Video: Bob Ford on Howie Roseman's role in the Eagles' struggles
The Eagles continue to disappoint, but general manager Howie Roseman got a contract extension earlier this year.
Video: Bob Ford on Howie Roseman's role in the Eagles' struggles
The Eagles continue to disappoint, but general manager Howie Roseman got a contract extension earlier this year. The Inquirer's Bob Ford talks about whether Roseman should be blamed for the Eagles' struggles in a chat with Cinesport's Noah Coslov.
Comments (53)
I've been fleeced. Where are my shekels?— ubetterlisten- Anyone responsible for the drafts of 2009 and 2010 should be shown the door.— 4thand10
- Based on the lack of talent on this team, YES HowEE must go!— lgm4885
- Yeah and get the ball boy and the Philly phanatic too. Somebody has to pay for this team being the worst team in philly history. When Reid says, "I will take responsibility," you can bet he will shift the blame on someone other than Vick or himself. Hey Bob, you're running out of angles that have nothing to do with why the Eagles are a very bad team..— mario1239
- Lurie should sell.— camasbud
- Oh, and give Reid Peters.— kenkap
- Because Howie the lawyer capologist is making If your fed up hit him where it hurts and stop buying Eagles merchandise and tickets. Stop calling WIP and letting them know you care about them. Stop posting comments and reading about. I'm about 90% of the way there myself. I haven't been exited for an NFL game for almost 7 years now because I already know the outcome before the season starts, it's like watching ground hog day and being served spoiled desert. You ruined football in this city Lurie. I think maybe he enjoys it on some Machiavellian level up in his ivory tower looking down on the peons. He is the grinch who stole Christmas in Philadelphia. Your going to watch and Andy is going to coach, no matter how much you cry or how obvious it is that I don't care about winning. It's Jefferys sandbox and the fans can't play in it.— TrollExterminator
- Responding to lport's comment that he yearns for the days of owners who care about the fans. In my lifetime (66) the Eagles have never had a good owner. Think Jerry Williams (under-financed), Leonard Tose (under-financed degenerate gambler) and Norman Braman, the poster-boy for owners who were in it strictly for the money. Compared to those three, Lurie is a saint. In fact, Lurie meets the criteria of a fan's good owner: ego-maniac with plenty of dad's money whose only chance at fame is to own a sports franchise, but not so egotistical that he really thinks he knows football and starts making personnel decisions (see Dallas owner).
As to Roseman and Reid, anyone who thinks that an accountant/lawyer really watches films of college players and makes draft decisions is on some heavy dope.
For sure, Andy makes all of the draft decisions and Howie just does the dirty work like contracts and dealing with the press. The real problem is Reid and his outsize megalomania. At the beginning of his coaching tenure he was very fresh and innovative, but after the trouble with his sons, he has made increasingly bizarre decisions on and off the field. I for one, think that he is mentally unstable and I can't say that is surprising when you consider that he has to coach an NFL team alone (all of the good assistants are gone), make all the personnel decisions (he drove away Modrack and Heckert), and go home to a family in turmoil. The model to follow is the pre-Jimmy Johnson Cowboys. Get a great game and player coach (Landry) a good businessman/GM (Tex Schramm), and a great personnel guy to draft and trade (Gil Brandt). Go to it, Jeffrey.— dr. dave - Sorry, 1996, 1998 hit on 1-2, 1-3— kenkap
- Ray Rhodes Impact Picks in 4 years, blew 2 #1 picks with Mamula and Jon Harris
1995- Bobby Taylor
1996-Brian Dawkins, Jermane Mayberry
1997-Duce Staley
1998- Tra Thomas, Jeremiah Trotter, Ike Reese
Brought in Hugh Douglas, Troy Vincent, Al Harris off waivers, Chad Lewis
9-11 truly impact players in 4 years, 1997, 1998 hit on 1 and 2, or 1 and 3
Reid's impact players in 13 years
1999-Donovan McNabb
2000- Cory Simon
2001-None (Freddie Mitchell year)
2002- One very good draft- Shepard, Lewis, Brown, Westbrook
2003-None
2004- Shawn Andrews
2005- Mike Patterson, Trent Cole (Patterson doesn't count)
2006- NO ONE (Avant doesn't count)
2007- Brent Celek
2008- Desean Jackson
2009-Maclin (maybe), McCoy
2010-No One
2011-Alex Henry
Free Agents -Runyan, Akers, Owens (one year)I'll give you Jamaal Jackson
Thirteen (including Andrews and Owens) truly impact players in 13 years (2012 is incomplete).
