In five years as Eagles coach, Nick Sirianni has had his offensive coordinator on the field with him during games. For the first time in Sirianni’s tenure, the man calling the plays on offense will be up top.
“We want to think about every situation to make sure we’re giving ourselves the best chance for us to win the game and be at our best,” Sirianni told reporters Friday about the decision to have Sean Mannion in the booth. “Also understanding that there’s no right way to do it or wrong way to do it. There’s a lot of different ways to do it. I think we can get so caught up in it, it’s like, ‘This is the only way to do it.’ to do your job best. That’s what we did.”
Sirianni was then asked how not having the offensive coordinator by his side during games will affect him.
“I don’t think so,” Sirianni said. “I mean, obviously, there’s still communication, right? We’re talking on headsets and everything like that. I would say the amount of conversations that happen that should be face-to-face, I think are very minimal. I don’t think it’s — you’re able to communicate and that’s something we stress to our players about how important that communication is. All of it.”
The balance continues to be seeing the full field for every game and having the ability to talk directly to the players without using a phone. And there is no magic in it. However, it will be a different game day experience for Sirianni and for players like quarterback Jalen Hurts.
The first test of the new approach comes on Sunday, when the Eagles host the Commanders.
