Eagles VP Joe Douglas: Longtime scout on a mission

MOBILE, Ala. - Joe Douglas doesn't just look like a football guy, he talks like one.

The Eagles' vice president of player personnel can articulate his scouting philosophy and the type of players he's looking for - smart, tough, and passionate about football - but he truly shines when he discusses individual prospects.

Fed a name, Douglas will go into great detail about size, statistics, skills, and background. He spouts off that Eastern Washington wide receiver Cooper Kupp had nearly 800 yards receiving against Division I-A competition. He stresses the significance of wearing the No. 18 at LSU - as cornerback Tre'Davious White did for the Tigers.

Douglas will also toss in some scouting lingo for good measure. Villanova's 6-foot-7, 280-pound defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon, for instance, is "body beautiful." Douglas, a former offensive lineman, speaks with authenticity.

This is a scout who paid his dues on the road and in the film room. The Eagles hired Douglas to be Howie Roseman's second-in-command and to head the personnel department, but what they need more than anything is an evaluator who can pick the right players.

Douglas doesn't come off sounding as if he's reciting from the "How To Talk Like a Scout" playbook, but if he can't identify NFL talent it doesn't matter what or how he says it. He hit the right notes, however, in his first news conference since being hired last May.

"The only way to be a great evaluator and be a great report writer is to write a lot of reports and watch a lot of tape," Douglas said Wednesday between Senior Bowl practices. "That starts at a young age."

The 40-year-old has been scouting the NFL for 17 years. Hired by former Browns general manager Phil Savage in Baltimore, mentored by Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome, Douglas worked his way up the hierarchy until he became director of college scouting with the Bears two years ago.

"It was a process that developed over years of playing the game," Douglas said, "being around unbelievable evaluators."

The Ravens had a core philosophy when it came to their personnel, but as Douglas noted, "Everybody's looking for mentally tough, smart, physically tough guys." Watching film or games live is one thing, but to truly get inside a prospect, scouts almost have to become investigative reporters.

"This business, like any other business, is a people business and the most important thing is when you go into a school, building your sources," Douglas said. "Getting great relationships at the different schools that each scout's assigned to, whether it's a coach, whether it's a trainer, whether it's a custodian, anybody that will give you great, consistent and reliable information."

Most of the Eagles scouts predate Douglas' arrival, but he did bring Andy Weidl with him from Baltimore to be his lieutenant. Newsome's success, Douglas has said, stems from the inclusive approach he takes to evaluation. If you do the work, your voice will be heard and often applied.

Roseman said earlier this month that his new personnel chief would craft the Eagles' draft board, but Douglas, echoing Newsome, said, "It's going to be ours. So not just me, not just Howie."

Building the board is a many-step process. Douglas said he first met with his staff in December after four months on the road. There will be another round of meetings before the scouting combine next month, and again in April after pro and colleges days and right before the draft.

April is when Doug Pederson and the coaching staff will get more involved. The Eagles typically have every coach in attendance during Senior Bowl practices, but only Pederson and the three coordinators (Jim Schwartz, Frank Reich, and Dave Fipp) are here this week.

"We talked to [Pederson] about it and . . . he said that [positional assistants] had a lot of work to do as coaches on scheme," Roseman said, "and that they would have a lot of time to catch up as we kind of narrow the process down."

Whether this is a change in philosophy or not, it does suggest a lessening of coaching input on the draft. Douglas said that their contributions are "vital" because if the prospect "doesn't fit the coach's system it does no good."

But the Eagles need to be wary of drafting scheme-specific players. They've had three head coaches in the last five years. Schwartz could leave next year and it's not as if Pederson has secured his job for the next decade.

They must acquire gifted players who could thrive in any system, first and foremost. Another first-round miss - the Eagles have either the No. 14 or 15 pick this year - could have repercussions for years. Whiffing on Marcus Smith (2014) and Nelson Agholor (2015) has handcuffed them at defensive end and receiver.

"One of the lessons I learned from [2014] was you're not trying to win the draft," Roseman said, referring to when the Eagles traded back for Smith. "You're just trying to get good players that fit the Philadelphia Eagles."

Douglas said there are prototypes for each position in terms of measurables, but he said "the most important job our scouts have is to go deeper than that."

At cornerback, Douglas wants "an elite-level athlete," someone who can "shrug off negative plays." At receiver, he said, "there's a lot of different ways to skin that cat," noting that you can find greatness in prospects who check off every prerequisite (Julio Jones, Calvin Johnson) or may not but can impose their will (Hines Ward, Anquan Boldin).

Douglas' experience is almost strictly in college scouting, but in his new role he will also set the free-agency board. Roseman, of course, will have final say, as he does in the draft, but his new deputy should have his voice heard.

"After being in the college side for so long, I really tried this year to focus on diving into the pro side, getting to know the league as well as I could, getting to know our team as best as I could," Douglas said. "And it's been great."

It's time to put that knowledge to the test.

jmclane@phillynews.com

@Jeff_McLane