So Rhodes got 10-11 in 1/3 of the time. If we leave off Owens and Andrews who blew up, we get 11
Quite a difference. Rhodes left Reid with an EXTREMELY strong defensive core and very decent offensive line core which Reid screwed up by fighting with Trotter. Give Reid credit for 2002. From 2000-2004 the defense yielded an average of 15.5 PPG.
Thomas, Mayberry, Lewis, Staley and Steve Everette inherited from Rhodes on offense. Reid added Runyan, McNabb and NO RECEIVERS until 2004. (One year). NO decent linebackers.
Now tell me how Reid is like everyone else.
Don't give me the Giants. Please.
— kenkap - An enterprising sportswriter could really dissect the number and variety of unproductive, illogical moves that Howie Roseman, and his mentor before him Joe Banner, have initiated. We tend to remember the draft busts and the draft misses but some of the worst actions were the ridiculous moving up & down trades during draft day, usually to stockpile low round picks as if quantity of players drafted was what really mattered. When you mix in the "we're smarter than everybody else" mentality, you end up drafting guys in early rounds (or thinking you have a bounty in later rounds because of your stupid stockpile) that were question marks to begin with. If you just google the 2010 and 2011 drafts, it will almost bring tears to your eyes to see how many picks were totally wasted, most importantly in the first three rounds. People can blame Reid all they want, but Roseman was the guy who was in charge of the scouting, the boards, the recommendations and evaluations...after those drafts, he said as much. Mr. Lurie has to see that we need a true NFL professional talent judge to work hand in hand with an innovative, smart head coach who is a leader of men...and can re-inspire a fan base through his actions and words.— chesapeake
- Lurie won't fire Roseman, after all they're lodge brothers. Lurie is too cheap to hire a real football GM or a better coach. Maybe Rich Kotite is still available and "The Price Is Right ."— phineas
- well things seemed to have gone down hill since he arrived....— pr0f3ss0r
- If Lurie keeps Roseman as the GM of real football decisions, we can will be in trouble.— Pete60
- If Lurie keeps Roseman as the GM of real football decisions, we can will be in trouble.— Pete60
- What Lurie ACTUALLY does will be less indicative of his incompetence than the fact that he hasn't done anything to date. It's one thing to stay out of the way during the season, but when things are this awful I take it as a slap in the face that he sits idly by and cashes in on the hopes of those customers of his who care more for what happens on the field than the entertainment experience.— Atomic Fury
- The 2010 and 2011 drafts were a disaster but the 2012 is paying off. Cox, Kendricks, Brown, Boykin all look like major contributors if not playing at All-Pro! HOWEver, people are right, no real coach will come in here if they have to take orders from Roseman. Eagles need a real football guy. Hire Bill Polian, he will be the equivalent of the Phillies hiring Pat Gillick. I do support Lurie after the tenures of Tose (who I remember tried to move the Eagles to AZ) and Braman (that guy in France...) Outside of Lurie's gold standard comments, he has spent money on FAs who his chosen football men asked him to sign (Banner, Reid); has gotten out of the way and let his men run the show because he trusts them (what you ideally want your boss to do); Built a state of the art stadium that allowed the Eagles to become competitive. I don't know what else you want out of an owner...— kwasi2323
- Hey Roseman,no more harping on Reid from me. You're the one behind this gawd awful team. To quote Gomer Pyle---"For shame,for shame,for shame".— TEDcGEGI
- As Reid has said many times...he makes the drafting and signing decisions. He has final say. Howie's role was just to gather the information on players and turn it over to Reid.— Kioto
- @TexColorado - Howie Long is coming by your place tonight with a message. ;)— nws
- gee i want more of this > dont fire andy— daveH
- Before the season began, both the pundits and football evaluators across the country where saying the Eagles would be contending for the Super Bowl. The Eagles had a very good mix of experienced talent and good draft picks. Even without their all-pro left tackle, they seemed strong enough to win their division. What happened? The talent is still there. The problem is obvious......the players haven't been adequately coached and motivated. This isn't Howie Roseman's fault, but as the GM, it's his problem to fix.— TRCrow
- the eagles have good players, who howie brought in. its just their scheme is awful every game stupid play calls kill them game after game, howie doesnt need to go— HDemetriou
- "If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."
