How did you kind of navigate that? [0:11] Yeah, you know, I think it starts really just connecting with him on a personal level, get to know him, get to know kind of what his interests are, what makes him tick. [0:19] And then once you start to kind of get to know a guy on a personal level, I think the football connection becomes pretty easy. [0:25] It's it's been a great process with Jalen. He's been a pleasure to work with. And, you know, really, since I got the job, being able to connect with him on a personal level and then on football has been great. [0:34] What do you want the identity of the offense? [0:36] Yeah, I mean, I think the biggest thing we want our offense to look like is is we talk about play style a lot, you know, playing with great effort, great physicality, being great teammates. [0:46] So 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 strokes. [0:54] What was the interview process? [0:56] I mean, about the type of scheme you might run, but I was wondering how you balance like what scheme you believe in versus what you think is best for the players in that level. [1:04] Yeah, obviously there's things I believe in and there's things, you know, that schematically, you know, I have a background in, but ultimately it's going to be a blend and it's constantly going to evolve. [1:13] And it's all with that exact goal in mind that you just said, right? [1:16] It's about maximizing things for the players. [1:18] How do we make the Eagles the best team we can be? How do we make the Eagles offense the best it can be? [1:22] And how do we put all of our players in a position to really, really succeed and maximize their strengths? [1:27] How much of a learning process is it going to be for Jalen? [1:31] Because he's had a bunch of different coordinators, obviously, during his career. [1:34] Like, is this kind of starting over for him again or what's that like? [1:39] Yeah, you know, I think Jalen's been outstanding in the meetings and, you know, I think having gone through, you know, multiple coordinators and stuff, [1:46] you can tell he's a really capable learner. [1:48] And that's been really fun to work with on a daily basis. [1:52] You know, I think there's always going to be some degree of connection. [1:55] 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. [2:01] But it's been a great process to get to really build this thing from the ground up with him and with our staff. [2:07] And, you know, I think we're really being deliberate with the teaching and building this thing with a strong foundation because it's constantly being built. [2:15] It's constantly evolving. [2:17] We're always looking at how can we make this better. [2:19] So that process has been great so far. [2:21] What was the interview process like for you getting this job? [2:24] And how do you know that you're ready for this big of a jump in your career? [2:26] Yeah, you know, I was at the East West Shrine game and got an interview virtually. [2:31] And, you know, I felt like we just really, really hit it off right away. [2:33] I felt great about the football conversations and getting to connect with Nick and Howie and Mr. Lurie and all the people involved. [2:39] There's a lot of people involved on the interview and things like that. [2:43] But from there, you know, came in here for an in-person interview. [2:47] And, again, it was just even more validating getting to be in the building and get to have further discussion. [2:53] And, yeah, it came together kind of from there and felt like it was a great fit, great fit for me, great fit for my family, [3:00] a great fit just in terms of the football side of things here. [3:03] And, yeah, really, really excited. [3:05] In terms of, you know, being ready for it, I think I lean on all my experiences. [3:08] You know, obviously my years in Green Bay, my years as a player, learning things constantly along the way. [3:14] You know, I was fortunate to play for a while and play for a lot of great coaches. [3:18] And, you know, even as a player, I knew this is what I wanted to do next. [3:22] I knew I was going to get into coaching. [3:23] So I always had that in mind as I'm learning things. [3:27] You know, how am I going to use this someday from a coaching perspective? [3:30] And so I've been really fortunate to work with a lot of great coaches and pick up a lot of things along the way [3:35] and always kind of attacked it with the end in mind in terms of knowing someday I'm going to get into coaching. [3:41] You know, someday I hope to become a play caller. [3:43] How am I going to use this? [3:44] And so I really leaned into that throughout my career and learned a lot along the way. [3:48] How early in here, what was attractive about this job? [3:53] And what stood out to you? [3:54] You mentioned some of the interactions you had with Nick and Jeffrey. [3:56] What stood out during those interactions? [3:58] Yeah, I think the first thing is, you know, the Eagles have been an outstanding organization, you know, top to bottom. [4:05] 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. [4:12] And then, you know, getting to talk with Nick and see the way he views the game, see the way he views, you know, [4:19] building a program and running an organization and all the things that we really value here, right? [4:24] Tough detail together. [4:25] You know, you could just tell it was a great fit and it was very much in a line, you know, [4:29] perfect alignment with how I view the game as well. [4:33] So I think once you get to dive