Delaware County Daily Times: https://tinyurl.com/4wzsjaer
Originally published Oct. 8, 2026
PHILADELPHIA — This was always going to be a winding, bumpy road.
Not only did the Eagles hire a new offensive coordinator in Sean Mannion, they hired him to install a brand new, West Coast-style offense (including new blocking schemes) that most of the team had never played in before.
Add in the fact that virtually no starters played in the preseason, which is now the norm for most NFL teams. Then consider that the Eagles only held joint practices against one opponent (the New England Patriots) — 12 teams practiced against two opponents, three teams practiced against three.
Oh, and on top of all that, throw in a knee injury to Pro-Bowl left guard Landon Dickerson that landed him on IR and the departure of right tackle Lane Johnson, a future Hall of Famer. It adds a couple of gaping, suspension-jarring potholes to the roadway.
Wait, there’s more.
Like having to dodge fallen trees and downed power lines in a rainstorm, the Eagles’ offense is without seven other key players: running back Saquon Barkley, wide receiver DeVonta Smith, tight end Dallas Goedert, tight end Eli Stowers, running back Tank Bigsby, offensive lineman Fred Johnson and wide receiver Hollywood Brown.
And this is before even mentioning Pro Bowl center Cam Jurgens, whom general manager Howie Roseman dealt to the Baltimore Ravens Wednesday.
Combine all those factors and it’s no wonder the offense has had a rough ride in the first month of the season, ranking 30th in total yards and 31st in net passing yards while disappearing in the second halves of games.
Despite all the obstacles, unevenness and ugliness, Mannion said he still has conviction in the system that he and the staff have installed.
“Yeah, because it is what I believe in,” Mannion said Tuesday. “It’s unwavering in that regard. ... I have the same conviction when I interviewed here and when Nick hired me. I have total faith in what we’re doing schematically and our ability to coach it and teach it and our players’ ability to execute it.
“That doesn’t mean that you don’t look at things every week and say, ‘How can I make this better? Is there something the defense is doing that we can tweak or do a little bit differently?’ The core tenets of all that, I’m still steadfast in all that stuff.”
The NFL saw widespread coaching turnover entering this season with a combined 35 new coordinators on offense and defense, including 17 doing it for the first time (eight on offense, nine on defense). It has also seen a record number of penalties (983 accepted), according to data collected by ESPN and NBC Sports. That’s the most through four weeks of any NFL season since such play-by-play data became available in 1978.
It’s doubtful it’s a coincidence.
Coach Nick Sirianni, who spoke shortly before Jurgens was traded, said he shares Mannion’s conviction in the new offense despite the array of personnel issues and trouble with execution.
“Yeah, I do. We’re early on in this season, and our job is to continue to find out what we do best, what we don’t do quite as good, and try to attack that way,” Sirianni said Wednesday. “I think how quickly we forget that only a mere two years ago, in 2024, we sat in the same situation (a 2-2 record), and we made some adjustments and we got on a roll.
“I think sometimes we conveniently forget those things. We don’t up here, but you’re constantly finding where you are as a football team, what you do the best. Our job in situations is not to panic; it’s to find solutions.
“In those situations, the rest of the world could be panicking. We have to be able to look and find solutions.”
The championship coach, who has reached the playoffs in each of his five seasons here, including two Super Bowl appearances and a Lombardi Trophy, then shared a personal experience from his childhood.
“My dad, when I was a kid, had cancer, and I never even really knew about it,” Sirianni said. “He put his chest up, put his chin up, and he kept going. If he was tired, he went to his room and didn’t show anything to me and my brothers.
“What a great example of being able to — when everyone seems to be panicking — just stay on the course and going through and controlling the things that you can control.”
The loss of Lane Johnson and Jurgens in the span of 24 hours sent shockwaves through the Eagles’ locker room. Johnson’s retirement may not have been a complete surprise after he missed Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, but the trade of Jurgens certainly was.
“Very brutal reminder of how cutthroat the league is,” All-Pro left tackle Jordan Mailata, one of the team captains, said of the Jurgens deal. “You just don’t know when is the last time you’re going to play with someone. That was, I guess, a cruel reminder.
“But this is the nature of the league. For the sake of this team, we’ve got to keep pushing forward. At least that’s how I’m thinking.”
He went on to discuss the retirement of Johnson, who was the bookend opposite him on the line.
“What an opportunity I had to play with Lane and cherish all those moments with him,” Mailata said. “I hope he’s OK.
“There’s a lot to process in 24 hours. You kind of think back to how you could have helped more or what you could have done better in the time. That’s what you kind of think, but it’s not about me. It’s about Lane and celebrating his career and his accomplishments now that he’s done with his time in the NFL.”
In the Philadelphia area, there has been chatter about, “What if Jeff Stoutland was still here?” The fact is, the iconic O-line coach chose to leave in the offseason because he didn’t want to coach the purist West Coast zone-blocking scheme. That philosophy and his don’t mesh. In stepped former NFL lineman Chris Kuper, whom Mannion poached from the Minnesota Vikings.
As Mailata and Co. push forward in the Mannion/Kuper framework — which Mailata and others genuinely spoke highly of in camp — they do so with a partially remade offensive line. Before the season began, general manager Howie Roseman felt like he had reinforced depth on the interior, but that depth has been tested.
