During Super Bowl week, former Eagle Beau Allen spoke with Ryan Fitzpatrick on the Green Light Podcast about the Eagles hiring Sean Mannion as their new OC. They were both intrigued by the hire, and Fitzpatrick provided some insight into why constantly changing coordinators has made things difficult for Philadelphia, but why an infusion of new energy will be a good thing.
“I think it’s been interesting because, there’s this narrative out there, like, who would want this job. The job has produced head
coach Shane Steichen, it’s produced head coach Kellen Moore — but then like, Brian Johnson was a one and done, Kevin Patullo was a one and done. There was a lot that was made of the treatment of him in the media, the egging his house. It’s a difficult job.”
Allen pointed out that Fitzpatrick has a personal relationship with Patullo, to which the former QB agreed.
“He had been in that organization for quite awhile, and was good friends with [Nick] Sirianni, and it’s a whole nother animal when you go from, whether it’s quarterback coach, wide receiver coach, passing game coordinator like Josh Grizzard, to the guy, the play caller, the offensive coordinator. The standard is so high in Philly.
I think the draw to that job is, look at the talent you’re surrounded with, it’s unbelievable. Now, the team this year on offense was not the same as the team last year, I think they had some issues up front a little bit, but then you also put in a new coordinator, and you keep doing this every year, a new coordinator, trying to figure it out. They tried to do the in-house hire with Kevin Patullo and it just didn’t work out for a variety of reasons. But, I think it’ll be good to get new blood in there, just to get an infusion of energy from somewhere else.“
Fitzpatrick and Allen both acknowledged that they don’t really know Sean Mannion or what kind of system he might try to run with the Eagles. Fitzpatrick went on to talk about new Eagles passing game coordinator Josh Grizzard and his role last year in Tampa Bay. He noted how tough it is to be a first-time play caller, especially with the injuries and an evolving roster. Fitzpatrick explained that those are things that you have to learn how to overcome on the job, and that requires patience — which is not something coaches often benefit from in Philadelphia.
