Eagles coordinator Sean Mannion addresses communication woes, says he tries to be ‘unemotional’ about outside criticism
The Eagles were held scoreless for the final three-plus quarters on Sunday night at Washington.
The Sean Mannion era has been, in a word, rough.
The 2-6 Eagles are off to their worst start since 1999 and they’ve lost six consecutive games to get to that point. The defense hasn’t been great, but Mannion’s offense is the main reason for this, with the Eagles averaging just 17.1 points per game, the fewest for any Eagles team since 2012. They rank third-to-last in the league in scoring (137 points) and are averaging a league-worst 265.3 yards per game.
Their latest embarrassment came on Sunday Night Football, when the Eagles were held scoreless for the final 49 minutes and 27 seconds of a 27-10 loss to the formerly one-win Washington Commanders.
So, what’s going on? We know injuries have hamstrung the Eagles, but the offense looked like a mess even before that. Is there a breakdown in communication? Mannion addressed this at his Tuesday news conference.
“I always start [by] looking at myself,” Mannion said. “ Am I teaching this the best way possible? Am I putting the players in the position to succeed? I’m always going to be evaluating myself first in terms of the plan that we’ve been building, how it’s being taught, how it’s being installed, and then it really comes down to the week of practice and going out there and just being totally unrelenting in terms of your detail and your level of communication, your level of intensity out there on the practice field, on the walkthrough setting. I think we’ve largely done a good job of it.
“Two weeks ago, I thought we took a big step forward in that regard. Then there were ones that have got to be cleaner from the Washington game.”
It is because of these lapses that Mannion is facing heat just eight games into his career as an OC. The 34-year-old was brought in to jolt the Eagles offense after Kevin Patullo’s disappointing one-year stint last season, but his offense is looking just as stale — and often worse — than Patullo’s version. He was supposed to bring a wide-zone scheme that resembled Sean McVay’s and Kyle Shanahan’s. Instead, the offense has been predictable for opponents and has seemed confusing at times for Eagles players.
Asked after Sunday’s loss whether he would move on from Mannion or not, head coach Nick Sirianni was noncommittal, saying, “I’m not thinking about any of that stuff right now.” He then offered him a vote of confidence at his Monday news conference, saying that he and Mannion are “gonna do everything we can to get ourselves out of it.”
How is Mannion handling criticism from outside the building? By taking a pragmatic, non-emotional approach to his gig.
“I really just try to be as unemotional, if you will,” Mannion said. “Just really think about the task at hand and how to put our guys in the best position possible. I try not to think about the circumstances surrounding the game or the circumstances surrounding a call that I have to make. Just try to be really objective about it.”
The Eagles have problems. Eight games into the season, that much is sure. But which ones are symptomatic, versus the ones that are systemic? From the head coach to the personnel, from coordinators to the front office, The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and David Murphy scrutinize the micro issues that point to some of the larger dilemmas the Eagles now face: should they start to pack it in, and who will be held accountable for the team’s shortcomings? Listen here.
Listen to all episodes here or wherever you get your podcasts.
