Eagles Hire McVay Protégé Sean Mannion as OC & Josh Grizzard as Pass Game Coordinator - It Was Never Just About Hurts

Several weeks after parting ways with former offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, the Eagles finally have their new offensive coordinator: former Green Bay quarterbacks coach Sean Mannion. Along with Mannion, according to Adam Schefter, will be former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard who will be their new passing game coordinator.

The process dragged on far longer than many expected. After reported top targets Mike McDaniel and Brian Daboll landed in Los Angeles and Tennessee, respectively, speculation began to swirl that the job had lost its appeal, and that Nick Sirianni might ultimately take back play-calling duties himself.

So with all the talent and money invested on the offensive side of the ball, why did this search drag out the way it did?

The biggest moment of the entire process may have been when reported top candidate and former Miami head coach Mike McDaniel withdrew from consideration- without even interviewing.

Without an interview? For a franchise with two Super Bowl titles in the last eight seasons and three trips to the big game? How does that even happen?

Sports radio and social media wasted no time turning it into a referendum on Jalen Hurts. But that narrative doesn’t hold up. The Eagles’ offensive coordinator search wasn’t about avoiding a quarterback.

Reducing a complex hiring process to “he didn’t want Hurts” isn’t fair to Jalen Hurts, and it ignores how coaching decisions are actually made. Coaches don’t skip interviews because of one player. They evaluate structure, autonomy, alignment with ownership and the head coach, long-term stability, and their own career trajectory.

Everything factors in. Quarterback talent matters, but QB1 was just one piece of a much larger equation.

According to Bleacher Report, Mike McDaniel declined an opportunity to interview for the Bills’ head coaching job and instead chose to become the Chargers’ offensive coordinator. So let’s be clear: this wasn’t about quarterback talent in Philadelphia. If he was willing to pass on a potential head coaching job that came with arguably the best quarterback in the NFL, then the idea that he avoided the Eagles because of Jalen Hurts simply doesn’t add up.

Some will argue McDaniel turned Buffalo down because he had already locked in with San Diego. But this is the NFL. You don’t pass on the chance to become a head coach paired with an elite quarterback like Josh Allen, and the opportunity to stick it to your former team twice a year, because you’re worried about optics or hurting feelings. That’s not how this business operates.

If that opportunity was truly on the table and he still chose San Diego, then the decision was about fit, control, structure, or personal preference- not about avoiding Jalen Hurts because he is incapable of utilizing the middle of the field. Mike McDaniel is proof that at least one coach didn't steer clear of Philadelphia because of the quarterback.

The reality is there are a lot of questions surrounding the Eagles’ offense heading into next season. Put yourself in the shoes of the candidates who ultimately passed or never engaged- what would their reservations have been?

The first and most obvious question:

How much control will I really have over the offense?

Is this truly my system to build? Do I design the run game? Do I control personnel usage? Do I shape weekly game plans without interference? Or am I stepping into an existing structure with defined boundaries?

For offensive minds with head coaching aspirations, or ones who believe their system is the system, that question matters more than the quarterback, the market, or the weather.

Jeff McLane recently reported that at one point last season, legendary offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland was relieved of his run game coordinator duties. That’s not a small detail. For more than a decade, Stoutland has been a foundational piece of Eagles football. The Super Bowl run was about dominance up front. It was Stoutland developing a former rugby player into an elite left tackle and seamlessly replacing a Hall of Fame center with a kid from Nebraska who quickly became a Pro Bowler.

Yes, the run game struggled last season. But Jeff Stoutland didn’t suddenly forget how to coach. The offensive line was ravaged by injuries for much of the year, and continuity up front matters more than anywhere else on the field. Yes, the QB touches the ball every play, but football is won in the trenches.

But what if some of the candidates the Eagles pursued wanted full offensive autonomy- and that level of control required reshaping the staff, even if it meant parting ways with someone like Stoutland? You couldn’t pay me to move on from Stoutland, and it’s hard to imagine Jeffrey Lurie would either.