"In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king."
Trouble is, between the three stooges (Reid, Roseman, and Luries), who is the one-eyed stooge? It does not matter. These buffoons know and see everything while the rest of the two-eyed world sees and knows nothing.
— 2:01TimeOut - BS. Lurie is a good owner and tries to give the fans a winner. Wanna try other owners in comparison??? Snyder? Jones?? I agree with dumping everybody and starting over. Keep in mind all you scribes(professional newspaper writers): you thought this team of incompetents was good enough for the playoffs in the preseason. Get someone who will draft big hitters and guys with more guts that mouths and we might have something to cheer about.— billtfla
- He certainly isn't blameless. But if you get rid of him, I think much of the coaching staff under Andy Reid goes as well.— sighpatrol
- Howie Roseman is a disaster following a disaster. This hire certainly doesn't do any credit to Jeffrey Lurie as the owner and hirer in chief! The only hire at GM I can imagine that would be worse than Mr. Roseman would be for Mr. Lurie to do the Jerry Jones thing. This clown needs to be shown the way out of the building!— BEMiller
Tired of seeing these same California, Utah, mormon kids being drafted high because Reid is from the region. No more favor drafts we need talent. When 2 whole drafts in a row cant make your roster and the other parts of them are on the roster because you dont want to release them immediately.. you know its time for an upgrade in the scouting/gm department. Fire Reid as a coach and talent evaluator and keep him as a coach. Do that and we can be successful.— Zeru- Howie isnt making any personell decisions. He's pretty much been an intern up until this year. I can tell its a different program based on this year's draft. Every other draft before that has been the typical Andy Reid picks. Low talent high motor or some kind of injured guy being drafted in the low rounds thinking he can bill walsh his way into some talent. Truth be told its been the same ish since Reid has drafted. Hard working guys who lack talent. This year we drafted talent but now have no coordinator to make it flourish. We cant blame howie for the Eagles because after its all said and done Reid signs off on these draft picks. How do I know? Because its been the same kind of guys for 14 years except this one. Up until this year the Eagles have conducted their own draft in direct defiance to what the NFL said was talent or a good player. So I know its not Roseman. Its Reid. He is a very good coach but as a Gm.. hell no.— Zeru
- He's got his Bar Mitzvah suit on now, so please call him Howard.— COskier
- Get use to Howie, he ain't going no where until 2016, that's when his present contract ends.— STEPHEN1988
- I would say this........It is my belief that Roseman probably is a 'bean-counter' type of GM.From that angle you have to believe that he is in no way Reid's true boss.Nope,I believe that Reid calls ALL the shots in regard to 'football' decisions.I don't know if Roseman is a good football man or not,but my guess is that he has vey little to do with who suits up.The blame for this mess,in actuality,is on Reid.Reid brought Vick in and gave him the keys to the team.The DC fiasco-Reid.They brought in Vince Young last year-Reid.55 passes,18 runs-Reid.The "I need to put players in a better position" guy-Reid.It goes on and on,and all the stink leads back to the guy who was entrusted to adavance the prganization-Reid.— aloha gary
- My feeling is Roseman is part of the failures of the Eagle franchise, not all of it. That's simple to say, but let's look at it: Since Modrak left, there has been no football person at the top. I don't know where Roseman was before this, but he strikes me as a football fan who has some ideas that do not translate to reality. Joe Banner: Lurie's money man who has made sure that Lurie's books have been written in black ink. Reid, who has lived off other coaches' players and ridden the horse for all he can. That said...these men were in place to deconstruct the team in their own image. Applying Banner's moneyball style, Roseman's fantasy football style, and Reid's obsession with making this team HIS team, are we surprised that this has happened? Cheap players, Howie's ideas about 5th and 7th rounders, Reid's ideas about "high motor" players...then we have the company men that Reid handpicked. All of them owe their existences in the NFL to Reid; hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. When things go wrong, the excuses only go so far, then it's throw 'em under the bus (McNabb, Dawkins, Trotter, then McDonough and Castillo on the coaching staff). Lurie is busy counting his coin; as a businessman, not surprised. You don't own a sports franchise unless you want to make money, I get it; but commitment to winning? It's not there, never has been, even with the big-money deals to players like Vick, etc. This is a catastrophic failure at all levels.
