Banner backlash boils over
This one has been simmering for a while. Credit Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com for getting Jeffrey Lurie to yank the lid off the pot.
Banner backlash boils over
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
This one has been simmering for a while. Credit Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com for getting Jeffrey Lurie to yank the lid off the pot.
Frank asked Eagles chairman Lurie about the perception that his childhood buddy, former Eagles president Joe Banner, has been the source of a lot of the negative press Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is getting. Roseman, once Banner's protege, usurped Banner last year, with Joe landing in Cleveland, where he has the organizational control he sought.
Lurie didn't outright accuse Banner of being the main "league source" arrayed against Roseman, but he definitely issued a warning.
"I'm very supportive of Howie, and if there's any criticism coming from afar about Howie, it's just off-base, and so I will support Howie completely, because that's not right," Lurie told Frank.
"And you know, if there are league sources that are really based in Cleveland, that's not right. We see through it all."
The final straw might have been a venomous Jan. 14 piece appearing on CBSSports.com, from reporter Jason LaCanfora, in which the Eagles' coaching search was described as "meandering and bizarre," and Roseman was said to be "drunk with power" and "woefully out of his depth."
Before that, in another media forum, there was the midseason "league-sourced" revelation that the Eagles had extended Roseman's contract back when Banner left -- leaked at a time when the Birds' personnel flaws were bringing scrutiny on Roseman -- and a "league sourced" report that somehow Roseman was responsible for the disastrous hiring of now-fired defensive line coach Jim Washburn. We don't know whether Banner had a role in either of those stories, but the Eagles' brass certainly believed he did.
Banner's response Friday, released through Browns spokesman Neal Gulkis, was as follows:
"It's always difficult to comment on a quote that may or may not be accurate or in context," Banner said. "In this case, from the comments Jeffrey made that were communicated to me, it is necessary for me to make this clear, unambiguous statement. Any implication that I had anything to do with Jason LaCanfora's story is completely false, outrageous and borders on being libelous.
"I had absolutely no conversation with Jason LaCanfora. Having demonstrated my character over the last 44 years to Jeffrey and the last 14 to Howie, it is beyond disappointing that they would suggest such a thing. As tempting as it is to go further, other than defending myself, I will continue to take the high road on all such matters as I have done since the day I left the Eagles."
Later Friday, Banner was asked about the situation at a news conference announcing Mike Lombardi as the Browns' new personnel guy. Banner declined comment.
While Lurie went a little overboard Thursday -- almost to "gold standard" level -- in describing how much the Eagles and Roseman are respected by what he called "iconic figures" in the league, he was right about criticism of the Eagles' search. Their journey to a new coach was neither longer nor less focused than anyone else's. Five of the eight NFL openings didn't get filled until this week, and the Birds ended up with the guy everybody in the league insisted was their top candidate going into the process. Every interview they undertook made sense.
There are some people in the media, even right here in Philadelphia, who might owe Roseman an apology.
Which is not to say the GM has proven he is great at his job, or is one of the best young minds in the league, or worthy of any of the superlatives Lurie likes to bestow. But it's a fact that the media biz today seems to be more and more about "look at me and my report!" rather than sifting through agendas, trying to figure out what's true and passing that on to readers/viewers.
***
On a more pleasant note, maybe you heard Chip Kelly talk Thursday about the time Nick Foles, playing for Arizona, completed a pass lefthanded while Kelly's Oregon Ducks were trying to sack him. Here's the video.
Comments (127)
Which u were running the Eagles Joe— PHILLY76- "While Lurie went a little overboard Thursday -- almost to "gold standard" level -- in describing how much the Eagles and Roseman are respected by what he called "iconic figures" in the league, he was right about criticism of the Eagles' search. Their journey to a new coach was neither longer nor less focused than anyone else's. Five of the eight NFL openings didn't get filled until this week, and the Birds ended up with the guy everybody in the league insisted was their top candidate going into the process. Every interview they undertook made sense."
the depths of jeff lurie's delusions are scary, to be honest. this is not an "iconic" franchise. the steelers are iconic. packers. 49ers. this. every other NFC east team has at least three super bowls, except for the eagles, who have none. this team has a lifetime .484 winning pct, 21st in the league. they are one of the league's bottom feeders, not one of its icons.
i hope chip kelly does well. but with a clown-suit wearing accounting nerd like howie evaluating the talent, kelly is doomed from the start— hannibal barca - Do you realize you were so desperate to knock Lurie, that you actually read your entire quote wrong, which makes you look silly?
