Eagles promote Marynowitz to personnel post

Chip Kelly spent 26 days searching for a personnel executive before promoting Ed Marynowitz, who was in the building all along.

The Eagles named Marynowitz vice president of player personnel on Thursday, putting the 30-year-old Media native into the chief player evaluation role that opened after the front office shake-up in the week after the season ended. Marynowitz received a three-year contract.

"Ed is someone who has really impressed me going back to my interview process with the Eagles two years ago," Kelly said in a statement. "He's very bright, detailed, organized, and his vision was aligned with what we want to accomplish. I spoke with a lot of people outside of our organization over the past few weeks, and in the end Ed was the most impressive."

He takes this job after a search that lasted nearly a month. A few intriguing candidates pulled out of consideration. The job was different from other general manager openings because Kelly maintains final say on decisions and former general manager Howie Roseman still has a presence in the front office.

Marynowitz came to the Eagles from the University of Alabama in 2012 as the assistant director of pro scouting. He was promoted in 2013 to assistant director of player personnel, where he has earned the respect and trust of Kelly.

"I can't tell you how well-thought-of Ed is in the scouting business," Kelly said. "What many people in the football community told me matched exactly what I thought of him from day one."

Marynowitz's responsibilities are not that of a traditional general manager, but he is now the top personnel evaluator with the team. He will work with Kelly and oversee and organize the personnel department. Marynowitz will report to Kelly.

"Our goal as a personnel department will be to develop a detailed process to maximize each segment of the scouting calendar in order to support and execute Chip's vision," Marynowitz said.

Changes in the front office were made after a season in which there was friction between Kelly and Roseman, according to league sources. The Eagles dismissed vice president of player personnel Tom Gamble on Dec. 31. Gamble returned to the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday as a senior personnel executive.

Two days after Gamble's ouster, owner Jeffrey Lurie restructured the front office by giving Kelly control over football personnel and promoting Roseman to a new position that took away his role in player evaluation.

"I valued Ed's point of view and smart perspective then and really got to know him well during that search," Lurie said. "I am confident in his abilities in this new role. I believe that Chip and Ed will work well together and implement a thoroughly integrated approach to player evaluation."

Marynowitz served as Alabama's director of player personnel from 2008 to 2011. He helped recruit three top classes, and the Crimson Tide went 36-5 during his three seasons. They won two national titles during that span.

"I don't know how he does it, but he does a great job for him to be so young and so mature about things, that I think only the sky's the limit," New England Patriots and former Alabama linebacker Dont'a Hightower said as he prepared for the Super Bowl in Arizona. "If you can find good players, then you can find good players. That's something Ed's always been able to do. Obviously, that's why he's getting the promotion."

At Alabama, Marynowitz also served as the liaison between the football program and NFL evaluators who came to scout the Crimson Tide's prospects.

"This is a great opportunity for Ed and I think Philadelphia made an excellent decision in terms of expanding his role and responsibilities in the organization," Alabama coach Nick Saban said in a statement. "Ed did an outstanding job for us when he was here and made a great contribution to our program as director of player personnel.

"The thing I was most impressed with was how much he wanted to learn in the area of player evaluation, and his knowledge in that area really expanded during his time at Alabama."

Before Alabama, Marynowitz spent one season as a scouting assistant with the Miami Dolphins and two years at Central Florida. He began his college career at La Salle, where he started at quarterback for two seasons.

The move was made at a key time, because February is a critical month on the scouting calendar. The annual scouting combine is three weeks away, and free agency begins two weeks later.

Don Smolenski, team president: He oversees business operations and strategic efforts, and reports to team owner Jeffrey Lurie.

Chip Kelly, head coach: He coaches the team and oversees the player personnel department.

Howie Roseman, executive vice president of football operations: He oversees contract negotiations, salary cap management, NFL strategic matters, and the medical and equipment staffs. He reports to Lurie.

Ed Marynowitz, vice president of player personnel: He works with Kelly in running the college and pro personnel departments. He reports to Kelly.

- Zach BermanEndText