May 22, 2026
On Thursday, Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio spoke with reporters for the first time since the end of the 2025 season. He remains the Eagles press conference đ. Reporters also got to speak with new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion for the first time. So let's review what they said. We'll start with Fangio.
"I wasn't close. I've had those thoughts [for] the last few years, every year at the end of the year. I just think about it. I never really got serious to where I would've done it and it's no different than I did after the '24 season, after the '23 season. I told the players the other day that we had our annual physical. We get physicals as coaches and the docs told me I was reverse aging with my lab work and everything that came up. I told them, 'You guys are stuck with me for a while, a long while.'"
"I still like doing it. I like the group of guys we have. I like working with them. I still like the challenge of the job, work for a good organization. Really, it's just something that I think you'll always think about at the end of the year, but in the end, I didn't come close to doing it. I really don't foresee myself doing it. I'm good for two years at least."
#JimmySays: As we reported back in February Fangio wasn't retiring, but at one point he did go as far as to inform the team that he was stepping away. The team then began to consider alternatives while trying to coax Fangio into sticking around a while longer, which he ultimately did. I would respectfully disagree that he "wasn't close" to retirement, at least from the team's perspective.
But the great news for all Eagles fans is that he said he'll coach for at least two more years. That's a huge statement. Fangio is in the conversation for the best defensive coordinator in the sport. Going from him to ??? would almost certainly be a major downgrade.
I'm curious why he committed to two years when even he acknowledged that he at least pondered retirement after each of the last three seasons. Maybe he didn't want to be asked about it all year, lol. Maybe he got a new contract through 2027 that is going to set up his family up financially for a long time? (No info there, to be clear.)
But certainly there was a big change from the self-admission that he's year-to-year to "I'm good for two years at least."
My guess? He got paid. And good on Jeffrey Lurie, if so.
Fangio was asked what his view of the safety position is next to Andrew Mukuba...
"It's open. I think Marcus [Epps] is someone that will put up good claim to it. In base, it will be Cooper [DeJean]. When we go to nickel and Coop comes up and plays nickel, it'll be Epps. We're taking a good look at Michael Carter back there. Andre Sam. Then we signed an undrafted free agent, Gush [DB Kapena Gushiken]. J.T. Gray has been mainly a special teams player, but he'll get a look. We'll look at all those guys. It's an open competition."
#JimmySays: I love how Vic just slid in there that DeJean would play safety in base. The Eagles are in their "base" defense less than 20 percent of the time, so this isn't a seiemic change, but it's certainly a notable one. We'll have a lot more on what that means for the outlook of the safety position this weekend, so I'll save my extended commentary for that.
"As you guys know, last year, his season -- first off, his training camp was interrupted by a couple injuries that kept him out for two different lumps of time. Started off the season up and down, had some shaky plays. But I felt like the last five or six games prior to him getting hurt, he was coming on and hopefully he'll be able to pick up from there. He's had a rehab-dominated offseason, but he's been out there with us these last couple of weeks. He's not 100% yet, but he will be soon."
#JimmySays: Mukuba has a chance to be a good player, but he is a smaller safety and durability is going to be a concern until it's not.
"I'm excited to have him. We looked at him during the middle of the season last year a little bit because [the Seahawks] may have been interested in trading him, and we didn't decide to do it and I didn't get too involved in the evaluation. But then when it came free agency time this year and I actually sat down and watched him thoroughly, I was excited for him and kind of surprised that he was one of those guys that didn't get a lot of action for a long-term deal. I was thrilled to get him. I think he's going to play [well] for us.
"He's a rare guy in that you don't see many corners in the league that are 6'4". You don't see many that are 6'2" or even 6'1" and there's a reason for that. It's hard to find guys at those heights that can move and mirror receivers that are hard to cover. He can do that for a guy his height. He can get in and out of breaks. He obviously has good downfield speed and his length is more of an asset than a detriment in his case. I'm excited to have him. He's been here since we started the offseason. Seems to be a great guy. He's into being here and really looking forward to working with him."
#JimmySays: That's pretty effusive praise for Fangio. If you'll recall when Fangio was originally asked about Adoree' Jackson last year, here's what he said:Â
I didn't watch a whole lot of tape on him. Howie wanted to sign him, and when Howie wants to sign somebody it doesn't matter what I say. So we just took him in. I didn't really watch a lot of his tape last year, but I've seen him play over the years. Saw him when he was coming out of college...
In Tennessee, when it came time to re-sign him after his contract was up, they didn't. The Giants, his contract was up, they didn't. It's time to show who he is or who he isn't.
So, I think it's safe to safe he's more excited about Woolen than he was about Jackson.
"Yeah, eventually I will, but I mean, [Nick Sirianni] addressed it today. I didn't find out about it until this morning. But yeah, we'll address it with him at some point."
#JimmySays: Ooooooooh, Nolan's in troublllllle.
"He's just not going to be able to partake in these OTAs until maybe later, maybe not, but he'll be ready for training camp."
#JimmySays:Â In an interview with NBC's John Clark back in March, Fangio said that Campbell has a shoulder injury, and will miss most of the offseason (h/t Anthony DiBona for pulling the clip):
So, if he'll definitively be ready for the start of training camp -- whereas last year Fangio thought he wouldn't be ready until August while rehabbing a procedure done on his other shoulder -- then he is ahead of where he was a year ago.