into those football discussions, [4:34] all the things that you know about the organization from afar become validated once you kind of see behind the curtain. [4:40] And, you know, it was a great fit. [4:43] I felt like we really hit it off from the start and really with all the people in the organizations, [4:47] it's been a great experience. [4:48] Sean, are you excited to work with Makai Lemon and what might he look like in your office? [4:53] Sorry, do you repeat the question more? [4:54] How excited are you to work with Makai Lemon and what might he look like in your office? [4:59] Yeah, Makai's been a lot of fun to work with. [5:02] I'm really excited to bring him on board. [5:04] And, you know, I think the way he works at practice is really impressive. [5:08] You know, he's a tremendous young talent, but even just out of practice, [5:13] you can see he practices really hard. [5:14] He studies hard. [5:15] He really takes a ton of pride in all the little details. [5:18] And that's a sign of a true pro, you know, and he's just getting started on that journey. [5:22] But with his degree of talent and the way he's been working, you know, [5:26] I really think he's going to do a lot of great stuff for us now and in the future as well. [5:30] His development is going to be great. [5:32] But really excited about him. [5:34] You know, all the things we saw at SC, right, catches the ball really well, [5:37] good after the catch, plays with toughness. [5:39] You know, that's something that Nick really, really has built this program around. [5:43] It's something that I really, you know, really resonated with me. [5:48] And Makai's a good example of that. [5:50] And like I said, the way he's wired out of practice, you can tell, you know, [5:54] he's going to be a great player and we're excited to have him. [5:56] What made Ryan Mahath be the logical choice to step in and coordinate the run game? [6:00] Yeah, you know, me and Ryan obviously have worked together. [6:02] And I think some of the things that we're bringing, Ryan has a background in. [6:06] And his background is unique, right? [6:08] He's been with the offensive line for a lot of time. [6:10] He's been with the receiver group. [6:12] And ultimately, you know, our run game, our whole offense as a whole is a collaborative process. [6:17] It's really being built by all of us. [6:19] And Ryan's a very detailed guy. [6:22] He understands the schematic elements. [6:25] He knows how all the pieces fit. [6:26] You know, having worked with the blocking unit with the offensive line, [6:29] having worked with the receiving group, [6:30] because we all have a hand in the run game and, you know, he's a tremendous teacher, [6:34] detailer-oriented. [6:36] He's going to be a great fit for that role. [6:38] Vic had mentioned you were interested in getting Chris Cooper to be the offensive line coach. [6:43] What stood out about him? [6:45] Yeah, you know, I first was with Chris as a player when he was in Minnesota. [6:48] And you could just tell he's a great teacher, detailed, you know, [6:52] obviously has a very unique background, haven't played a long time in the NFL. [6:55] I think the way he's going to be able to connect with all of our players, you know, [6:59] especially a veteran group of guys, you know, with our group specifically, [7:03] it's going to be a great fit for us. [7:06] But he's a great teacher, great communicator, really good at, you know, [7:09] coaching the fundamentals, understands, you know, a wide variety of scheme [7:13] and some of the things that we want to do. [7:15] So he's been a great fit and really, really excited to have Coop on board. [7:19] You know, I could tell, you know, when I first met him, I was like, [7:22] this guy really knows football, he really knows how to teach, [7:26] and he really knows fundamentals. [7:27] And ultimately, you know, I'm a big believer, coaching is teaching in its truest sense. [7:32] And I pride myself on being a good teacher. [7:34] And I think, you know, you asked about Ryan, you asked about Coop, [7:37] you know, really all the people that we have on staff, [7:39] I really feel great about our group collectively, [7:42] because it's people who know how to teach, are detailed, they work hard, [7:46] you know, and they're great high character people. [7:48] That's exactly who you want to work with on a daily basis. [7:50] This Coop's certainly the embodiment of that. [7:52] Sean, how's it going to work with, in terms of verbiage? [7:55] Is it basically your language coming in that everybody learns, [7:58] or is it going to be different from that? [7:59] Yeah, that's a great question. [8:01] Kind of like I spoke to you before, it's a blend. [8:04] It's a blend. [8:04] And obviously, there's things schematically that we're bringing. [8:07] There's things that the Eagles offense has really thrived with doing in the years past. [8:11] So, you know, in terms of the verbiage, the terminology, [8:14] it's a process of seeing, hey, what makes sense to keep? [8:17] What are things that, you know, some of the new changes coming in need to change? [8:22] So that's something we've looked at really from day one, [8:25] you know, understanding kind of the background of this game here, [8:28] what are some of the things we want to add, [8:29] what are the things we want to tweak, [8:31] and how do we build kind of the language of our offense. [8:34] But that's been a great process. [8:35] You know, there's elements that are new, [8:38] and there's elements, you know, that