Young Eagles star admits he could retire sooner than expected — but this must happen first

PHILADELPHIA —Last month, Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata had seen enough. Practice squad lineman Hollin Pierce arrived just minutes before work again, something that was happening too frequently.

Later that afternoon, Mailata pulled Pierce onto the black couch at the back of the Eagles’ locker room for a one-on-one conversation.

“I’ll call him out for coming into the building 10 minutes before we are supposed to be here, and I’m sitting here like, ‘Hey, come on,’” Mailata told NJ Advance Media last week. “That’s called being an (Average) Joe now. Once or twice maybe, but every day?

“It’s a tough conversation for him. I will ask him first, ‘Hey, what happened here?’ And he’s like, ‘Ah, I just stepped in.’ I say, ‘Come on, man. You got to want this. This is not for everyone. It really is not. It is not easy, man.’”

In the six years since his NFL debut, Mailata, 28, has turned into one of the best left tackles in the league. But his behind-the-scenes impact comes through his role of mentoring young Eagles’ offensive linemen, most of whom are developmental prospects, much like he was once.

Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland cannot always devote his attention to the young offensive linemen.

Mailata wants to ensure that the group’s performance remains strong as changes inevitably take place in the coming years.

“I care a lot, man,” Mailata said. “I care a lot because I only have so long to play this game, man. Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, you can play another five years.’ Yeah, bulls---. I’m already in the phase of bringing the next guy along with me. Who’s it gonna be? I can’t tell you, but it’s a high standard playing in this city, so just gotta keep that going. And for me it’s just, I want the best for those boys. I am always going to root for the underdog.”

The former Australian rugby star, who had no football experience before entering the NFL in 2018, was once considered a long shot to make it. But Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson, Stoutland and other members of the organization dedicated long hours to his development, helping him eventually become one of the franchise’s top players.

Now Mailata is providing the same dedication to fellow late-round picks Myles Hinton, Cameron Williams and Drew Kendall and to undrafted rookies Jake Majors and Pierce.

“The day I signed here, I pulled up in the parking lot and Jordan was literally the first guy I met,” Pierce said. “He has been on me ever since he saw me for the first time on the field. He just wants the best from me each and every single day. And he demands it.”

Pierce and the other rookies credit Mailata for showing them what to do and what not to do to become good NFL players.

Mailata just wants them to succeed, and when he sees anything that could get in the way of that, he makes sure to let them know — even if the feedback is harsh and the tone is loud.

“Just listen to what the message is,” Pierce said about how he handles Mailata yelling at him. “Some guys are like, ‘Oh, he yelled at me.’ Yeah, he yelled at you, but what did he say? Every time when he’s on me, there’s always those hidden gems in there that make me better .”

Longtime Eagles backup center Brett Toth, who is one of Mailata’s closest friends, said that not every team has a player like Mailata, someone who puts others above himself.

“They’re in this building for a reason, to add to this O-line room to become a starter,” Mailata said. “That is all very well in front of them. And so, I still want them to realize the potential that they have of being here. It’s not just about being a role player. It’s also got to be about, ‘You can fight for my position.’ I still want them to know that.”

Mailata approaches his relationship with each rookie differently. He’s not on top of Kendall and Majors as much because they are “total pros,” but he gets on Pierce and Hinton more because they are still in the process of learning how to be professionals.

He also pushes them more because he believes they have unique, untapped potential.

“Hollin, he is my dark horse,” Mailata said. “Particularly hard on Hollin. I think he can be a great tackle in this league. The one thing you can’t take away from Hollin is his size (Pierce is 6-8, 341 pounds).”

At every practice, Mailata evaluates their get-off, spatial awareness and the timing of their hands.

Mailata said he will step in and correct those issues before Stoutland does because “it’s just easier to hear it from me sometimes than just hearing Stout the whole time. It’s better that way.”

He tries his best not to yell, but he can’t help himself when he watches someone make repeated mistakes.

“Come on, we did this already. Come on, stop,” he shouts on the field.

He is extra critical of them in the meeting room, too, telling them after a bad practice: “What are we doing? This is piss-poor.” He also gets mad when they come in overweight or don’t work hard enough outside of practices.

“Mediocrity won’t last in that room,” Mailata said.

It’s not just the tough conversations with Mailata that motivate Pierce to improve, but also the example Mailata sets.

“When we’re doing a walkthrough, he takes five steps at full speed and then he slows it down,” Pierce said. “Everything he does is just at a high velocity rate.

“And when I was in training camp, I saw Jordan laying it all out there. He’s gassed and for him just to keep coming back and keep coming back and doing it over and over again, that shows the passion he has for this game and the love that he has. That is truly inspiring for me to see that, and it just makes me want to do the same thing.”

On Philadelphia’s off days, when players are not required to be in the building, Mailata brings the rookies in for extra lift sessions.

“Just the way he works makes me want to work just as hard as him or beat him out,” Majors said. “In the weight room, film room, practice field, I’m always watching him to see what he does. I’m not as big as him, but in my respective position at center, I can try and mimic whatever he does.”

More than anything he teaches on the field or in meetings, Mailata has helped the rookies overcome confidence struggles, inspiring them with his story, his words of wisdom and his attitude.

Mailata can relate to their struggles, having spent his first two seasons in the league as a developmental backup and having suffered season-ending injuries both years.

Hinton, a sixth-round offensive tackle from Michigan, has spent the entire season on injured reserve with a back injury. Sometimes he worries about his future or gets upset about his present situation, but then he sees Mailata having fun, and that changes.

“There are days where I come in and I’m like, ‘I really don’t want to be here,’” Hinton said. “But I’m like, ‘You know what? I’d rather be here than in a ditch somewhere.’ So there are definitely worse places to be. Just seeing him be energetic is helpful. It’s kind of like a bounce back and forth. Hopefully, I will do that for him, too.”

Toth knows how important it is for players to have Mailata in their corner during tough times. He has guided him through criticism and helped restore his confidence and kept the offensive line together through a challenging season.

Philadelphia’s banged-up front has played poorly all year, contributing to the Eagles’ offensive struggles, including during the team’s three-game losing streak from Week 12 to Week 14. During the playoffs, the 11-5 Eagles will need Mailata to play well and make everyone around him better to go on a Super Bowl run again.

“He’s always going to be there for you,” Toth said. “Feel like in this world as well, the last thing you would want is to feel alone as an offensive lineman. If you’re on an island, that’s where bad things can happen. But knowing that even if it’s a good day or a bad day, he’s always going to be there for you the next day, that keeps you going.”

That quality, along with many others, makes Eagles coach Nick Sirianni a big fan of Mailata, who was recently nominated as the team’s Walter Payton Man of the Year award recipient.

“He cares so deeply about his teammates and he’s such a good example with how he works and how he’s developed,” Sirianni said in December. “Has had a lot of success, contracts, accolades, all these different things. He’s a great example. Then it really goes down to how much he cares about people: his teammates, his coaches, the people in the building. He’s a special dude.”

By the time Mailata retires, a moment he hinted could come sooner than people expect, he hopes to have helped the Eagles find their next stars on the offensive line, believing this is the key to more playoff wins and Super Bowl victories.

“In a sense, I’d feel a type of way,” Mailata said about not finding his replacement before retirement. “You just want to leave it in a good place. Leave it as you found it.”

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