"He's been productive in the rush. He's had years where he's had good numbers sack-wise, but like we always discuss, pressure on the quarterback is also important and he's been able to do that throughout his career. I think he's strong on the edge versus the run game. We're excited to have him, but I think there's a lot of good there."
JimmySays: Nothing surprising from Vic here.
"I think his shoulders are fine. He's had a good offseason of lifting. I think he started that earlier than normal for him and you can see the difference in that regard. I think he's in a better spot now than he was."
#JimmySays: Carter played through injuries to both shoulders last season, and he wasn't the same player that he was in 2024, so Fangio's commentary here is encouraging.
Before we get started on Mannion, I was curious when each of the new offensive coordinators around the league had their introductory press conferences with their new teams. To begin, I didn't realize that 21 (!) teams had new offensive coordinators. But all of them have already spoken. Here's when all the outside hires among the group all spoke to the local media for the first time:
⢠January 27: Mike McDaniel (Chargers), Zac Robinson (Buccaneers)
⢠January 28: Eric Bieniemy (Chiefs)
⢠February 5: Pete Carmichael Jr. (Bills), Bobby Slowik (Dolphins)
⢠February 12: Tommy Rees (Falcons), Drew Petzing (Lions)
⢠February 18: Nathaniel Hackett (Cardinals), Declan Doyle (Ravens), Brian Daboll (Titans)
⢠February 19: Brian Fleury (Seahawks)
⢠March 4: Travis Switzer (Browns)
⢠April 7: Matt Nagy (Giants)
⢠April 17: Brian Angelichio (Steelers)
⢠May 6: Frank Reich (Jets)
⢠May 19: Andrew Janocko (Raiders)
⢠May 21: Sean Mannion (Eagles)
Many of those guys have already spoken multiple times.
We're not in Las Vegas. This is Philadelphia. It's a little silly that Mannion wasn't made available until most of the league's new hires were introduced to the fans over three months ago. If you're proud of your new hire â and by all accounts the Eagles are â then introduce him with some pride. Don't hide him until the end of May.
Anyway, Mannion's presser didn't have answers in the same way Fangio's did. It was more of an introductory type of presser, which again, should've happened in February. This presser should have been more about the team's offensive players and such, and his vision for them.
"I think the biggest thing we want our offense to look like is we talk about play style a lot, playing with great effort, great physicality, being great teammates. I think it's when you turn on the tape, what does the Eagles' offense look like? Those are the things we really want to stand out just as a broad stroke."
#JimmySays: That's certainly better than playing with bad effort, weak physicality, and teammates punching each other. (In all seriousness, those three tenets are all fine.)
"There's things I believe in and there's things that schematically I have a background in, but ultimately it's going to be a blend and it's constantly going to evolve and it's all with that exact goal in mind that you just said. It's about maximizing things for the players. How do we make the Eagles the best team we can be, how we make the Eagles offense the best it can be and how do we put all of our players in a position to really, really succeed and maximize their strengths."
#JimmySays: Stock answer there, as expected.
"Jalen's been awesome. I really think he can do anything we ask of him. He's accurate. He's a great athlete. He really attacks the fundamentals. That's what's been really fun to watch these last two weeks of phase two. He's always wanting more things to work on, wanting more things regarding fundamentals, timing, understanding the scheme. He's hungry for more. Those are the guys that are really fun to work with.Â
"In terms of skillset though, he has great arm strength, great accuracy, obviously a tremendous athlete and he really attacks the game. He has a great process in the meetings. He always asks really, really thought provoking questions. He's detailed and attacks his fundamentals. He's always a guy who stays after practice and is working on things. Those are the guys you love to work with."
#JimmySays: I wouldn't have expected anything other than effusive praise here from a new OC.
"Jalen's been outstanding in the meetings and I think having gone through multiple coordinators and stuff, you can tell he's a really capable learner. That's been really fun to work with on a daily basis. I think there's always going to be some degree of connection and like I said, it's a blend of all the things, the things that he's really thrived in here and some of the new things we're bringing to the table.Â
"But it's been a great process to get to really build this thing from the ground up with him and with our staff. I think we're really being deliberate with the teaching and building this thing with a strong foundation because it's constantly being built, it's constantly evolving. We're always looking at how can we make this better? So that process has been great so far."
#JimmySays: Above we noted that 21 teams have new offensive coordinators this year, so it's not so unique to Hurts this season.
"In terms of being ready for it, I think I lean on all my experiences. My years in Green Bay, my years as a player, learning things constantly along the way. I was fortunate to play for a while and play for a lot of great coaches. Even as a player, I knew this is what I wanted to do next. I knew I was going to get into coaching. So I always had that in mind as I'm learning things, how am I going to use this someday from a coaching perspective?Â
"I've been really fortunate to work with a lot of great coaches and pick up a lot of things along the way and always kind of attacked it with the end in mind in terms of knowing someday I'm going to get into coaching. 'Someday I hope to become a play caller. How am I going to use this?' I really leaned into that throughout my career and learned a lot along the way."
#JimmySays: Former backup quarterbacks do tend to fare well as coordinators and even head coaches when they get into coaching. We'll see. Mannion seems to fit that profile.
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