PHILADELPHIA >> Could Honolulu’s own Marcus Mariota be Philadelphia’s missing championship link?
Considering the history in this area, considering how titles have been few and far between over the last four decades, maybe the 2014 Heisman Trophy winner — whom many thought at the time was destined to be reunited with then Eagles’ coach Chip Kelly — could be the piece that puts these Birds over the top.
After all one of the mainstays on the 2008 champion Phillies was the “Flyin’ Hawaiian,” Shane Victorino. He’s gone on to become Mariota’s mentor and Las Vegas neighbor, not to mention his personal guide to Philly hot spots. A decade later the 2018 Super Bowl champion Eagles had linebacker and special teams’ demon Kamu Grugier-Hill, whom Mariota calls a “great dude” from back home.
Perhaps, then, this latest stop in the 29-year-old Mariota’s nine-year odyssey will be the best. It would be fitting for the man whom many have recently gotten to know through Netflix’s “Quarterback” series, which detailed the ups and downs of his 2022 season with the Atlanta Falcons.
Especially since his life has never been better following the birth of his daughter, Makaia, eight months ago.
“It’s given me perspective,” said Mariota, following a recent practice where he seemed more at ease running the option than throwing the ball. “It’s been fun for me to come off practice and see my wife (Kiyomi) and little girl are there.
“It’s special. For a long time it’s always kind of been about me and what I have to do on a day-to-day basis. But right now it’s being unselfish and when I get home sometimes not watching tape. It’s spending 30 minutes getting her ready for bed.
“That in itself is different, but it’s really created a lot of balance in my life.”
As for football, he’s pretty content there, too, even though his role has dramatically changed from last year. For the second time in his NFL life — the first being with the Raiders — he’s the backup quarterback. Jalen Hurts, who guided these Eagles to the Super Bowl last February, is at the helm.
Mariota not only knows it. He’s Hurts’ biggest supporter.
“It really comes down to being another ear and pair of eyes for the guy who’s playing,” said Mariota, who was the second overall pick behind Jameis Winston in the 2015 NFL Draft. “You’re always concerned health-wise how the starter is doing and try to make sure you’re prepared.
“But it’s too hard to sit here and butt heads with your quarterback group. I really believe if you have a strong quarterback group that relies and supports one another, you create confidence that helps the entire team. I really try to embrace that and lean on my experience.”
Experience that goes all the way back to his junior year at Saint Louis School. “There was a guy in front of me in high school, Jeremy Higgins, who was All-State,” Mariota said. “I kind of had to wait my turn.
“So I’ve been in this position before and just try to be the best teammate I can be. What matters most at the end of the day is we’re winning games.”
Hurts certainly appreciates Mariota having his back. “It’s cool having Marcus and his experience and how he sees the game,” said Hurts, who’s yet to play a full season, having missed two games due to injuries in each of the past two seasons. “I’m all for it, because I’m a sponge.
“I want to soak in that knowledge so I can see and hear new and great ideas and what works for me. He’s been very vocal and supportive in what he sees so far.”
It’s a mutual admiration.
“First and foremost, he’s an incredible athlete,” said Mariota, who threw for 2,219 yards and 15 touchdowns to go with nine interceptions while going 5-8 last season. “Especially moving around and being active. This game is kind of that way now. When I first came in you had to be in the pocket and make the right reads. Now with how athletic quarterbacks are getting it’s really cool to see how dynamic players like him can make plays.
“For me it’s fun to watch.”
Yet as brilliant as Hurts was last season, it wasn’t enough to get them past another spectacular QB, the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes. The same Mahomes who — like Mariota and Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins — was a central figure in “Quarterback.”
Although Mariota said he has yet to watch the series, he has no regrets about the experience.
“I guess I had signed (with Atlanta) and they reached out,” he explained of the sequence of events that led to him giving Netflix the go-ahead. “They just wanted to see the process and at this point in my career I took a shot to show who I am and where I’m from. Shed a little light on what people usually don’t get to see.
“What’s interesting is I’ve been vulnerable with this Netflix series and grown as a person. For a long time you kind of allow others to define who you are. With this Netflix series it’s given me an opportunity to shed that and say, ’Hey this is who I am. Take it for what it’s worth. I’m a happy guy with a beautiful family. And I just love playing football.’”
He also loves the folks back home, whom he says have always been in his corner.
“Every chance I get I like to say thank you,” said Mariota. “The love and support is always felt and I’ll never take that for granted.
“I try to represent everyone back home to best of my abilities and I’m just forever grateful where I’m from and who I am.”
While Philadelphia by no means resembles Honolulu — he had hoped to find a team closer to home before ultimately deciding to join the Eagles’ flock — Mariota says they do have some things in common.
“It is pretty far,” said Mariota, who does his off-season training in Oregon, where Kiyomi grew up. “but at the same time it’s a very tight knit community.
“I love that blue collar mentality. Growing up in Hawaii we had that mentality ourselves. The closest land mass is five hours away and not a lot of people have respect for Hawaii football. But year in and year out we constantly push guys into Division I schools and we have countless guys who’ve played in the NFL.
“In Philadelphia there is a bit of that same chip-on-your-shoulder, gritty feeling. I love it.”
Of course it’s not lost on him that this could’ve been his address all along.
“You kind of hear a little bit here and there,” he said of the pre-draft rumor mill that Kelly was angling to bring him here. “but I just kind of kept my nose down and worked and whoever was gonna take a chance on me I’d be forever grateful.
“Obviously with the connection with Coach Kelly there was a lot of talk that maybe something could happen. But all in all I tried not to pay attention to it.
“So it is kind of crazy that maybe it’s come full circle. We’ll see what happens here, but I’m embracing this opportunity.”
His new coach is happy to have him. “His skill set has similarities to Jalen in some of the ways he runs it,” said Nick Sirianni, who’ll try to get his club to become only the fourth team to win the Super Bowl the year after losing it. “It’s just getting him caught up to speed.
“We’re pleased with where he is. I think you see his athletic ability on display and he’s just going to continue to get better as he gets more comfortable in this scheme.”
So the team is new. The scheme is new. And the expectations are off the charts. But Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota wouldn’t have it any other way. As he gazes into the eyes of little Makaia and then looks at the big picture of a career that’s still missing that one shining moment, he knows this is where he wants to be.
Now Eagles fans, who hope he never even has to take a snap to complete it, have just one small request of him: for Marcus Mariota to follow the trail blazed by fellow Islanders Shane Victorino and Kamu Grugier-Hill and become Philadelphia’s latest missing championship link from Hawaii.
Jalen Hurts & Co. would be for “all for it” too.
