Why Eagles firing Sean Mannion, benching Tanner McKee is wrong question
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Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said on Nov. 2 that there have been changes. You just can't see them.
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Sirianni also said that you won't see changes in offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, offensive line coach Chris Kuper, run game coordinator Ryan Mahaffey or quarterback Tanner McKee.
To those questions, Sirianni gave his stock answers one day after the Eagles (2-6) dropped their sixth straight game, this time 27-10 to the Washington Commanders on Nov. 1.
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On Mannion, who leads an offense that has only surpassed 300 yards in a game once during the losing streak:
"It's our job as coaches to be problem solvers," Sirianni said. "With that being said, all of us have things that we have to improve on. And this is never just on one person. So I'm not making any changes there. It is on all of us to figure out how to get things going in the right direction. Obviously, right now, they're not."
On McKee, who's 0-3 since taking over for Jalen Hurts, who's presumably out for the season because of blood clots that have spread to his lungs:
"Tanner's our guy," Sirianni said. "We're not making any changes there. And again, how do we find solutions? That could be within scheme. That could be within how our schedule is, (how we) practice plays. And so everything's on the table for us in that aspect. But this is where we are right now, and we're trying to find solutions there."
Really, we're going about this all wrong. It's not that the Eagles don't need to make changes. They definitely do. By now, however, those changes are too late to save the 2026 season.
How losing benefits Eagles' future
And it's not worth saving anyway.
All you have to do is look at the latest draft order on Tankathon.com. If the season ended today, the Eagles would have the No. 5 pick in the NFL draft. And as we know, the Eagles could get a cornerstone player at any position they choose, such as edge rusher, offensive line, cornerback, safety, etc.
Would they consider a quarterback if Hurts can't make a full recovery? At this point, as Sirianni likes to say, "everything is on the table."
So, why stop at No. 5? The Eagles play the Colts, who are at No. 4, on Dec. 13. The Miami Dolphins are only a half-game better than the Eagles. The Eagles probably can't catch the Titans at No. 2 because the Eagles hold the tiebreaker by virtue of their last-second win led by Hurts on Sept. 20.
The Eagles were 2-0 after that game. Hard to believe, right?
Saquon Barkley's still trying
Don't mistake that for the Eagles and the players not trying to win a game. After all, most players have pride. Just look at running back Saquon Barkley, who has played two straight games with a strained hamstring and back when he could have easily sat out.
Barkley had 13 carries for 30 yards against the Commanders. But he was on a pitch count and played just 22 snaps, or 32%.
Barkley was asked if it's better to sit out with his injuries on a team that's struggling.
"No," was all Barkley would say.
For more context, Barkley is playing behind a banged-up offensive line, with a quarterback in McKee who began the season as third string, without the Eagles' top two wide receivers in DeVonta Smith (hamstring) and Dontayvion Wicks (ankle).
So why make changes now, as opposed to waiting until the end of the season? After all, changing the entire offensive operation by hiring Mannion likely wasn't all Sirianni's doing. Nothing happens without input from general manager Howie Roseman and Eagles chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie.
Lurie, as you might remember, has often said he values the latest offensive trends. And Mannion comes from the Sean McVay/Kyle and Mike Shanahan tree.
So why not find out if the Eagles' rookies can fit into Mannion's system?
First-round pick Makai Lemon, a wide receiver, has become the Eagles' top receiver with Smith and Wicks out. He led the Eagles for the second straight game in receptions (6) and yards (57). Lemon has 13 catches for 124 yards in the last two games.
Lemon was asked if he feels like he's hitting his stride.
"A little bit," he said. "I'm just trying to make sure I continue just to get better each and every day. We'll see."
Second-round pick Eli Stowers, a tight end who spent the first six games on injured reserve, got his first reception of his career in the game against the Commanders. He finished with three catches for 53 yards. OK, so the last one, for 34 yards, was a garbage-time reception that ended the game.
Still, that's something to build on.
"Eli, the way he was feeling at the end of the game, that tells you a lot about him right there," Barkley said. "And the way Makai's playing. We just got to grow, and, we got to grow fast, and the leaders got to step up."
The same is true for third-round pick Markel Bell, who's being thrown in at right tackle to replace a future Hall of Famer in Johnson. It hasn't been smooth. Bell had a critical false start penalty when the Eagles were facing a 4th-and-4 at the Commanders' 13, trailing by six points. Instead of potentially getting the go-ahead touchdown, the Eagles ended up missing a field goal after another penalty by left tackle Jordan Mailata.
That's what happens when a team isn't good enough. Every mistake gets magnified. The Eagles of 2024 could overcome those mistakes. The Eagles of 2026 can't.
So they keep losing, often in the most maddening of ways. And with every loss, their draft stock improves, and their future brightens.
There will be a time for major changes after the season that could include Sirianni. For now, we're left with the changes behind the scenes, whatever they are.
"To keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different result is crazy," Sirianni said. "So yeah, of course there (are changes). I won't get into all those ... But we'll continue to do the things that we need to do to put it on the right track.
"That's our job. How are we going to be problem solvers as coaches? That's what we're working on doing."
Contact Martin Frank at [email protected]. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Sign up for the "Eye On The Eagles" newsletter, emailed to your inbox every Friday morning. Read his coverage of the Eagles’ championship season in “Flying High,” a hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Why Eagles firing Sean Mannion, benching Tanner McKee is wrong question
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