- I completely agree with this assessment. This job will be much larger than just replacing Reid if Lurie is really focused on winning the only thing that matters. I have saying since Howie was promoted that if e Eagles are to seriously contend for a championship under Lurie's ownership then it needs to be a complete housecleaning from Howie on down. Hire a real GM/vice president of football operations and let him pick the next coach. If Howie is that important then send him back to contract negotiations only and whatever else you do keep him away from the war room. His last three drafts have been abysmal. Those and those alone are going to set is franchise back at least five years. This organization like fish is rotting from the head down. — coloradoeagle
- The interesting thing is Joe left and the Eagles tried to do the right thing by the players and got screwed in return. This is a real case study in keeping players hungry and on the edge.— delcodanno
- this is the wrong question. it shouldn't be is howie to blame? it should be is howie the person to fix this.— rysagr
- Legit question; my answer is "no," unless Roseman has a plan that he has not revealed to anyone but Lurie, yet. I can't imagine what that would be.
- Unfortunately, Lurie won't fire himself. He has been incompetent as an owner who doesn't care about the fans and the product he puts on the field. He is a "bottom line" guy and owners like him don't care because the stands will be filled and the tickets sold especially here in Philly. Andy Reid has had a number of successful years despite his terrible record on draft day and his failure to adapt on game day to the opposition's reaction to his game plan, not to mention his incompetence at managing the clock. I see no evidence that he has ever outcoached the opposition in a meaningful game. I agree that if Laurie is serious about the future, he must clean house, including Roseman who is more a bean counter than a football man. I yearn for the days when football experts ran teams and owners cared for the fans.— lport
- Yes, Roseman has the title of GM, and yes, Roseman seems eminently unqualified to get involved in anything other than the stuff accountants and lawyers get involved in, but Reid has the final say on all football matters, and Reid clearly no longer has what it takes to coach this team or select its personnel, let alone do both. When Reid goes, Reid will leave two jobs that will need to be filled from outside the organization. I hope that Lurie somehow realizes that, but I'm not holding my breath.— dasher
- Merry Christmas and Happy New Year....Your Fired thanks for coming— d1955h
- Funny isn't it? Just last Summer (2011) the Inq and DN had an article about how Philadelphia was becoming the City of Champions with the Iggles, Phils, Sixers, and Flyers all on the upswing. Now look - all on the verge of failure again. What is it? The water? Overconfidence? What? What?— nws
- Mr Lurie has to blow it all up! Mr Lurie has to hire a "REAL FOOTBALL" GM to replace the ACCOUNTANT, who has systematically reduced this roster to bargain basement 7th round Special Teamers from the last 3 drafts! After a "Real" GM is hired, that person selects the Head Coach. The Head Coach then assembles a "competent" Coaching Staff (Remember; Offensive Guys coach the Offense and Defensive Guys coach the Defense). If Roseman remains as "Accountant" GM, then good luck getting a respectable HC. What experienced NFL Head Coach or aspiring NFL Coordinator would want to take orders and or have talent selected by a Salary Cap Nerd? Answer; NOBODY. What you will get is a College Coach who wants so bad to get in the NFL, that he'll swallow his pride and take orders from a Fantasy League Accountant. Winning the Salary Cap Bowl (The Lurie Cup) each year is not what the Fans are interested in. Get it right Jeffrey, fire Roseman or Philly will be set back at least 5 years!!!
