Day: February 24, 2026

INDIANAPOLIS — Nick Sirianni always intended to hire someone with experience when he began his search for a new Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator last month. He never expected to end up with a 33-year-old, third-year assistant who had never called plays before. Yet after 17 interviews, everything in his research and his heart pointed him toward Sean Mannion and the surprising decision to put the broken Eagles offense in the hands of a rookie. It was a gutsy move at a critical moment in his tenure. Because if Sirianni gets this decision wrong, he might end up paying for it with his own job. The stakes really are that high for him and for the Eagles, after their disappointing Super Bowl defense last season ended with a wild-card exit in the playoffs. It wasn’t hard to find a fall guy for that, either. Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo was running a dysfunctional offense that struggled to find an identity. And as soon as the season ended, it was clear he had to go. Patullo, of course, was a first-time playcaller, too, and it showed over and over again — which is why it was so shocking when Sirianni again chose to hire a novice in Mannion. It’s a decision, in fact, that’s almost impossible to defend, except with Sirianni’s deep conviction that despite what anyone else might think, this time he has it right. “You always want to make sure that when you’re on the verge of hiring somebody, you want to reach out to guys they’ve worked with, guys they’ve played with, guys they’ve coached, and you’re looking for common themes,” Sirianni said on Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine. “And it was a common theme. Everyone spoke very similar about Sean. You could imagine those were glowing reviews. Everyone had great things to say about him, the person he is, the coach he is, the football mind that he is.” The glowing reviews are actually not surprising at all, because as a former Rams quarterback and a former Packers assistant, Mannion is another branch of the Sean McVay/Kyle Shanahan coaching tree. He is widely considered a rising star in NFL coaching circles — a strong leader and a brilliant mind who might be a head coach someday. But that someday is still considered far away. His NFL coaching experience until now was limited to one year as a Packers offensive assistant and one year as their quarterbacks coach. No matter how glowingly his peers spoke of him, hiring him was still a very speculative play. And that’s a huge risk for the head coach of a veteran-heavy offense, filled with frustrated players still trying to figure out what went wrong last season. Quarterback Jalen Hurts could never get the passing game going. His No. 1 receiver, A.J. Brown, seemed constantly unhappy with everything. Running back Saquon Barkley ran for almost 900 fewer yards than he did the season before. And the once-proud offensive line was often a shell of itself — a problem that might not get any better now that legendary offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland decided to retire rather than take a reduced role. So Mannion gets to figure all that out while learning on the job about the intricacies of running an offense and the complex dance of calling plays during a game. And he gets to do it under the watchful eye of an offensive-minded head coach that will probably have a heavy hand this season, since he already has a pretty good idea of what he wants his offense to be. “Really, it’s always important at the end of the day that we’re able to run the football, and be able to do play-action off of that,” Sirianni said. “Play physical, play with relentless effort, play with great detail, play together. Those will be all things we’re looking to do.” If the Eagles are able to do that, they should be an instant Super Bowl contender again. And maybe Mannion will prove to be the right man to get all that done. Sirianni has a spotty record of choosing offensive coordinators, though. Two were so successful that they went on to be head coaches elsewhere — Shane Steichen and Kellen Moore. The other two — Brian Johnson and Kevin Patullo — were fired after one miserable year on the job. If Sirianni gets this one wrong, too, he’ll be the one on the hot seat. Three years ago, when the Eagles were trying to get to their second straight Super Bowl, Sirianni nearly lost his job after the Eagles finished the season on a 1-6 tailspin. Thanks to his Super Bowl championship in the 2024 season, he wasn’t in similarly deep trouble after the Eagles faded late in 2025 and then exited the playoffs early. But even despite his 59-26 regular-season record and two trips to the Super Bowl in the past four years, he might not get any grace from his bosses if his 2026 team underachieves, as well. That’s because his bosses — general manager Howie Roseman and owner Jeffrey Lurie — expect another championship, or at least a legitimate run at one that lasts a little longer than one lousy round. That’s part of why Sirianni went into his search looking for an experienced hand, and why it was such a shock when he hired the most inexperienced candidate on