The new line — when healthy — will keep Drew Kendall at center and either veteran Fred Johnson or rookie Markel Bell at right tackle. Dickerson is expected back soon, but while he’s still out, Willie Lampkin (who played well at center in the preseason) will likely play left guard. Tyler Steen remains at right guard while Mailata, obviously, remains at left tackle.
Kendall (6-foot-4, 308 pounds) is a second-year man drafted in the fifth round out of Boston College, and the front office believes in him. He has been playing center since Dickerson got hurt, with Jurgens moved over to left guard.
“You know, had a chance to watch Drew here play center,” Roseman said. “He’s doing a nice job. We have a young player there.”
Unfortunately, Kendall popped up on Wednesday’s practice report with a knee injury.
Roseman added that parting ways with 27-year-old Jurgens, ostensibly in his prime, doesn’t mean the Eagles are punting on the season
“We’re trying to win this year,” Roseman said. “I think, from my perspective, just looking at what is the ultimate goal, which is to win the last game of the year, and then to have a run like we’ve had.”
Undersized Lampkin (5-11, 279), who went undrafted out of North Carolina, is in his second year in the league but first on an active roster. After spending training camp with the Rams in 2025, he was placed on waivers with an injury designation and the Eagles claimed him.
Lampkin’s smaller size seemed to give him leverage against defenders in the preseason.
Fred Johnson (6-7, 326), 29, is in his second stint with the Eagles and has filled in for Lane numerous times, with relative success. He has been out with a knee injury.
Bell (6-9, 346) is a hulking giant of a man and a third-round rookie out of Miami, where he didn’t allow a sack last season. He played at left tackle for the Hurricanes in the CFP national championship game against Indiana. On Sunday, he filled in at the last minute and turned in a solid performance.
“I feel good about where we are in that (offensive line) room,” Sirianni said. “I’m really excited for Markel’s opportunity. Thought under the circumstances of last week that he handled that really well, and excited about the growth that he’s going to be able to have this year. I’m excited for him.”
The Eagles hope Bell will become Lane’s long-term replacement and will want to give him plenty of snaps.
“When Lane retired and also today with Cam, I honestly didn’t expect it,” Bell said. “I learned a lot from Lane. He had a lot of wisdom and he really did take me under his wing. But one thing he said primarily was, don’t make the game bigger than it is. … So when I got that call late Sunday (morning), one of the things I thought was, what would Lane do in this situation?”
An interesting note: Lane Johnson remains on the active roster for a variety of complicated financial reasons and maneuvering involving league rules. He’s eligible to come back before Week 12 and play if he chooses to, but the Eagles aren’t expecting that.
Through all the tumult, there’s not much time for the Birds to take a breath. The Eagles have to fly to London this weekend to play the Jacksonville Jaguars. In the meantime, they’re still trying to adjust to their new offense.
“Obviously, you want continuity in the line, but there are things out of our control,” Mailata said. “We can only do with what we’re given.
“It doesn’t matter who the guy is next to you. You’ve got to get ready and prepare for the next week. Learning a new offense and trying to execute that game plan and execute the schemes is one thing, but I’ve always said that continuity builds success. This is just one of the things, again, that we do well here is preparing the next man up and giving guys an opportunity to go out there and prove themselves.”
Quarterback Jalen Hurts — in a new system and surrounded by players he hasn’t practiced much with because of multiple team injuries — has looked uncomfortable, especially the last two weeks. Now he’ll have another reshuffled offensive line, still not fully healthy, trying to protect him.
“Got a lot of love for Lane and Cam,” Hurts said. “I have a lot of gratefulness and appreciation for the time we’ve spent together, the games we’ve played together, the adversities we’ve overcome. … With respect to Lane, I wish to see him happy and at peace. That’s what I sincerely wish for him.
“I feel good about the group we have. … We’ve got a lot of room to improve. We’re attacking that every day.”
Specifically on the difficulties of operating a new offense amid all the recent upheaval, the MVP of Super Bowl LIX was candid.
“It’s definitely a challenge. It’s a real thing,” Hurts said. “It’s a challenge that nobody’s going to wait on us to overcome. We have to build a system.
“We continue to gel, continue to come together and have those conversations so we can put the best product on the field.”
With mounting injuries, back-to-back bad losses to the Bears and Rams, a sudden retirement and a major trade, the past two weeks have already felt like a long, strange trip for the 2026 Eagles. But Sirianni is meeting the roadblocks head-on. And it’s what he’s preaching to his team.
“It’s crazy, but adversity — every adversity that I’ve been in through my life, they’re not comfortable at the time, but they produce the most growth,” Sirianni said, alluding to his faith. “I am truly, truly thankful for the adversities that I go through, even though they’re not comfortable at the time, and what a message I have to be able to send to the team, my kids, of that.
“I think that just being able to relay that message … and lock arms and let’s go.”
Wednesday injury report
The Eagles’ defense is nearly as battered as the offense. Wednesday’s practice report (which doesn’t include players on IR) is a mixed bag.
DNP — RB Saquon Barkley (hamstring), WR Marquise Brown (ankle), LB Jihaad Campbell (knee), S Marcus Epps (groin), OLB Jonathan Greenard (ankle), C Drew Kendall (knee), WR DeVonta Smith (hamstring).
LIMITED — LB Zack Baun (concussion), TE Dallas Goedert (knee), T Fred Johnson (knee), CB Quinyon Mitchell (knee).
Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X and Threads at @the_defranc.