Film Study: What Cayden Steele's Breakdown Reveals About Sean Mannion's Offensive Vision

When NJ.com's Cayden Steele joined Birds 365 to break down the Sean Mannion hire, he brought something most hot-take artists lack: film context. His analysis painted a picture of an offensive coordinator hire that is far more nuanced — and potentially more promising — than the surface-level panic suggests.

The Coaching Tree That Matters

Steele immediately zeroed in on Mannion's professional network. "Just from the people he's been around, that's a huge factor," Steele explained. "Matt LaFleur, Sean McVay, Kevin O'Connell, Dave Canales, Grant Yudinsky — the list goes on." That pipeline of offensive innovation is not just a résumé bullet point; it represents a philosophy of football that the Eagles' offense desperately needs exposure to.

The common thread through those coaching trees? Adaptability. These offenses are not one-size-fits-all systems. They mold around their quarterbacks — whether that is Matthew Stafford's deep ball, Kirk Cousins' timing routes, or Jordan Love's improvisational ability. And that adaptability is exactly what Steele believes could benefit Jalen Hurts.

The Malik Willis Blueprint

Perhaps the most compelling piece of Steele's analysis centered on Malik Willis. When Jordan Love went down with an injury, the Packers did not ask Willis to replicate Love's game. They adapted. In Willis's start against Baltimore, he went 18-of-21 for 288 yards — an astonishing efficiency number built on a scheme that played to his strengths as a dual-threat quarterback.

"Jalen's a better player than Malik Willis," Steele noted, "but there's that archetype of a dual-threat quarterback that maybe can't throw the ball 30 times a game." The implication is clear: if Mannion and the Green Bay staff could design a system that made Willis look like an NFL starter, imagine what they could do with Hurts's superior talent — provided they embrace what he does best rather than forcing him into a mold that does not fit.

The Schematic Changes to Expect

Steele expects meaningful changes to the Eagles' offensive approach. More play action, more under-center formations, and a genuine effort to get Hurts throwing over the middle of the field rather than relying on the short, high-percentage stuff that has defined — and limited — the Eagles' passing attack.

"I think the offense could change significantly," Steele said. "I think they could try to make Jalen throw over the ball more." But he was careful to add a critical caveat: this will not be a wholesale installation of the McVay or Shanahan offense. It will be an adaptation, one that keeps the run game as the engine while adding layers of schematic creativity that the Eagles have lacked.

The Risk Nobody Wants to Talk About

Steele did not shy away from the uncomfortable truth. The Eagles' offensive personnel could look dramatically different in 2026. A.J. Brown may be gone. Dallas Goedert could leave in free agency. Lane Johnson is aging. Cam Jurgens and Landon Dickerson need to bounce back. If the talent drain is real, even the best offensive mind would struggle.

"If the expectation is top 10 offense or bust and you lose in the divisional round, that's an unfair situation," Steele cautioned. The question is whether the Eagles' front office — led by Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman — are realistic enough to give Mannion time, or whether they have already set the timer on another coaching cycle.

Swing for the Fences

Steele's bottom line was decisive. "You got to swing for the fences," he said. "I think you always go for ceiling over floor." In a league where 10 teams were still searching for offensive coordinators, the Eagles chose the candidate with the highest upside and the steepest learning curve. It is either going to validate their process or blow up spectacularly. There is no quiet middle ground.

For Hurts, the stakes are equally high. If Mannion cannot unlock a more consistent, more efficient version of the Eagles quarterback, the conversation in Philadelphia will shift from "Who's the next OC?" to "Who's the next QB?" — and that is a conversation nobody in the building wants to have.