will remain in terms of terminology. [8:43] But that process has been a lot of fun because ultimately, like I said before, [8:46] it's all about bringing something to the table, [8:48] and then how can we continue to make it better? [8:50] How do we continue to build it, streamline things? [8:53] And that's really the whole process of the language of the offense, [8:56] you know, is really a good example of kind of where that takes place. [9:00] What is your evaluation of Jalen's skill set [9:04] and how it's going to let it self-serve? [9:06] Yeah, Jalen's been awesome. [9:07] You know, I really think he can do anything we ask of him. [9:11] He's accurate. [9:12] He's a great athlete. [9:14] He really attacks the fundamentals. [9:15] That's what's been really fun to watch these last two weeks of phase two. [9:19] He's always coming, wanting more things to work on, [9:22] wanting more things regarding fundamentals, timing, understanding the scheme. [9:27] He's hungry for more. [9:28] And those are the guys that are really fun to work with. [9:30] In terms of his skill set, though, he has great arm strength, great accuracy, [9:33] obviously a tremendous athlete, and he really attacks the game. [9:37] He has a great process in the meetings. [9:39] He always asks really, really thought-provoking questions. [9:42] He's detailed and attacks his fundamentals. [9:45] You know, he's always a guy who stays after practice and is working on things. [9:48] Those are the guys you love to work with. [9:50] So the wide receiver room in general, the wide receiver room in general, [9:53] what's your vision for that group? [9:55] How we, earlier this offseason, called it basketball team of versatility. [10:00] What do you see as the vision for that basketball team? [10:04] Yeah, it's a really exciting group. [10:06] You know, obviously, you know, we kind of talked about Makai. [10:08] Smitty's been awesome. [10:10] And, you know, it's a really fun group. [10:13] I really look at all of these, you know, all of our position groups. [10:17] You know, it's – our offense is not about any one piece. [10:21] It's how we all fit together. [10:23] And, you know, the wide receiver group specifically has been a lot of fun. [10:28] I think we have a lot of guys with complementary skill sets. [10:30] They're tough. [10:31] They compete every day at practice. [10:33] They really attack the fundamentals, catching the football, yards after catch, [10:37] all those things. [10:38] So really excited about that group and how they fit with one another [10:44] and then how they fit with the larger picture of the offense. [10:46] As a lay caller, how do you compensate for the lack of experience? [10:49] And who are the influences in your career that you came from? [10:52] Yeah, you know, I think, you know, like I kind of alluded to before, you know, [10:58] I know, you know, I've always been kind of working towards, you know, [11:03] the hope of getting the opportunity to do this. [11:05] So, you know, even in Green Bay, you're always going through as a quarterback [11:10] coach, you're saying, all right, what calls do I have to have Jordan Love ready for? [11:13] You're kind of thinking through the process of the game throughout the week. [11:16] You know, what's Matt going to look to call here? [11:18] You know, what's my favorite third down call? [11:20] So you're always kind of taking yourself through that process mentally. [11:22] It was the same thing as a player. [11:24] You know, you're saying, hey, what's my favorite call in the high red zone? [11:28] You know, hey, if it's a high blitz game, what's my favorite call? [11:31] You know, when am I going to come to the sideline? [11:32] But hey, can I get this one on our next kind of third and medium [11:35] where you might be getting a lot of pressure? [11:37] So you're always taking yourself through that process, [11:39] kind of flexing those muscles. [11:41] And then even now, you know, scripting practice, [11:43] you know, you're still going through that same operation. [11:46] Hey, it's first and 10, it's second and eight, it's third and eight. [11:49] All right, what are the things that I really want us to get work on [11:52] for those specific situations? [11:54] So you're always putting yourself through those paces. [11:57] And then your other question about some of my influences, [11:59] you know, I think it really for me starts with my dad. [12:02] You know, my dad was a longtime high school football coach. [12:05] You know, been around the game my entire life. [12:08] He's a teacher. [12:10] You know, my mom's a teacher. [12:11] You can kind of hear me talk about the teaching influence a lot [12:14] when it comes to coaching. [12:15] But just the drive, the work ethic, the relationships with the players, [12:20] you know, the commitment to fundamentals. [12:22] My dad was a huge influence on me there. [12:25] My college coach, Mike Riley, longtime coach at Oregon State. [12:29] Just a great leader of men, great communicator. [12:31] You know, and then obviously, you know, Matt LaFleur. [12:35] You know, he gave me my first job in this league. [12:36] And I'll always be grateful to him for that. [12:39] I learned a ton from him as a player. [12:41] I learned a ton from him as a coach. [12:42] He's a tremendous coach, a great man, a great leader. [12:46] Learned a ton from him. [12:47] And it's been a lot, a lot of fun working with Nick. [12:50] You know, Nick's an outstanding coach. [12:52] He's built an unbelievable program here. [12:55] You