his list. Sirianni put all his faith in Mannion’s background and his perceived potential because, amid a thin résumé, he can’t bank on anything else. Now his players will have to do the same. And while it’s great that veterans such as Barkley consider the change “refreshing,” as the star running back told NFL Network earlier this week, all they can really do is hope. They have to hope that Sirianni really knew what he was doing, and hope Mannion is good enough and that this somehow works out well. “There’s a lot of steps to take place before we know exactly what version of this offense it’s going to be,” Sirianni said. “But Sean comes from a family of coaches and (there are) things that he’s done that we really respect, that we know is tough to defend. We know we’ve done a lot of good things here as well that’s hard to defend, so (we’ll be) able to sprinkle some of that in. “You’ve got to go through the process with your players to get to all those answers.” The answers better be the right ones, though. Because as sterling as Sirianni’s résumé is, this time he really can’t afford to be wrong. In the Big Picture, we contextualize key moves and moments so you can instantly understand why they matter.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

INDIANAPOLIS — Brandon Beane knows Brian Daboll well. After all, the Bills general manager worked with the new Titans offensive coordinator for four years in Buffalo, where Daboll held the same title for the Bills. He played a prominent role in Josh Allen’s early development into a star quarterback. It’s why Beane believes he’ll be a “great asset” for Cam Ward, last year’s No. 1 overall pick. “I would tell [Ward] to make sure you have thick skin,” Beane said Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine. “It’s all coming from a good place, but Brian is very smart.” The 2024 NFL MVP, Allen began his NFL career as a project. The talent was there for the former No. 7 overall pick — his dual-threat ability, physical profile and arm strength made him an enticing prospect out of Wyoming — but he was an inconsistent and inaccurate quarterback through his first two NFL seasons. During that span, he completed just 56.3% of his passes for 184.4 yards per game and a 78.2 passer rating. But in Year 3 with Daboll, Allen’s play skyrocketed. In 2020, he registered a 69.2% completion rate (a 10.4% jump from the previous season) for a career-high 4,544 yards and 45 total touchdowns (37 passing, eight rushing) against 16 turnovers with a 107.2 passer rating, finishing second in MVP voting in the process. Today, he’s on the shortlist of the best players in the NFL. Allen clicked with Daboll, Beane said, because of the quarterback’s “thick skin.” “We’ve seen Brian,” the Bills general manager explained. “He’s from Buffalo. He’s blue-collar. He’s going to let you know that he loves you, and he’s also going to let you know that you screwed up. I think that’s why Brian and Josh really connected and was a big part of Josh’s early ascension as a Bill to where he’s at. Their fond relationship continued even as Brian went to New York, and I’m sure that will continue now that Brian is in Tennessee. “If Cam Ward will listen,” he added, “[Daboll] will develop him.” Ward flashed as a rookie, completing 59.8% of his passes for 3,169 yards and 15 touchdowns with seven interceptions. He also had two rushing scores and seven lost fumbles for the Titans, who went 3-14 for the second straight season. New head coach Robert Saleh said Tuesday that Tennessee will be taking a “marathon approach” with the former No. 1 pick’s development. And at his introductory press conference last week, Daboll said Ward was a “big factor” in his decision to come to Nashville. The former Giants head coach acknowledged that he can take a tough-love approach to coaching. “I’d say the first thing is to build that relationship first,” he said last week, “to figure out everybody’s a little bit different. Everybody responds to different things. I think that’s important for a quarterback too, to know the 10 other people around him in the huddle and how they respond. Some people respond to tough love like my grandmother gave me growing up. Some people don’t respond to that. So that’s the challenge of a leadership position, both offensive coordinator and quarterback, to make sure we really know our guys, what makes them tick. “I think it’s well documented that I get pretty heated at times,” he continued. “That’s who I am.” Ward is apparently well-aware. “I like that he is a fiery coach,” the quarterback told Titans.com. “He is going to get on my ass when he needs to, and he is going to hold me to a high standard. And that’s the standard I want to be held to.” It appears that Ward is ready to listen to his new offensive coordinator.