He said "iconic figures", not "iconic franchise". Which, by the way, is true either way. The Eagles have been in the NFL long enough, and have enough history to be one of the icons of the NFL. Iconic really has nothing to do with winning. Many teams are iconic. Aren't batman AND robin iconic? Or is it just batman?
And the term "overboard" being used about Lurie...Well, it may be true or not true, but we don't know, including the author. We've seen time and time again how sports figures see the media as paparazzi light. They are obsessed with spoon feeding fans drama, and it's so out of hand that these writers actually feel they know the true feelings of "iconic figures", or at least, they just feel so overconfident they can assume as much.
Maybe I should have used more spacing, so your brain had more time to read. It must be pretty stressed with all that baaaaaaa rage.— MFPhils - are the detroit lions iconic? they've been around longer than the eagles
the pathetic thing is, lurie and his lemming fans actually think the past 18 years of his ownership have made the eagles the NFL's gold standard. at least in Lurie's case he's a billion dollars richer as eagles fans accept mediocrity and continue to sell out the Linc, while he sips Chablis and gnoshes on canapés in his gladwyne mansion— hannibal barca - Yep, in Detroit and to any outside fans. Do you think when people are asked to name some iconic teams from the NFL they will name the teams that comes to their mind first, or ask which team has the most rings? It's the first that defines something as iconic. — MFPhils
- as a phillies fan, if you asked me to name baseball's "iconic" franchises, i wouldn't say the 10,000 loss phillies with two rings since 1883. i'd say yankees, cardinals, dodgers — hannibal barca
- Agreed, don't think i'd say Cardinals though. But you are counting championships. Yankees are one of the biggest markets in the world, and most well known. If they had the smallest market, they wouldn't be as iconic. They wouldn't be talked about tv at all, have their own network, celebrity following, etc. The popularity of NY and their championships definitely help, but I think you can be iconic without all the wins.
Isn't iconic mainly a perception? Most people don't follow championships. For instance, the Phillies have a large market across the country. Many fans would be able to name the most popular teams, which kind of make those teams an icon of the sport. Phillies are definitely up there. Not the most iconic, but iconic to much of the country I bet.— MFPhils - Wow, MFPhils and hannibal, this is one of the more interesting exchanges I have read on these posts. Nice work guys. By the way, I agree with MFPhils 100%.
— John621 - Right on spot MF.But as with CG25 you can show hannibal barca the truest notarized facts and he will still say your wrong. point is with him, CG, or bp2 the birds could win a SB and they would still say "they put the trophy in the wrong spot in the case what idiots they would know decor or proper placement cause they are not interior decorators". Just negative bitter people that will never be happy. — eagle fan for life
- ...the Cardinals aren't iconic?...you must be one of these new baseball fans around these parts...get a clue...the Phillies are over...
- The fans gave Lurie the dough for his Gladwyne palace. And in return, we got loser Reid for 14 years. Right on target as usual hannibal. — BP2
- Yeah, but the last one was way before you were born, I'll bet. And several years prior to the 60's Eagles title. Birds have won three. Played for three more.
BP2, give Reid some credit for his first half dozen years, or didn't you cheer for the Birds in the SB?— mike l - You are kidding right? — Norm3
- I'm going get you Jeffrey!!!!!! Damn you and that punk Howie. Cleveland rocks!!!!!
- This Jason LaConfora guy doesn't seem the most credible in the world right now. Howie obviously didn't cost the Eagles their first choice and if plan b was Gus they probably could have had him over Jax anyway.— TongueWagger
- It was Banner's idea to let Juan Castillo coach the defense?— ricciaje
- did banner cut solid veterans like winston justice, AQ shipley and mike mcglynn, leading to the disastrous demtress bell signing when there were injuries on the line, leaving no depth at the position, although jeff lurie was 20mm under the cap? — hannibal barca
- Ok first with cap space thing currently the Eagles are over the cap by 18,120,825 before releasing any players,Now if your little mind can comprehend any business acumen than you would know about planing for the future. And the Eagles as a business have to plan to stay competitive for least two reasons 1)to keep selling tic's and merchandise 2) because football is entertainment that is all. And weather or not they win a SB will effect your life about as much as who wins American Idol, Hells Kitchen, or even the Voice. So if you need a sports team to give you a good feeling about your self than you are a truly sad and pathetic person.
— eagle fan for life - So you're one of the "Shut up, Pay Lurie Money, and Support the Eagles" kind of people? — fmMD
- It was Washburn calling all defensive line play and Bowles running the secondary. Juan was just a title. Didn't have any real control of defense. He was made to play Washburns style. But he took all the blame.— jfarm
- JB stays with his repugnant personality and his inability to be a decent man and get along with others.....But who cares....Soon enough the cleveland press and the Dogpound will see thru his smoke and he'll be hated there.....Hahahahahahahahah......Go for it Joe....You are a loser....HR might be all that and we shall soon see.....but you failed here, so jsut shut up and go away...— nuggett
- I don't see what the big deal is? Roseman is in over his head and probably Lurie also. Hiring Kelly was to all intents an ego trip run amuck. Kelly will be a bust with the Eagles and will be back in college ball within two years. The pursuit of Kelly reminds me of the man at the auction who ends up buying something at three times it's value because ego says he must have it at all costs. C'est la guerre!— obergruber
- Stay in Cleveland Joe.. We hate you here in Philly... Arrogant little Hobbit!!— elfman
- The Philly writers write the same things this Jason guy is writing. Who needs a source when you're just giving your opinion and trying to stir the pot?— Phillies2008WSChamps
- Wow Les you are giving credit to Roob? This is not a story, it's Jeff being a little baby. I remember listening to WIP Sunday and they were saying CSN's Reuben Frank is reporting Gus Bradley will be in town and be the next coach of the Eagles. Monday he reported Gus will sign the contract to be head coach of the Eagles on Wed. Roob hasn't broken a story ever !!!!!!!— AJL99
- Yeeeeeeeeeah....right— greenblood4200
I have formed my own thoughts about this, but I'm still not sure... Maybe CharlieGarner25 can let us know what his infallible opinion is on this subject. Because his opinion is obviously the only one that counts. All kidding aside, the odds are pretty good that CharlieGarner25 is an unemployed tard that splits all his time on philly.com and being on hold on 610 and 97.5.— DixonBunz- lol.
love it.
new front office rivalry zzzzzz.
eagles vs browns.
banner = sore loser.
eagles got kelly. browns fail.
waaa!
— bloodymess - Banner is a very twisted and selfish person. Years ago we had a suite at the Linc and despite paying over $100K per year, individual seat holders were put in the lotter for SB tickets. When I called Banners office and complain, I was told 'he' said if we renew our suite for 5 more years he'll see what he can do. There you go. That's Joe Banner— alwaysphil1
- umm, he's running a business — hannibal barca
- And yet another arrogant snob that thinks his money makes him better than everyone else. I'd bet Banner was probably thinking the same thing when he told you that. Whiner. — drenner
- "Demonstrated your character over the last 44 years to Jeffrey"? You started demonstrating that character as an infant, Howie? Wow, that's quite a resume. I assume you changed your own diaper. Why not, you still do.— ghost of callison
- haha, that is funny! — hannibal barca
- That was Banner's quote. He is 59. He and Lurie have been friends since, I'm assuming, he was 15. — Penfold18
- WOW..that was a great throw and effort by Nick Foles on that video vs Oregon.— jim35
- The only thing the rumor proved is that Eagles fans are gullible imbeciles.— p-diddy
- If Banner thinks those comments by Lurie are libelous, then Banner is the world's biggest fool or there's not a lawyer worth consulting on the subject of libel in the city of Cleveland. Banner needs straightening out like an errant dog needs a cuffing with a slipper.— Claudio Vernight
- the media biz today seems to be more and more about "look at me and my report!" than about trying to figure out what's true and passing that on to readers/viewers.
Where have you been Les? Your comment is a sad truth in our country today. We just elected a man again based on style rather than substance.— backliner - Why isn't anyone calling BS on LaCamfora??? The guy is a joke and most of his stories end up being wrong— puddin
- Ugliest white man alive.— JusWonderin
- But you have to admit he has mastered the rake-over, it looks so real... — djw26
- @callison - The quote was from Joe Banner not Roseman.
Lurie has been outed as the guy who rolls around in a clueless state. He is obviously the guy who set the tone for all of the wild, gambling maneuvers this oprganization has taken as he continues to make exactly the same low odds, high ceiling gambles that have brought this organization down. He is delusional as well. Here are three whoppers that give me no hope for an Eagles turnaround: (1)The well worn Gold standard delusion (2)Yesterday's claim that it is easy to find a championship caliber QB these days who can come right in do the job (3) Today's cklaim that he and Roseman are considered great football guiys by the best of the best in the league
And I thought after watching Lance Armstrong's "confession" that he took the case for denial and delusions. Lurie is on the same wave length.— UncleStosh - Went back and re-read the quote -- you're right. I screwed up. It's on me. I've just got to put myself in a better position to read these articles thoroughly. Time's yours..... ;)
- Haha. I love it. Thanks for the laugh. — UncleStosh
- @ghost, fabulous comeback! Perfect reach on that one, my friend! — advantasux
- As long as the Eagles are $20,000,000 under the salary cap, they won't be competitive. However, can you blame Jeffrey Lurie for wanting to pocket an extra $20,000,000/year. If you had the choice of owning a winning football team or pocketing $20,000,000/year, which would you do.— JonathanB
- If I had the money this clown has, $20M would be pocket change. That said, since $20M is like pocket change to Lurie, I would invest in putting the best team on the field, thereby padding my pockets even more by satisfying a rabid, motivated fan base that spends more money on additional merchandise and stays longer than the 3rd quarter so that they spend even more money on concessions and the like. Make sense?
- @jon boy: the franchise is worth $1bn. $20mm is 2% of that, or two cents on the dollar. it's not worth two cents to lurie to pay for quality back-up offensive linemen? — hannibal barca
- The problem with your statement is that the facts of the NFL do not prove you out. For the past 10-12 years, for the most part the best teams(NE, Pittsburgh, etc) are routinely in the bottom third of payroll while the top 5 or 6 teams in payroll over that time have either been miserable or perennial 1st round playoff losers. That is cold, hard fact. You may ask how that can be and the answer is varied but the main point is that the best teams DRAFT WELL(keeping salaries down), re-sign only their best players AND are willing to walk away from a guy who is due to get over paid on the open market. Meanwhile the bad teams draft poorly, over pay to keep guys that they could replace if neccessary and then try to make up for it by signing big free agent contracts. So you end up with bad teams with big payrolls and great temas with middle of the pack to low payrolls. The Eagles failed to draft well and over paid for Free agents,(Nnamdi, Kerse, etc). The only thing they ever have done right is dropping players who are too old and over paid. Dawkins being the only exception and he really only had one successful season after leaving the Eagles — UncleStosh
- the eagles sure could have used winston justice, shipley or mcglynn with some of that 20mm in left over money that went right to lurie's account at chase manhattan — hannibal barca
- How do you know where it went? You'd rather look in hindsight and say what didn't happen, but in reality you wouldn't give credit if he did was your suggesting. Instead you would find $20mil that he spent that didn't work out. Even if it was a different $20mil.
See, you aren't speaking out of concern for the team. You are literally looking for things to complain about, because you are following your peers. You keeping up with me?— MFPhils - Well, that's at least the second time you brought up Justice. Did you ever see him play? He make King Dunlap look like a Pro-Bowl lineman. The blocks the way Asante blocks - by waving at the guy as he runs by! Justice had the nickname the "Human Turnstile" for a reason! — gdibig
- I buy your argument regarding drafting well. That has been a huge problem for the Eagles for years. And free agent pick ups over the years for the Eagles have, for the most part, been busts. All the money in the world wouldn't help a team that was managed the way the "Gold Standard" has been.
- i'm with you ghost. you build through the draft, and add a missing piece here or there via free agency. the sad thing for the eagles is that smug little howie's running the personnel operation — hannibal barca
- No offense, but if I were Lurie reading this I would literally pe- myself laughing. You think you know business and football better than anyone on his staff? wait...wait...to late. Gotta change my underwear. — MFPhils
- exactly, lurie is a businessman, not a football fan (unless he's talking about his beloved patriots). even if he inherited his money, rather than earning it, he turned 200mm into 1bn, by skimming as much as possible from the salary cap
it didn't take clairvoyance to realize that the team had NO depth on the o-line, even before peters got hurt. howie cut justice, shipley and mcglynn because they were too expensive, and king dunlap was cheaper.
people love to bash steinbrenner. but if i was a yankees fan i'd be glad he spent as much as he could to WIN. unlike the owners in kansas city and miami who pocket baseball's revenue sharing money— hannibal barca 
Comment removed.- "Hey Joe "Nichles" Banner can you take Roseman with you? Thanks!— losteagle
- roseman has to go too— psualum
- Most babies "have to go" on the average of 5-6 times a day. Hey Jeff, time to invest in Pampers for Howie. A five year supply should do it.
- The Cleveland clown doth protest too much, methinks.— PhillySubsMac
- Eagles Laurie Roseman =Frauds 50 years of losing it will continue they are classless— bigtom blew3
- Banner is Bilbo Baggins?— BirdinParadise
- I was going to read this story about the Eagles but got only 2 paragraphs down the page before realizing the story is about Jr. H.S. girls arguing with each other. No thanks.— stryke2
- Wow! This is all so very junior high school!— Fredclaims
- "I had absolutely no conversation with Jason LaCanfora" Banner parsing those words very carefully! Did he send him a text? Did he have someone else talk to him?— gdibig
- — hannibal barca
They've played on every Thanksgiving since that game was created, so yes, they are iconic. The old teams of the NFC are all considered iconic. By the way, the Eagles franchise has won NFL championships, just not since the inception of the super bowl.— Hemingway - are the cardinals iconic? they've been around since 1898 — hannibal barca
- Nickels and Dimes— camasbud
- Much ado about nothing.— sjfella
- — hannibal barca
your a dope!!!
— henry hill - it's "you're", genius — hannibal barca
- Is that a dead Rat on Banner's head?— fmMD
- I suppose if anyone in the Eagles organization was power hungry it was Joe Banner. I think Joe was probably at his best in building the business end of the Eagles franchise, but once that was all in place with not a whole lot to do, he began fancying himself a football genius. Then after that started to produce bad results, Lurie promoted Howie to short circuit the over the top Joe.
Personally I'm glad to see "me first" Joe gone, and I think Howie now has a chance to become a great GM, especially working with Chip, both seeming like rational, cooperative types who are not all that concerned about who technically has the final say with personnel.— Cactusjim - roseman a "great GM" seriously? what are you drinking? even if you assume lurie's telling the truth, roseman was involved in all these dumb decisions:
drafting: watkins, graham, jarrett, nate allen
FA signings: steve smith, jason babin, asomugha, ronnie brown
trades: DRC, dumping asante samuel
if he had no responsibility for any of this, W T H was the team's GENERAL MANAGER doing all day long in 2010 and 2011?— hannibal barca - Ok, kids, kids, knock it off or you're grounded! Go to your room for an hour and cool off.— MikeP
- I love the revesionist historians that are making Winston Justice's exit into some rallying cry. For Justice's ENTIRE career as an Eagle, it was the exact opposite---he was a symbol of bad drafting and ineptitude. Now. he has a good season elsewhere and the trolls can't wait to mock the Eagles for letting him go. No credibility at all. If you want to use reality as a basis for you opinion, please do. the more you conveniently forget facts and make it up as you go along, the more of a fool you'll look like.
Howie has done nothing to deserve the accolades that JL heaps upon him. He also hasn't done anything to deserve the level of ridicule that a lot of these posters heap upon him. Lets see how this plays out for another season or two. I know you're all impatient (so am I), but that shouldn't be an excuse to become stupid.— Zee77 - Hannibal, really? Enough with the Colts Oline drivel, that is not some huge indictment of bad mgmt. They assumed their backups were just that backups who could fill in here or there. Not fill in the entire line most of the season. Wouldnt have changed a thing per that season and actually ends up helping us go forward, dump some of that trash and draft better depth. There is plenty of better ammunition than that.— peteike
- Who the hell cares about this story? Great! Banner and Lurie are pissy at each other now. I could care less. Let me know when either the Browns or Eagles are relevant and I'll re-read this story.— ethan9456
- Not to generalize, but I don't think most fans in that city truly appreciate what Andy Reid was to that team. He was good to the organization and the organization was good to him. Firing him was something that had to be done. All parties involved knew it and I don't think there was any hard feelings. I hope that when Andy steps into the Link as the opposition, the fans show the same class and regard he showed in his tenure there.— theman0830
- The three stooges... Lurie, Banner, Roseman. How long before they drive Kelly away ?— sfofan
- this is one of the dumbest articles ive ever read...les is just trying to pony up to the new regime...les bowen constantly tries to come off as holier than thou..it's really getting old...les take the buyout already popi ....sincerely twitter.com/dannyozark— danny ozark
- Ok, Banner sues Lurie for libel ...and let's say he wins a huge settlement. Jeffrey is forced to sell the team. Banner teams up with Christina Lurie and buys the Eagles. Jeffrey gets Hollywood rights to make the movie.— misterhman
- Banner is bitter, but correct. That the Eagles ending up getting Kelly doesnt mean their search wasnt a bit of a mess. And if you look at the "Howie decisions" none have been good. I'm usually optomisic compared to most with the Eagles, but I'm still looking forward to 3 years from now when Howie is fired and Kelly pulls a Nick Saban and retreats back to college life.— Greg S
- Lurie is a smacked a.s.s. He sucks to have as an owner.— Ballgame
- One thing in this article is certainly true. Too many reporters ARE more concerned with "Hey, look at me!" than they are with the truth. All the rest is just rumor and speculation, including most of the comments on this thread, which reveal nothing except personal agendas and hatreds.— MagMGirl
- Hey Nickels, you can't blast our Howie. Only we can blast our Howie. Go get your teeth cleaned.— ANDY-IS-FAT
- I agree fully with this article. Reporters need to re-focus their writing on what is accurate than venting unsubstantiated anger. That is what this comments section can do, but not what a professional reporter does. Kudos to Roseman for just doing his job and not letting himself react to what was said about him.— afizere7
- This entire argument of Lurie being delusional is moot because he didn't say "the eagles are an iconic franchise" or anything about the eagles being iconic whatsoever. He clearly stated the the eagles are respected by "iconic figures"' which I would assume is major people in the league who have expressed that the eagles organization is top notch blah blah which is said all the time. I'm not saying I agree with all that, but it annoys me to see people read articles and see one word and automatically jump to some negative conclusion that wasn't even stated I.e omg Lurie is stupid thinking the eagles are iconic., which was never said.— Stuffandthings
- Let's hope the streamlining as Mr. Lurie calls it, is effective. There's certainly enough evidence that the front office was not one big happy family for the last 5 yrs of the Reid era. Maybe this will work better.— bentlip
- Bottom line is that Lurie has Roseman and Banner has Lombardi. What GM would you feel is qualified in moving your team forward>
That's exactly what I thougt. One more thought: Rueben Frank has stepped over the boundaries of the objective reporter more then once in his continuing defense of this organization. Ever listen to his WIP work? I sometimes wonder if he is a paid shill for the Eagles....— DelawareRiverRat - reminds me when Jerry Jones fired HJimmy Jimmmy Johnson. How did that work out?— Sports4Life
- This is he said she said garbage. I'd pay to see these two clowns get in a ring and settle it mano to mano.— AngryGregR
- Watching these two pompous, money-grubbing rich boys snipe at each other is priceless. Now one is banished to one of the ugliest big cities in the country, while the other's family is broken up forever, and undergoes the loss of his best friend. It just proves that their "friendship" had no foundation other than dollar bills. But the sad part, for the fans' sake, is that they are also the ones that are completely and utterly responsible for the lack of an NFL championship here. Well, they can always count their money. That's what life is all about in their world, isn't it?— Bob1
- Another piece of "no news" put out by Les Bowen.— phillysub1
- Well said, les. Kudos for having the courage to call out some of your own reporters.— Fritz and Alice
- Hannibal, you are clueless...Graham is all-pro next year and who knows about Allen, it may have been the scheme. Asante Samuel? Are you kidding, ever seen him tackle? He is a punk who held the Birds hostage...oh wait, like Jackson and All the rest!— BirdinParadise
- The truth of the matter is everyone knows Banner built the Eagles organization and "little Howie" is still in diapers while Lurie is clueless. Just look at his latest move fire Andy Reid not have a replacement ready to fill the head coaching job (which means he had no plan he's just acting out of emotion). The guy he decided (a kid's coach when he needed a coach capable of coaching experienced men in the NFL) to hire rejected him publicly and and Lurie begged him to take the job. Does that sound like an owner who knows what he's doing? Banner built the Eagles into an organizational powerhouse, "Little Howie" is as clueless as his boss. I'll give the Mr. Chips two years before he's ran off on a rail by the players and or the fans because he'll be over his head. That's when it will hit him, he should stuck to his first instinct to turn down the job because he's out of his element.— Speak-truth-2-power
- Be nice to Howie. Howie's really really smart, you guys, really ! Nnamdi, wasn't Howie... Washburn, wasn't actually Howie... 2010 & 2011 drafts, weren't Howie... You all better be nice to Howie or else... or else... and be nice to Andy too. Andy's my friend. Andy and Howie are my friends, and you're all meanies and bullies and jerk faces .... (HTML deleted)— Florida Frank
- What is the "Average Joe" gonna say about this article? I think he's gonna puke and wonder if he's supporting an industry that no longer appeals to regular "beer-swilling" guys. The subjects of this article, the author and affiliated sources are stoking a "pink ascot" environment. Maybe that's the intention of all parties for slightly different reasons. Very thought-provoking piece, Les. Still, calling these players sissies, demeans sissies.— BigDipper
- Today, I asked my kid who's just about to turn 25 what she thought of the new coach. She said she had no opinion. She didn't know who the guy was but she said, "it can't get any worse, right?" Jeffrey now has "My Three Sons" in Chipper, Andy, and Ray. Norman had Rich, and Buddy. Leonard had Marion, Dick, Mike plus the ones before I watched. Yea, honey, hopefully it can't get any worse....(please , Lord) :)— BigDipper
- Banner on the radio a few years back said that the Steelers aren't any more successful than the Eagles. Now that was libelous.— watsonmr
- Joe vs Howie: meow!— Tyrone Biggums
- At what point does Joe Banner start dating Christina Lurie?
— Craigger - At what point does Joe Banner start dating Christina Lurie? (HTML deleted)— Craigger
- Two twinks having a public hissy fit. Priceless!— jman
- They are iconic due to their business prowess not their football knowledge or accomplishments. They took a team, doubled it's value, make money every year off of dopey fans who buy into slogans....and Wharton can study their business modle on how to make money regarless of the business - in this case football is their business - their business isn't football.— STEPHEN1988
- Im not a fan of Howie Roseman. On the other hand Lurie stated that he will be evaluating Roseman this coming season.— Eaglesfan66
- Wow, this is getting interesting. Banners words were pretty scathing. Can't sugar coat it anymore. I think k we're gong to see that ole howie stabbed his way to the top and there are allot of backs bleeding right now
- Lurie is so full of himself. Guess without Banner there are only "Yes" men left. After every comment that Lurie makes, he gives that smug look.— Kioto
- Lurie is sick. Iconic people in the league are afraid to critize the Eeagles because they make money as a "business"...would you call the Buf Bills a "gold standard?" They made the SB FOUR TIMES! Bottom line, the Eagles are nowhere near the gold standard for fans or ticket holders. We have not won a modern SB. We have only won a championship title in 1960 when the NFL was a very different place. Reid might have been a winning coach with 1 SB appearance, but those days are long gone. To make it worse, Reid did ANYTHING he wanted while here, like bringing in Vick. He made the choices that destroyed this team. Please, don't kid yourself. Roseman barely has a track record, is not a football guy, and Chip Kelly is going to have a horrible team for 1-2 seasons. They are beyond repair and need 1-2 AWESOME drafts and free agencies all going right to get out of this hole that Reid and Lurie dug.— MichaelZoe
- Way too many girls telling on girls who are saying too many bad things about their girlfriends. And the ugliest girl started it! LOL!! What a joke. Just when you thought the girls couldn't get a girlier...— Mortimer G Fingenfinderstein III
- Just love all the Lurie and Howie love suddendly popping up here. Five days ago they were morons in most of your opinions. Wait until Kelly turns out to be the worst coach hiring in NFL history after he tries to bring college -style playcalling to the big league. I'm printing out all 117 expressions of love for the two geniuses destroying this once mediocre franchise.— schnitzelboy
- Blah, blah, blah, blah............How aboaut we talk about something important, like how Chip Kelly and Howie are going to fix the O-Line and the secondary. Does ANYBODY really care about the he said, she said, BS? Give me a break.— Craig321
- Iconic? For what?
Teams that have only three championships to their credit since 1933 while 7 other franchises have matched or exceeded the Eagles three since 1960?
Of those seven, the 49ers are the oldest and they came to the NFL in 1950. The others being Dallas (1960) and New England (1970).
12 other franchises have won the championship under Lurie's tortuous tenure. Only a putz would try to sell that as something.— Atomic Fury - Besides owning an iconic franchise, Lurie also took voluminous notes on talent evaluation . He must have been studying a thesaurus during the season.— watsonmr
- So, what's LaCanfora's source? He does not necessarily have to divulge it, but this is not a national security issue. I'd be interested to know just who is sniping from the outside about the matter. Banner's an easy target to make as the one who is doing that, since he was ousted, or left, or whatever you want to call that. People can whine all they want about Lurie's money, but he owns the franchise, and...he's in it for the money. Not for altruism.
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Banner's leaving has been cast as Reid forcing him out, or Reid in concert with Roseman forcing him out. I doubt that; unless there was a terrible rift, I can't see Howie doing that to his mentor, and Reid just didn't care by that point. The way he conducted himself after Banner left shows it.
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Either way, does it matter? No. Kelly's the new coach; now, is he gonna pick his team, or will he be forced to take Reid's retreads, and whatever Howie decides is the next high-motor prospect in the draft? Time will tell.— MidStaterUXB - Joey (Nickels and Dimes) Banner is not bitter!
But, then, many people tend to confuse the taste, bitter, with the taste of sour grapes!
GOOD GRIEF!
Can NOTHING, EVER, be left alone!— BEMiller - Banner sonds like the better man here. Lurie should shut up until his team puts up. Jeff don't talk the talk until you can walk the walk. If you own a team whose defense is as breakable as glass you should not be throwing stones. Someone please smack Lurie until he stops talking smack. The Eagles team mimics their owner....all talk but no action. No singee without a ringee....— rockinrob
- Roseman has to support Pee Wee in order to make Banner look like a bitter back stabber. If he admits that Pee Wee is a failure he admits that Banner was correct and vindicates Banner. Obviously this is personal between Lurie and Banner. Despite what Lurie says i public Pee Wee is a no nothing in terms of his football personnel knowledge. Then again, so was Banner. What his organization needs more than anything else is a personnel guy with very strong football experience and knowledge and who has had demonstrated success. Pee Wee is the polar opposite.— BLUEBELLION
- Banner and Lurie are cut from the same cloth; that was not meant as a compliment.— 2ndNlong
- Gee, I wonder who put Frank up to confronting Lurie, can you say "Howie"? It's a shame that Frank is so obviously Roseman's mouthpeice; we'll never get anything objective on CSN again.— JBinPA
- Rule #1: you dont need to paste half of the article in your comment since we just read it!
Rule #2: Banner is a liar. They are all liars. He probably didnt talk to Jason LaCanfora. But he probably wrote an anononymous letter to him.— Four4Four
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Eagletarian is your home for comprehensive coverage of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Les Bowen
Daily News Staff Writer
Paul Domowitch
Daily News NFL Columnist
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