know, he really has total and absolute commitment [12:59] to the things that are important to winning. [13:00] Stresses them all the time. [13:02] He's a great communicator, a great leader for our organization. [13:06] And, you know, I know I'm only, gosh, a few months in with Nick, [13:10] but I've already learned a ton, and I can't wait to keep learning from him [13:15] because he's a tremendous resource for me. [13:18] He's a tremendous leader of this organization. [13:20] And, you know, it's been great so far, and it's going to be great moving forward. [13:23] A lot of the players and coaches that have worked around you during your playing career [13:26] as a coach talk about the importance that you put on footwork for the quarterback position. [13:31] I guess what is it about the system that you're installing that makes footwork so key, [13:35] and what are some of the other fundamentals for the position that you really harp on? [13:38] Yeah, that's a great question. [13:39] You know, I think, you know, the quarterback position, there's so many things that go into it, right? [13:44] And you asked about footwork. [13:45] I think everything has a predetermined timing and rhythm to the play. [13:51] And I think it's really installing a scheme that has proper timing and proper rhythm [13:55] in terms of how the different elements involved in the concept work with one another. [13:59] So making sure that the timing of one route marries with the timing of another route. [14:03] And then you train the quarterback to really understand that and listen to his feet. [14:08] You know, that's something that we talk about. [14:10] You know, if your footwork is sound and your rhythm's good, you know, [14:14] it's just going to feel like the ball wants to come out, right? [14:16] And then if it's not, then you move on. [14:18] And so those are all the things that go into training quarterbacks. [14:21] You know, but it really starts with the schematic element. [14:24] How do we make sure all the different route distribution, timing, or, you know, using different, [14:29] you're moving people around, but how do we make sure that the timing of the play is sound? [14:33] And then how do we train the quarterback to understand what that timing is [14:36] and how to best operate within it? [14:38] Sean, you mentioned Jalen has to do everything with his skill set. [14:41] He's been a really good running quarterback throughout his career. [14:43] Not as much last year. [14:44] That number went down. [14:45] And you envision using him next year. [14:47] How important is it for you to get him back to being a threat in the running game? [14:51] Yeah, you know, Jalen has a unique skill set in that way. [14:55] So that will certainly be a part of what we do. [14:58] But we're looking, again, at all areas as an offense to really attack defenses on a weekly basis. [15:05] He is uniquely skilled in that way. [15:08] That will be a part of it. [15:10] But it won't be the only part of it. [15:11] You know, again, it's going to be a system that we're building and constantly looking to add, evolve. [15:19] How do we tweak things? [15:20] How do we make it better at all times? [15:22] That's certainly something that he's done a really nice job of. [15:26] You know, it's something that makes him unique and makes him such a unique talent. [15:31] So it will be a part of that. [15:33] And all the other parts of his game, too, we're going to lean into as well. [15:36] We'll do it right there. [15:38] Work ethic, Sean. [15:40] You talked to some of the guys who've been around. [15:42] They all sort of talk about you're one of the hardest workers you've ever been around. [15:45] How much of a point of pride is that? [15:47] And where did that come from? [15:47] Yeah, you know, that's a very high compliment for people to give me. [15:53] It's something I've really prided myself on my whole life. [15:57] And again, you know, talking about my dad as an influence, he's a tremendous hard worker. [16:01] You know, I just think, you know, it doesn't really feel like work when you love it. [16:05] You know, this is a tremendous opportunity. [16:08] I'm so grateful to Mr. Lurie and Howie and Nick for trusting me with this. [16:12] And I'm going to attack it every day with relentless effort and energy and positivity. [16:18] And, you know, it's one of those things that when you really love football, which I absolutely love football, you know, it doesn't feel like work. [16:25] And the hours don't feel long because you really enjoy what you get to do every day. [16:30] It makes it a lot of fun. [16:31] You mentioned your dad. [16:32] I think I saw a story where you might have been seven years old or something. [16:35] You went to one of his games and you kept notes on a legal pad and showed them to him and then gave you the legal pad years later. [16:44] Is that true? [16:45] I mean, can you give us a few more details about that incident? [16:49] Yeah, that's funny you mentioned that. [16:51] You know, yeah, my dad, you know, as a high school coach, you know, you'd go and he would go and watch his next opponent if they had like maybe a summer passing league tournament or something and just see what they were running. [17:01] And so he would always keep notes on a yellow legal pad. [17:04] So at some point when I was a kid, I must have been six or seven years old. [17:08] I brought one and I was taking notes and drawing plays. [17:11] And then when I actually got my first coaching job with the Packers as a gift, he framed