— cooperhawk - ABSOLUTELY! He knows nothing about talent evaluation. Probably never played tackle football since grade school, IF THEN! Great choices on the OL and at safety. Great trades for corners who can neither cover nor tackle.— BLUEBELLION
- It's not the government...stop with the persistent BLAME game. It's sports. It's the draft. It's hit and miss. There's good cycles and bad cycles. Get a darn sense of humor if you want to cover sports. The Jersey shore was historically devastated, and Ford and Company keep litering our senses with their holier than thou incriminations about athletes and coaches who participate in a game. Happy Thanksgiving.— retzlaff
- Yawn, worthless post. Its a story about football and who is at fault for the failures. Nothing to do with anything else. So the Jersey shore was hammered....what does that have to do with this? A 3 year old died of cancer today...sadder than the shore people having to rebuild....so does that make the shore less important? How about a family where 2 kids die? Worse than 1 kid? Your post makes zero sense. No one said the Eagles problems were on the scale of bigger issues. — JonKap
- There are 20 million reasons why Roseman is to blame.— Mike Boryla
- I can't take anybody seriously who goes by the name of Howie. Why not use a professional name like Howard? Notice how Bobby Clarke became Bob Clarke when he hung up the skates and became an executive?
— TexColorado - Why don't you tell that to Howie Long? This post of yours is tiring, if you have the need to continue typing it, please take it elsewhere. — phillyborn4
Getting rid of the coaching staff, the quarterback and a couple defensive players will mean nothing if they don't get rid of Roseman too. This dude's last 2 drafts have set the franchise back 4 years.— gilligan- Meant to type "winning team" on previous post.
PS - anyone want to buy five seats for monday nights game
in section 117 ? I thought not.— section117 - Yes.— AreaMan
- It's ridiculous that everyone is up in arms as to why this team is in the toilet when the organization has been making one blatantly horrible decision after another for years and years, while acting as if they know better the entire time. Now the entire house of cards is crashing to the ground, everyone is like OMG! What went wrong?! Unless Lurie gets a genuine football GM in place and qualified coaches from outside the organization they are never going to climb out of this mess and the net wroth of the organization will take a nose dive just like their play on the field.— JohnnyH
- If Lurie does not get rid of Howie during the process of retooling this team, then it is indicative of Lurie's own incompetence or a lack of real sincerity to provide the Philly fans with a winning— section117
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About this blog
Bob Ford has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 1981, and is still trying to figure it all out. A former beat writer covering the Phillies and the 76ers, Ford became a general sports columnist for the Inquirer in 2003, following in and occasionally falling in the deep footsteps of Bill Lyon, Frank Dolson and many distinguished others. He comes to the Philly.com blogosphere after award-winning success as designer/editor of the fabulous Pen & Pencil Club softball blog. Likes: Palestra, inside-the-park home runs, sunny days. Dislikes: phony people, cloudy days, rewrites.
Reach Bob at bford@phillynews.com.
Bob Ford
Inquirer Sports Columnist
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