As Sean Mannion’s offense struggles, other Eagles OC candidates aren’t faring much better elsewhere

The decision to hire inexperienced play-caller Sean Mannion as Eagles offensive coordinator figures to stand as one of the team’s dubious offseason moves. But Mannion’s was far from the only name involved in the Birds’ offseason search. How might things have gone down with some of the other confirmed or rumored names on the Eagles’ radar?

Here’s a look at how those candidates, including nine currently serving in OC roles elsewhere and two who landed other jobs in Philly, are faring this season …

Daboll opted to cast his lot with newly hired head coach Robert Saleh and former No. 1 quarterback Cam Ward in Nashville. It’s gone poorly. While Mannion leads the NFL’s 32nd-ranked offense of the moment, Daboll’s Tennessee offense is 31st, and the Titans are 1-7 with an anchor.

The regression of the supposed Super Bowl-contending Chargers (0-8) is one of the shocking stories of the NFL season, and McDaniel has been a symbol of it. The Bolts are 26th in offense and 26th in passing, with Justin Herbert’s NFL-worst 29.1 QBR among 31 qualifiers not exactly speaking well of any “offense whisperer” reputation McDaniel might have had.

» READ MORE: Eagles trade deadline tracker: The latest Birds rumors, potential moves, and top deals from around the NFL

Weis was the OC during Ole Miss’ surprising playoff run last year, and got a lot of flowers for turning former Division II quarterback Trinidad Chambliss into a household name. But Weis has not fared as well after following Lane Kiffin to LSU — the Tigers have racked up a lot of yards but are an underachieving 6-3 and had a poor offensive day in a 31-13 loss to Alabama on Saturday.

Robinson was part of history when his Bucs beat the Falcons without completing a pass a couple of weeks ago, but Tampa is 25th in offense and Baker Mayfield is 30th out of 31 qualifiers in QBR.

The Colts are in even greater disarray than the Eagles, with a trade deadline fire sale ongoing. Cooter doesn’t call the plays in Indy — that would be former Eagles OC and Colts head coach Shane Steichen — but he’s part of a group that is 27th in offense, with QB Daniel Jones 29th of 31 qualifiers in QBR.

After four years as OC with the Giants, Kafka was shown the door with the rest of Daboll’s staff and landed in Detroit. The Lions are top 10 in most offensive categories though it’s hard to assess Kafka’s impact when Drew Petzing calls the plays for an offense that was already humming when Kafka arrived.

» READ MORE: Is Nick Sirianni willing to go down with Sean Mannion after dreadful Giants loss and an upcoming bye week? | Jeff McLane

That the Dolphins are 1-7 is perhaps less a reflection on Slowik (and passing game coordinator Kevin Patullo!) and more based on a tanking Miami team’s lack of talent. They’re 31st in passing, 28th in offense.

The Eagles reportedly interviewed Doyle early in the process. He initially decided to stay with the Bears (where he didn’t call plays under Ben Johnson), before jumping to the Ravens under first-year coach Jesse Minter. Doyle received strong early reviews that went about as far as starting QB Lamar Jackson’s health. With Jackson sidelined, Baltimore has had one of the NFL’s worst offenses during a four-game losing streak where it has scored 43 total points.

The former Eagles assistant Nagy has helped the Giants emerge at the top of an awful NFC East despite a QB merry-go-round that has included Jaxson Dart, Jameis Winston, and J.J. McCarthy. Nagy wants to be a head coach again and might have enough cachet off a probable Giants playoff year to get back there.

Smith would have been a tough sell in Philly coming off four years not calling plays under the fired Mike McDaniel in Miami, and he eventually landed with Kevin O’Connell in Minnesota. O’Connell calls the plays and Wes Phillips is the OC with the Vikings.

» READ MORE: The Eagles are so bad that all you can do is laugh through the seven-game losing streak | Mike Sielski

The Eagles reportedly requested an interview with Webb before the Broncos promoted him from quarterbacks coach to OC. That move didn’t go great — Sean Payton took play-calling duties away from Webb after the team started 2-2 and ranked near the bottom of most offensive categories.

Kingsbury landed in L.A. with Sean McVay after two years as OC (one good, one not) with the Commanders. McVay calls plays in L.A. and Nate Scheelhaase is the OC.

We’ll group these two together because the Eagles ended up hiring them anyway. Grizzard, formerly the Bucs OC, is the pass game coordinator and Johnson serves as an offensive analyst. If the Birds move on from Mannion, expect Grizzard to be considered for play-calling duties.

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With the Eagles’ season gradually going up in flames, there’s been plenty of external fingerpointing. The offense, specifically the line, has drawn considerable ire, especially in light of the Eagles parting ways with longtime, beloved assistant coach Jeff Stoutland. Stoutland’s track record on the offensive line is Hall of Fame-worthy. This year, with Chris Kuper as Stoutland’s replacement, the line has regressed.

Should Kuper shoulder most of the blame? What really happened between Stoutland and the Eagles that caused their relationship to fall apart? The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane dives deeper into one of the biggest “what ifs” from a frustrating season, framing Stoutland’s exit around four key questions. Listen here.

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