Michael Clay intercepted a pass from Sean Mannion in college

The Philadelphia Eagles’ coordinators met with the media this week to discuss football, expectations, and offseason preparation. Naturally, because football people never let the truly important things die, the conversation eventually shifted to an interception thrown nearly 15 years ago. That was really the conversation. Before Sean Mannion became the Eagles' offensive coordinator and before Michael Clay became one of Nick Sirianni's most trusted assistants leading the special teams unit, the two found themselves on opposite sidelines in one of college football's underrated rivalry games.

Mannion was slinging passes as the Oregon State Beavers' quarterback. Clay was roaming the defensive backfield for the Oregon Ducks, and on one particular third-and-long, nearly 15 years ago, things went poorly for the quarterback. Clay shared his version of the story as all three of Philadelphia's top assistants met with the media this week.

“It was third-and-long. I faked like I was going in the A gap. I dropped back. I think they tried to throw a backside dig, and I was fortunate enough that it hit me in between the four and the six that I didn't drop it.”

That's a little defensive humor for saying the football somehow found his hands. No, Clay didn't return it for a touchdown, though a pick-six would have made for a much better story.

“Went down to the ground and off to the sideline, I go,”

The better part of this story came when Mannion was asked for his side of the story. Smiling, Philadelphia's new offensive coordinator admitted Clay has apparently made sure this moment lives forever. According to Mannion, that interception comes up constantly, daily, that is. In fact, Clay reportedly brought it up on Mannion's very first day on the job.

That tells you a couple of things. First, football players truly never forget anything. They forget even less when they become coaches. Second, the Eagles' coaching staff already seems to have the kind of easy chemistry good teams often need. Just in case you're curious, however, here's some footage of the moment in discussion.

Excuse the video quality, but here's a clip of Eagles ST coordinator Michael Clay picking off a pass from OC Sean Mannion in college...

They were rivals at Oregon and Oregon State pic.twitter.com/KXgDmfs59W— Geoffrey A Knox 'GQ' (@GQ_4_Eva) May 23, 2026

The interception itself means absolutely nothing in 2026. Is the dynamic between the two coordinators comfortable enough to joke about it? That may actually mean something. There seems to be a little chemistry brewing among the coaches.

This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Michael Clay intercepted a pass from Sean Mannion in college