How Josh Grizzard's Experience Should Help New Eagles OC Sean Mannion Succeed
PHILADELPHIA - Josh Grizzard was one of 17 coaches Nick Sirianni spoke to about becoming the Eagles' new offensive coordinator. He was one of seven finalists and is now the team's passing game coordinator.
That's the same role Kevin Patullo handled dutifully for four seasons in Philadelphia before being promoted to OC last season.
Grizzard, the OC in Tampa Bay last season, and Patullo, now the PGC in Miami, have far more in common than just their current titles. They both were first-time one-and-done play-callers in 2025, scapegoated when the sequels to Liam Coen and Kellen Moore, now head coaches, failed to live up to massive expectations.
This spring in Tampa Bay, as the Buccaneers install yet another new offense under Zac Robinson (another of the 17 candidates Sirianni spoke with for the Eagles OC job), receiver Jalen McMillan was asked whether the scheme felt more like Coen's 2024 offense or Grizzard's version.
"I feel like last year we had a lot of plays that just weren't called," McMillan said. "This year, we're repping a lot of them and giving the coaches the confidence to call them."
That's not an insult to Grizzard - just the familiar spring optimism that follows any coaching change in the NFL.
Grizzard, a Yale graduate, has the intellect and emotional intelligence to handle the realities of a cutthroat league.
When asked if his one season as Tampa Bay's play-caller helped him grow as a coach, he didn't hesitate."Tremendously," Grizzard said. "Everybody always thinks, ‘I'm ready to call plays. I'm ready to run the room.' But actually doing it for the first time… it was the most fun I've ever had coaching. You're actually calling the plays.
"I've told people it's the first time I've felt like I was playing in a game since college. I didn't play in the NFL, so it had been a long time. That experience will help me get ahead of potential issues going forward."
Avoiding Pitfalls
In Philadelphia, the man who ultimately got the OC job - Sean Mannion - has been greeted with glowing praise. Star left tackle Jordan Mailata called him an "evil genius" for his offensive acumen.
Mannion, a longtime NFL backup quarterback with just two years of coaching experience, is stepping into the deep end in one of the most passionate football cities in America - a place where winning 11 games and exiting in the first round of the playoffs went over like a lead balloon.
Like Grizzard and Patullo before him, Mannion is a first-time play-caller.
Grizzard has already moved past not getting the top job.
"Once you accept the passing game coordinator role, you know what it is," he said. "I'd always heard great things about Sean. I'd never met him, but after 10 years in the NFL and talking to people who know him - plus feeling the culture here - I knew it would be a good fit. If I thought it wouldn't work, I wouldn't have taken the job.
"It's been fantastic getting to know him. He's a tireless worker and he's ready for this opportunity."
That developing relationship could prove valuable. Grizzard's hard-earned experience from last season in Tampa gives Mannion a trusted sounding board to help him avoid some of the early pitfalls of learning on the job.
"I think for as much as he'll lean on me - whatever he needs - I'm here for him," Grizzard said. ""He already has a very clear vision for how he wants to do things. And by playing as long as he did, the knowledge of this system and how he wants to attack defenses and his ability to communicate, he already does a tremendous job of. So, anything that he needs from my end of it, I'm an open door for him."
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/eagles/onsi as How Josh Grizzard's Experience Should Help New Eagles OC Sean Mannion Succeed.
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This story was originally published June 6, 2026 at 11:00 AM.