Last month, the Green Bay Packers suffered a sizable loss after quarterbacks coach Sean Mannion departed the organization to become the Philadelphia Eagles' next offensive coordinator.
With Mannion out the door, it means that the Packers are stuck with offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich for at least one more season, which is far from ideal given his lack of noticeable impact. Given there's no way to go but up at OC, Green Bay could've canned Stenavich in favor of seeing what new ideas Mannion may have offered.
And as it turns out, Mannion is already making quite the impression on his new team. In an interview with NFL Network, Eagles star Saquon Barkley had nothing but great things to say about Mannion after meeting him.
"I'm super excited about it," Barkley said (h/t Bobby Kownack of NFL.com). "I'm going on Year 9, which is crazy to say, and I've had a lot of different coaches and head coaches and been a part of a lot of systems. I don't think I really came across a system like this. For me, it's refreshing. You get something new. You get to learn something new.”
Packers Might Already Regret Letting Sean Mannion Leave Green Bay
While we don’t know how Mannion will fare as a first-time playcaller, the fact that he’s already getting support from a player like Barkley (who has a bunch of accolades on his resume) is a good start.
As an offensive coordinator, Mannion will get the chance to take what he learned from LaFleur in Green Bay, while pairing it with his experience as a former player and apply it to an Eagles team that will be a threat to the Packers.
That said, it won’t be surprising to see Mannion use some of the same schemes that worked in GB. And if it works in Philadelphia, that won’t make Packers fans happy, especially if Green Bay’s offense gets off to a slow start.
Now, Stenavich doesn’t call the plays in Green Bay, as that falls on LaFleur’s shoulders. That said, one could argue that Mannion could've brought a fresh perspective to the Packers’ scheme.
This past season, the Packers were averaging 24.9 points per game in their first 14 games. But in their last four games, which included the playoff loss to the Chicago Bears, GB’s offense only put up 17.5 points per contest.
That’s essentially one less touchdown per game, which is not great. One could argue that Green Bay dealt with injuries, which plays a part. And those teams might have figured out what LaFleur and Stenavich were doing, which isn’t good either.
Green Bay’s offense is very talented and littered with playmakers, so to see that drop-off is alarming. Therefore, it should put pressure on Stenavich and LaFleur to be better in 2026.
LaFleur just got an extension last month, so he’s safe for the time being. However, if the offense does not look good or struggles in certain aspects, several fingers will be pointed at LaFleur for keeping Stenavich over a younger and rising coach in Mannion.