They called him Big Shooter.
Sean Mannion, 6 feet 6 and 230 pounds, was the most imposing Los Angeles Rams quarterback in the summer of 2017. Starter Jared Goff was a lean, lanky 22-year-old then. Dan Orlovsky, then a 6-foot-5 veteran, coined Mannion's nickname. Orlovsky said he and Goff would watch "this mountain of a man" break huddles in training camp, lumber toward the line of scrimmage, then "fudging rip these throws."
"Every ball was like a fastball," said Orlovsky, now an ESPN analyst. "Sean would get in there and hand-missile this 20-yard in route, and I'd be in the back yelling, 'BIG SHOOTER!'"
That memory will echo louder Sunday: Big Shooter will be in the coaches' booth firing play calls at his former team. Mannion is three games in as the Philadelphia Eagles' first-time offensive coordinator. His fledgling system -- sporadically successful during its first two weeks -- took a step backward in a stunning loss to the Chicago Bears. It is fitting that many of the principles Mannion will refine to rebound against the Rams are ones he jotted in notebooks while playing for the Rams across four seasons.
Coaches and teammates who worked with Mannion from 2015 to 2018 with the Rams shared their memories with The Athletic ahead of a reunion that doubles as a critical collision course.
Rookie with the photographic memory
On May 1, 2015, inside a Rams draft room based in St. Louis, former coach Jeff Fisher turned to his quarterbacks coach, Chris Weinke, as the timing for the No. 89 pick grew closer.
"You want to take your boy?" Fisher asked.
Weinke said he and Fisher had gone on a quarterback "tour" during the pre-draft process. The Rams, who'd traded Sam Bradford for Nick Foles and traded for Case Keenum, were still exploring the market to improve their quarterback room. Among the prospects they'd scouted: Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, Garrett Grayson, Bryce Petty -- and Mannion.
Weinke said Mannion, who set 18 school records as a four-year starter at Oregon State, "threw it as good as anybody in that draft" and "had one of the strongest arms" of any of the quarterbacks he and Fisher worked out.
What impressed Weinke and Fisher most remains relevant to Mannion's current job as a play caller. Mannion's pre-draft visit with the Rams led Weinke and Fisher to believe he had a photographic memory. They sat Mannion down in a classroom setting, fed him NFL concepts, took him to the field for a workout, then sat him back down for what was intended to be a tough quiz.
"He recalled every little single detail," said Weinke, now Georgia Tech's assistant head coach, co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. "Literally didn't miss a thing."
The "outstanding recall" Weinke described did not peg Mannion as the Rams' long-term answer at quarterback. The Rams executed a massive trade with the Tennessee Titans the following offseason to draft Goff with the No. 1 pick. But Weinke saw across the 2015 and 2016 seasons how Mannion filled the memory bank he's now drawing from. That's why Weinke wasn't all that surprised when former Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King, who played in the 2026 East-West Shrine Bowl, spoke glowingly about Mannion, who coached King that week and called plays in that all-star game.
Weinke, a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback in 2000, saw Mannion early in the process of acquiring the knowledge that'd eventually equip a quarterback-friendly system. Weinke credits Keenum, who started in 14 games across 2015 and 2016, with helping develop Mannion and Goff. Both youngsters adopted Keenum's fastidious note-taking and film-crunching into their own processes. Weinke took pride in seeing Mannion in the booth Monday night and Keenum still slinging successfully on the field. It conjured a slew of memories.
And speaking of memories … how did Weinke answer Fisher on draft day?
"I said, 'Let's take him,'" Weinke said.
The intensity of the Big Shooter
Orlovsky described Mannion as a "very serious," "very intense guy" who "always wanted to do well."
"Jared would throw an interception, and it would almost be like it never happened," Orlovsky said. "Sean would throw an incompletion, and he'd be like he just lost the Super Bowl."
In 2017, first-year Rams coach Sean McVay brought Orlovsky aboard to mentor both quarterbacks until final roster cuts. Orlovsky took no practice reps, instead offering advice and sharing his process for studying playbooks and film. Orlovsky was yet again counseling a future Eagles offensive coordinator.
In 2014, Orlovsky backed up Matthew Stafford in a Detroit Lions quarterback room that included Kellen Moore. Orlovsky said Moore's "brain was so unique" -- a whiz-kid designation he said was amplified by Moore's smaller stature. But it was clear that Mannion, at 25, was also heavily invested in learning all he could.
"Both those guys were sponges, man," Orlovsky said. "They were so young, so raw -- talented dudes that really understood football but wanted to really, really grasp football at an advanced level. So, it was a really fun room."
All of them were there to lay the foundation for a McVay era that has left an indelible mark on the direction of NFL offenses. Indeed, Mannion's understanding of McVay's style of play endeared him to the Eagles during their offseason search for yet another offensive coordinator.