it for me. [17:16] So I still have it in my house. [17:17] It's pretty cool. [17:19] You know, the scheme has evolved since then, I will say. [17:21] But it was a really cool, special gift that he kept. [17:25] And now, you know, with my kids, you know, I'm keeping everything. [17:28] I'm keeping all that stuff because it was really special for him to keep that for me. [17:33] And hopefully one day I'll have a chance to pass it on to my girls or to my son. [17:37] You mentioned like some of the coaches who have influenced your, you know, ability to get into coaching everything. [17:45] What about quarterbacks that you might have played with or played behind or played against? [17:49] I mean, were any of them like a really big influence on you as far as becoming a coach? [17:53] Yeah, absolutely. [17:54] You know, I've been really fortunate, you know, to be around a lot of really great influences that have made me who I am today. [18:02] You know, obviously being with Jared Goff in L.A., you know, tremendous accuracy, anticipation, a decisive player. [18:10] You know, Kirk Cousins, you know, is someone absolutely, you know, kind of my next stop in my playing career in Minnesota. [18:16] Like tremendous accuracy, tremendous anticipation, toughness, an absolute professional in terms of how do you attack a week of preparation. [18:27] Just a really great competitor. [18:30] I really can't speak more highly of Kirk and our time together. [18:33] And then, you know, other guys along the way, you know, Gino. [18:36] I think Gino Smith, one of my teammates in Seattle, Drew Locke, another good example. [18:40] The resilience that it takes to be a quarterback in this league. [18:44] You know, Gino obviously had his ups and downs early in his career. [18:48] And it was really, really cool to see him get another opportunity, you know, and to keep working and keep getting better, that day-to-day improvement. [18:57] I know Gino would speak about that, you know, like, hey, it didn't work out initially, but I'm not going to stop getting better. [19:03] And ultimately, you know, he's gotten more and more opportunities to play. [19:06] And, you know, Drew is another good example of it. [19:08] You know, Drew, you know, it was actually a game a few years ago. [19:11] He hadn't had a chance to play in a while, and I think it was against the Eagles on Monday Night Football. [19:14] He came back in, and, you know, I think there's so many stories in your time as a player that you encounter. [19:21] Not specific to the quarterback position, but, you know, when you ask about quarterback, you know, I think there's lessons you learn from so many different people along the way. [19:28] What kind of play caller do you want to be? [19:31] Yeah, you know, 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. [19:43] Yeah, in terms that Mick used was marrying the run in the pass game, what goes into that? How do you do that? [19:50] Yeah, yeah, that's absolutely a huge part of what we want to do. [19:53] We want to make sure that as many different elements of our offense, that they fit together, that they look the same, and that they, you know, how do we build this wide array of things that kind of start off of a similar type of look. [20:07] So I think a lot of it goes into the planning throughout the week, looking back at weeks past, looking back at, you know, seasons past. [20:14] Hey, what are other things we've shown from these type of presentations to the defense? [20:20] And then being creative, you know, thinking outside the box. [20:24] That's where I'm really excited about the group of coaches we brought in. [20:28] You know, everyone's been bringing outstanding ideas to the table. [20:31] It's a really group of guys who are very intelligent, very creative, really work at it, study, you know, study all these different things around the league and college. [20:40] So, again, we can always look to add new elements. [20:43] But, yeah, the piece you spoke about of marrying the run game and the pass game is critical to our offense. [20:49] But it's been a really fun process leaning into that as we're building this thing. [20:54] But, Ryan, last one, with your background with zone blocking teams, how is that going in terms of, you know, applying that to an offensive line that has size and has been doing vertical in a lot of ways? [21:06] Yeah, that's been a lot of fun. [21:07] It's, you know, I'm really, really happy with where we're at. [21:10] You know, again, two weeks on the field with the guys, just finishing phase two. [21:13] We're constantly building this thing, you know, and we're, you know, five weeks into our time with the players, but really, really happy with where we're at. [21:21] And as you spoke about the offensive line group specifically, what an awesome group to work with on a daily basis. [21:27] You know, a ton of talent, a bunch of great guys, great football character. [21:31] These guys love to work at it. [21:33] They love to work on their fundamentals. [21:35] You know, they've really taken a lot of the changes that we've been making. [21:39] 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. [21:44] And then also kind of on the more micro level in terms of the really key fundamentals that make it go. [21:50] But they've really been leaning into that. [21:53] And it's a really fun group to get to work with a talented group and a fun group. [21:57] And like I said, great football character in that room. [22:00] All right. [22:00] Thanks, guys. [22:01] Thanks, guys.