Eagles hire Tom Gamble as player personnel chief

The Eagles have bolstered their personnel department with a familiar name.

Tom Gamble, a Haddonfield High graduate who was with the San Francisco 49ers the last eight years, including the last two as director of player personnel, was hired Wednesday as the Eagles' vice president of player personnel.

According to the Eagles, Gamble will report to general manager Howie Roseman and work in the college and pro personnel departments.

Gamble, 49, is the son of Harry Gamble, who was the Eagles' team president from 1986 to 1995.

"Since Ryan Grigson left to become the general manager of the [Indianapolis] Colts, we've been looking for the right person to fill his spot, and we are excited about what Tom can bring to the team," Roseman said in a conference call.

Grigson was the Eagles' director of player personnel before being hired in January 2012 by the Colts.

Gamble has worked in the NFL since entering the league as an assistant in the Eagles' personnel department in 1988.

Roseman, 37, who joined the Eagles in 2000 and was promoted to general manager in January 2010, has considerably less NFL experience than Gamble. That brought the inevitable questions as to whether the hiring would mean less personnel power for the general manager.

Roseman said the Eagles will continue to operate the same way, using a collective effort to build the team.

"To get where you need, you can't have egos, and it's not going to be about who is my player, who is Tom's player," Roseman said.

Roseman said the Eagles had talked to Gamble last year after Grigson left but indicated Gamble wasn't ready to make a move then.

This year was a different story. Gamble had interviewed for a few general manager jobs, and he has a strong reputation around the NFL.

Roseman added that before hiring Gamble, the Eagles spoke to other candidates but were impressed by Gamble's extensive experience and success.

"He had a great run in San Francisco, and they have been very successful over the last few years," Roseman said.

During his first stint with the Eagles, the younger Gamble served a variety of roles through 1994, including college scouting administrator, area scout, contract negotiator, and director of pro scouting.

He worked for the New York Jets as a defensive assistant and quality-control coach in 1995-96 and was a pro scout for the Baltimore Ravens in 1997. Gamble was a Colts college scout from 1998 to 2004 before joining the 49ers.