Orlovsky has seen the early signs of Mannion crafting his own version. The play-action strikes to DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks. Jalen Hurts' increased targets in the middle of the field. The diversity of cadence, formation, motion and answers for defensive pressure.
"I think you're starting to see the fingerprint on kind of what they want to be more and more," Orlovsky said. "The offensive line's gotta play better to really go to the next level. But I think so far … you're encouraged."
A 'great humility' but 'great curiosity'
The Rams' newest center arrived Sept. 3, 2017. Bleary-eyed and disoriented, Aaron Neary hustled onto the field for his first practice. He'd fulfill scout team duties. Among the first to introduce himself to Neary was the scout team quarterback, Sean Mannion.
"Thing about Sean, he was just as, if not more, prepared than the starters," Neary says now. "He was always locked in."
Mannion's readiness came in handy for Neary, who'd been cut by the Eagles and claimed off waivers by the Rams within 24 hours, switching from Doug Pederson's vertical blocking schemes to 31-year-old McVay's wide-zone system.
"I didn't know who Sean McVay was," Neary said. "I actually asked (Mannion), 'Who is that guy? That guy is way too young to be a head coach.'"
Neary laughs at the memory now. McVay indeed knew his stuff. By Week 17, the Rams had clinched their first playoff berth since 2004. The Rams rested their starters in the regular-season finale against the San Francisco 49ers -- launching Mannion and Neary into their one and only career starts during their time in Los Angeles. Mannion later started in just two more games with the Minnesota Vikings.
The Rams lost 34-13 to a 49ers team that played at full strength. Mannion was 20-of-34 passing for 169 yards. The Big Shooter completed a 50-yard deep pass along the left sideline to Mike Thomas with one second left before halftime, setting up a 21-yard field goal.
McVay, reflecting on Mannion on Wednesday, said Mannion "had a great humility but a great curiosity." Mannion got his start as an NFL coach in 2024 as an offensive assistant for the Green Bay Packers under coach Matt LaFleur, the Rams' offensive coordinator in 2017.
"It's cool," McVay said. "I heard what a great job he did for Matt LaFleur because Matt's one of my closest friends. He was happy for Sean but bummed to be able to lose him. It's cool to be able to see him in a great opportunity and a big-time job being the OC for Philly."
Full-circle moments
Johnny Mundt peered at the reporter's phone as the film clip played.
You remember that?
"I do," the Eagles tight end laughed. "The old 'Stick China.' That's great."
That was eight years ago. Preseason Game 2 for the Rams. Third-and-4 against the Oakland Raiders. Mundt ran 5 yards upfield, turned toward the sideline, then reversed course back inside. Mannion struck Mundt for an 8-yard gain.
Mannion targeted Mundt four times in the 2018 preseason. They connected on three passes for 17 yards. All of the throws were rockets. Mundt said Mannion "had a cannon when he was playing" -- something that continued in their practices together for two seasons and gave Mundt lessons he's still carrying into his 10th NFL season.
"He taught me to get my eyes around quick on all my routes, because, like I said, he could really throw the ball," Mundt said. "So, it was gonna be there even a tick early. So, it was a good thing to have early in my career, that experience."
Mundt has known of Mannion longer than most inside the Jefferson Health Complex. They both grew up in Northern California. Mundt attended Oregon and twice played against Mannion's Oregon State teams (and twice won). Mundt agreed that Mannion "played with a little bit of fury."
But Mannion has curbed that energy as a coach.
"I feel like he's kind of relaxed a little bit as far as his demeanor," Mundt said. "He's very calm and very thorough as far as all of his installs and how he goes about calling all the plays and different things. It's a good thing."
Mannion helped bring Mundt to Philadelphia in the offseason as part of an adapted plan for the tight ends that hasn't yet materialized. Like McVay, Mannion intends to multiply the options he can play off his wide-zone run concepts by placing at the point of attack more tight ends who are legitimate threats as blockers and pass catchers. The Rams lead the NFL in 13 personnel usage (42.2 percent) with a healthy stable of tight ends that includes Tyler Higbee, Terrance Ferguson, Colby Parkinson and Davis Allen.
Conversely, the Eagles have fielded 13 personnel just twice. Instead, they lead the NFL in 11 personnel usage (76.7 percent), reflecting the franchise's problems trying to better equip its tight end room over the offseason. Starter Dallas Goedert remains out with a knee injury that sidelined him against the Bears. Rookie tight end Eli Stowers remains on injured reserve. Zach Ertz is entering his second full week of practice after totaling one catch for 9 yards on 19 snaps in his short-notice return.
The Eagles expect to access more of Mannion's tight end concepts as Ertz continues to acclimate with Mundt and E.J. Jenkins.
"It's part of his upbringing in the NFL," Mundt said of Mannion. "Just growing up in the system, as I was, it was really cool to be with him then and to link back up with him now. Just kind of full circle."
Nate Akins contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
