Most fans are reasonably sure that, no matter what happens in this upcoming Eagles season, Vic Fangio’s defense won’t be the main obstacle to another deep playoff run.
Sure, there are deficiencies on that side of the ball, but overall, there is faith Fangio will work his usual magic.
Should the 2026 Eagles suffer another stumble like we saw a season ago, it will likely be the fault of the offense.
Last year’s group was an underachieving unit that couldn’t sustain success. Kevin Patullo was clearly overmatched
in his first season as offensive coordinator and, as a result, was fired following the Birds’ wild card loss to the 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field. Jalen Hurts and Nick Sirianni remain, and are joined by new OC Sean Mannion.
The hope is Mannion’s new offensive scheme will fix what ailed last year’s inflexible group. Much will depend on the health of the offensive line. Lane Johnson’s second half departure was a killer, but Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens were never right, either.
But it was much more than that. It was clear that, as games went on, Patullo and the Eagles were overmatched.
Last year, the offensive coordinator was the fall guy.
What happens if the offense continues to struggle this season?
Hurts is the best QB in franchise history. But we have seen limitations to his game. He has never been a consistent high-volume passer, and last season, he stopped running with the football. He still does a number of things very well, and he has intangibles that most other quarterbacks do not possess.
ESPN’s annual survey of league executives ranked Hurts as the 17th-best quarterback in the NFL, grouped in a tier with Trevor Lawrence and ahead of Bo Nix, Daniel Jones and C.J. Stroud. Most Eagles fans heartily disagree with this ranking, but it’s fair to note Hurts is set to earn $51.5 million in guaranteed money this season, with a cap hit of just under $32 million.
If the offense cannot get its act in gear once again, it’s possible the Birds could trade their Super Bowl-winning quarterback after next June 1, when his fully guaranteed money drops to $22 million. Heck, even if the team doesn’t struggle offensively, Howie Roseman may consider it, given contract extensions will soon be needed for Jalen Carter, Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean.
But what about Sirianni? Sure, he has one of the greatest records in NFL history and has been the head coach for two Super Bowl participants. He has gone to the playoffs in each of his first five seasons. On paper, he’s an all-time great. And yet, he’s come close to getting the axe on a couple of occasions already.
He doesn’t call the plays and, with Mannion on board, he’s not even going to be the architect of the offense. Another stumble and it would be fair to ask what he’s doing to make the Eagles better. All of his hand-picked assistants have failed, and his demeanor on the field rubs some people the wrong way.
It would be easy to see the Eagles move on from Sirianni if things go awry.
And what about Mannion? Sure, he’s new and you’d think he’d be given a chance to allow his offense to grow. But Patullo wasn’t given that opportunity, as it was so painfully obvious that he was indeed the problem from early on.
What if Mannion’s offense is a complete disaster? Why should he get more rope than Patullo?
Obviously, it Mannion was a Roseman/Lurie hire, there would be more incentive for the decision-makers to stick by their guy, rather than the Sirianni hire the season prior.
Of course, this is only if the worst case scenario happens, a scenario that no Eagles fan wants to encounter next off-season.
