Nick Sirianni explains why he'll leave Sean Mannion alone … most of the time

Sean Mannion gets his shot at calling plays, while Nick Sirianni focuses on leading the whole operation.

By Reuben Frank • Published February 25, 2026

Nick Sirianni? He’s going into his 18th year as an NFL head coach, has the 5th-highest winning percentage in history, has coached two Super Bowls and won one and is one of only five coaches to reach the postseason in each of their first five years.

Sean Mannion? He’s 33 years old, has never been a coordinator or a play caller and has just two years of NFL coaching experience.

Can we really expect Nick Sirianni to stay out of Mannion’s way as he takes over as Eagles offensive coordinator?

Sirianni insists he will.

In a wide-ranging interview leading up to the Combine, Sirianni spoke about not stepping on Mannion’s toes and making sure to keep his role as head coach separate from Mannion’s role as offensive coordinator and play caller, even though he is an offensive coach by trade.

"There is no handbook in this head coaching job of like, ‘Hey, here's how you play this situation, here's how you play that situation.’ You have past experiences, but one situation could look different than the next. You know, Shane (Steichen) had had, what, one year of calling plays before he got here. And Brian (Johnson) and Kevin (Patullo), you know (didn’t have any), Kellen (Moore) had more.

"And so as far as oversight, I'm here to be a resource for (Mannion) as far as that goes. (But) I know that the most important thing that I need to do is be the head football coach of the football team, not the offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. I need to be the head football coach in charge of everything. It's setting that vision, all the different things that that go into it.”

For Sirianni, that means working with Howie Roseman on the roster, setting the practice schedule, running team meetings, connecting with players about football and non-football matters and crafting the culture he wants in the Jefferson Health Training Complex.

It also means deciding when to go for it on fourth down or when to punt. So he’s not completely divested of the offensive operation. 

And with nearly two decades of experience coaching offense in the NFL, he’ll remain a sounding board for Mannion as he finds his way in a new role.

But he's clear about one thing. Mannion will call the plays and he'll stay out of his way.

"I've had a lot of experience in putting together an offense, so I'm here as a resource for him in that aspect,” he said. "It’s the same thing (as) of course I'm going to use Howie (Rosemam) and Mr. (Jeff) Lurie to help think through who our offensive coordinator is going to be. They're resources. At the end of the day, I had to make the decision. Well, it's the same thing here.

"He's got to use the resources he has. We'd be foolish not to use all the resources that we have, and then at the end of the day, make the best decisions of what we need to do as an offense. And that goes with every spot of it.

"And so I guess some of these things, there's so many more steps to take before you get to, ‘OK, here's where we are on this,’ whether that’s scheme, whether that's this, whether what's going to look like,” he said. "There's just so many steps to take in that process.”

https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/nick-sirianni-sean-mannion-offensive-coordinator-eagles/717530/

Siri has been an NFL HC for 18 years??!! First sentence from Reub The Boob.

On 2/27/2026 at 4:49 PM, LacesOut said:

Siri has been an NFL HC for 18 years??!! First sentence from Reub The Boob.

My first thought when I read that too!

Yeah had the same thought too! Whoops.

I mean I’m glad to hear Sirianni is going to be mostly hands off. He’s just not very good when he’s involved with the offense so it’s for the best that he stays away.