After a disappointing season that saw the Philadelphia Eagles sack offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, star running back Saquon Barkley has spoken highly of how the start to life has been under Sean Mannion. In an interview with NFL Network, Barkley expressed how “super excited” he was about the system Mannion introduced to the Eagles.
The 2025 season ended far worse than the Philadelphia Eagles had expected, after failing to defend their Vince Lombardi Trophy. Much of the blame went to Patullo and the Eagles’ offense, whose statistical outputs were so underwhelming that their Wild-Card round exit seemed like an overachievement. Barkley, who was coming off an extraordinary season with 2000+ yards from scrimmage and 13 touchdowns, became so ordinary that he could only manage 1,413 yards and seven touchdowns.
Following repetitive complaints from players and analysts about the offensive system Patullo anchored, the Eagles were eventually knocked out of the playoffs in the Wild Card round after a 23-19 home loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Appearing on NFL Network's 'The Insiders', the esteemed running back opened up on the changes.
"At the end of the day, we just weren't consistent enough throughout games," Barkley lamented regarding the franchise’s offensive woes in the previous season. "That's something that we have to challenge ourselves to get ready for next year."
According to Barkley, Mannion has introduced him to a system he has never seen before in his 9-year career. Beyond the new lessons, Barkley seems to be overly enthusiastic at the idea of Sean Mannion, as if to say he has been set free from a snare that entrapped him for the past year.
"I'm super excited about it. I'm going on Year 9, which is crazy to say, and I've had a lot of different coaches and head coaches. I have been a part of a lot of systems. I don't think I've really come across a system like this, and for me, it's refreshing,” Barkley said.
“You get to learn something new. I got to meet him. We didn't really talk about X's and O's. We kept it (at the) introduction. I got to meet a lot of the new guys on offense, but as a competitor, you love it. You love the challenge of putting yourself in new systems and doing the things that you do really well and also things that you need to improve on... I think the sky's the limit."
These comments might have come too early from a player who is yet to fully experience what life under Mannion is really like, however, Barkley’s experience is proof that he has worked with several offensive coaches, and he knows what it feels like to have a good one around.
It’s his third offensive coach with the Philadelphia Eagles after Kellen Moore joined the New Orleans Saints after their Super Bowl triumph. Without any iota of doubt, Barkley is hoping that with Mannion, the third time is the charm.