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Is this the Mexico team that goes all the way? In 2023, they were one inning away from advancing to the championship of the World Baseball Classic, leading 5-4 in the ninth inning of one of the most thrilling games of the tournament, when Munetaka Murakami’s walk-off double in the semifinals sent Japan through. Still, Mexico’s third-place finish was its best ever showing at the tournament, and this time it will have All-Star closer Andres Munoz available to hold leads late. WBC Rosters: Team-By-Team Squads The team will again be led by Randy Arozarena, who tends to rise to the occasion when the spotlight is brightest. In the last WBC, Arozarena delivered in the clutch at the plate while patrolling left field expertly with his typical swagger. He’s among a large contingent of MLB returnees from the impressive 2023 team, which exceeded expectations while going 3-1 in pool play — including an 11-5 win against Team USA — before storming past Puerto Rico with a late charge in the quarterfinals. WBC Power Rankings: Stacking Japan, USA and All 20 Squads There are questions about the rotation, and it will hurt not having Isaac Paredes in the lineup this time around, but the additions of Muñoz, Alejandro Kirk, Joey Ortiz and Taj Bradley to the group add more high-end talent to the roster. Kirk is a huge upgrade behind the plate, Arozarena and Duran give Mexico two of the best corner outfielders in the tournament, and Aranda is coming off an All-Star season with the Rays. No matter the competition, Mexico will not be intimidated by its opponent. That will be important, considering it is in a pool with the USA yet again as well as a formidable Italy squad. If it makes it out of pool play, manager Benji Gil’s experienced group is capable of once again making a deep run. Here’s one look at a potential Mexico lineup: Lineup: So, how would that look defensively? Outfield LF: Randy Arozarena CF: Alek ThomasRF: Jarren Duran Arozarena led off at the last tournament, and that worked out well. He dazzled as one of the best hitters in the whole field, going 9-for-20 with seven extra-base hits. Duran only got five at-bats in the last tournament and was not yet the player he would become, accumulating 15.5 WAR over the last three years. The top half of the Mexico lineup can do a lot of damage. Thomas and Alejandro Osuna, who debuted for the Texas Rangers in 2025, bring more MLB experience to the outfield group, which also includes Julián Ornelas, the older brother of Padres prospect Tirso Ornelas. Thomas was Mexico’s starter in center in the last tournament, and he would seem the likeliest fit to retain that role. Infield 1B: Jonathan Aranda2B: Nick GonzalesSS: Joey Ortiz3B: Ramón UríasC: Alejandro Kirk DH: Rowdy Tellez All-Stars Aranda and Kirk should be locks at their positions. Aside from that, Gil can mix and match across the infield among a relatively light-hitting but versatile group of current and former big-leaguers that includes Ortiz, Gonzales and brothers Ramon and Luis Urias. They were well below-league-average MLB hitters last year, but an infield that includes Ortiz and Gonzales up the middle with Kirk behind the plate should make Mexico’s pitchers thrilled. Luis had a terrific 2023 WBC (.825 OPS), so it’s possible he ends up starting at second or third, but I gave Ramón the nod here coming off a 2.2-WAR season between Baltimore and Houston. Joey Meneses also was a 2023 WBC standout (.963 OPS), but Tellez has more recent success after posting a 124 OPS+ in 50 games for the Rangers last season. Gil could decide to use Tellez as the DH against righties and Meneses against lefties. Jared Serna, another versatile defensive prospect for the Marlins, rounds out the roster. Rotation RHP Javier Assad RHP Taijuan WalkerRHP Taj Bradley Losing Jose Urquidy for insurance reasons is going to sting for a Mexico roster that doesn’t have a ton of starting pitching options, so it will need a lot from this trio if it wants to repeat its 2023 success. After firing 5.2 scoreless innings of relief in the last tournament, Assad might now have to be Mexico’s ace. He has spent most of the last two years as a starter with the Cubs, amassing a 3.72 ERA over that time. Walker threw four scoreless innings in the last WBC, but he has a 4.88 ERA over the last three years with the Phillies. Bradley, a former top prospect, struggled last season between Tampa Bay and Minnesota but adds a hard fastbal and vital depth to the group. Bullpen RHP Andrés MuñozRHP Victor VodnikLHP Robert Garcia LHP Brennan BernardinoLHP Samy Natera Jr  RHP Daniel Duarte LHP Alexander Armenta RHP Jesus Cruz RHP Alex Carrillo RHP Luis Gastelum RHP Roel Ramírez RHP Gerardo Reyes Mexico will need a lot of innings — and potentially some bullpen games — from this group, which features a number of big-league talents as well as a KBO pitcher in Armenta.  Muñoz is the standout of the unit, coming off back-to-back All-Star seasons with the Mariners. Last year, he didn’t allow his first earned run of the season until his 25th appearance of the year. There’s some interesting depth in front of him. Vodnik is prone to hard contact, but he throws in the high-90s and managed a 3.02 ERA in Colorado last season. Garcia and Bernardino are coming off strong years in the Texas and Boston bullpens, respectively. Natera, an Angels prospect, struck out 85 batters but also walked 42 in 57 innings between Double-A and Triple-A last year.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports