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Eagles purge personnel department

When the draft is over, teams that have changed their personnel structure in the offseason shake up their scouting staffs.

THE BIG, HAPPY personnel family Chip Kelly described for us during the NFL draft is now a little smaller.

After the draft was over, the Eagles on Sunday dismissed director of college scouting Anthony Patch, director of pro personnel Rick Mueller and Southwest area scout Brad Obee, sources close to the situation confirmed to the Daily News.

Patch and Mueller, especially, were tied to the regime of former general manager Howie Roseman, whose personnel say ended in January. They were Roseman's top personnel advisers, along with Ed Marynowitz, who now runs personnel and will hire his own team.

When there are changes at the top in personnel, there inevitably, are changes down the line, and teams typically shake up scouting staffs after the draft has ended. For one thing, you need those guys as you prepare for the draft. For another, you don't want them going to another team after spending much of the draft process with inside knowledge of your evaluations and process.

Other changes could come, as Marynowitz settles into his job.

Some fans wondered on social media whether the Eagles' changes were linked to disappointment over the just-completed draft. There is no evidence of that - other teams that changed personnel chiefs in the offseason either have made similar moves, such as the Jets yesterday, or will do so soon.

Patch, 37, worked 13 years in Eagles personnel and had overseen college scouting since 2012. Mueller, 47, spent eight years with the Saints before joining the Eagles four years ago, as Roseman sought to combat criticism he didn't have enough NFL personnel experience, by hiring veteran advisers. Mueller was promoted to head of pro personnel last June. Obee, 29, grew up in Wayne and went to Penn State. He worked six years for the Eagles.

Blog: ph.ly/Eagletarian