Perhaps the biggest question — outside of control — is personnel. What will this roster even look like next season? The Eagles have significant money tied up on the offensive side of the ball, while a wave of young defensive stars is approaching extension territory. That money has to come from somewhere.

Which brings us to the elephant in the room: A.J. Brown.

Will A.J. Brown take the field as a Philadelphia Eagle in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season? If he doesn’t, what would this offense even look like without him? And if he does stay, can Hurts and Brown coexist, or are we headed for another in-season drama cycle that everyone in this city is tired of?

Then there’s Lane Johnson. We all assume he’s back for 2026, but what version of Lane are we getting? The All-Pro anchor the league has feared for a decade, or signs of wear from 2025? His contract runs through the 2027 season, but father time is undfeated. Whether he plays out that deal at a high level or not, a massive hole at right tackle is coming sooner rather than later.

Then there’s the other massive question mark heading into 2026: Jalen Hurts.

Why was he so hesitant to run in 2025? That’s not a small detail- it’s central to who he is as a player. Is Hurts still the quarterback who nearly won league MVP, led the Eagles to two Super Bowls, won a ring, and earned Super Bowl MVP honors? He can be, but not if he refuses to use his legs in a way that strikes fear into opposing defenses.

For any offensive coordinator who evaluated this job, those questions weren't minor details. Sean Mannion and Josh Grizzard just signed up to navigate a roster potentially on the verge of transition. Add in that with the fact that Mannion has never called plays at the NFL level- and, according to Jeff McLane, he will be the one handling play-calling duties, and it’s easy to understand why some fans feel uneasy.

While some of the fan base may have reservations, the Eagles did exactly what I wanted them to do. They brought in 2 guys. Now, they ignored my insanely wild idea of bringing back both Doug Pederson as OC and Frank Reich as passing coordinator / QB coach, but the combination of Mannion and Grizzard should produce positive results on the offensive side in 2026.

Photo Credit: Daniel Gluskoter/Icon Sportswire. Sean Mannion backup QB with Rams 2018 under HC Sean McVay.

Mannion, who is regarded as a rising coaching talent and has worked alongside respected offensive minds like Sean McVay, should be a positive influence on Jalen Hurts. He played a role in Jordan Love’s development and is known for emphasizing the fundamentals- timing, progressions, and footwork- that form the foundation of strong quarterback play.

Any quarterback, even an elite one, benefits from reinforcing the fundamentals that make a great passer. Timing, rhythm, footwork, and disciplined progressions are what stabilize an offense. After a season in which the unit constantly drifted in and out of cohesion, that back-to-basics approach feels necessary.

The addition of Josh Grizzard makes sense, too. He was most recently calling plays in Tampa, and despite how that situation ended, Baker Mayfield was playing at an MVP level early in the season under his direction. Grizzard brings recent play-calling experience, and paired with Sirianni’s background as a play-caller, Mannion won’t be navigating this alone.

And if nothing else, perhaps the presence of another experienced offensive voice will help streamline operations- getting Hurts to the line of scrimmage with more than three seconds on the play clock, giving him the time he needs to properly read, adjust, and control the tempo before the snap.

With the search now over, it’s clear that when there are a lot of moving parts on the horizon, growing pains are inevitable. From the outside, at least, the Eagles’ offensive coordinator position didn’t appear to be the premier destination many assumed it would be at the outset of the search.

Now, I’ll push back on the “destination” narrative for two reasons: Jeff Lurie and Howie Roseman.

As long as those two are leading this organization, the Eagles will remain an elite franchise. The history backs it up. Over the past decade-plus, no team has shown a greater ability to pivot, reload, and retool every layer of its operation- from coaching staff, roster construction, cap management, to scouting- as quickly and as effectively as Philadelphia.

No matter how this particular chapter unfolds, the Philadelphia Eagles will continue to position themselves to win.