What Jobs Will Be Better than Birds'?
Philly.com, Inquirer, and Daily News coverage of the Eagles
What Jobs Will Be Better than Birds'?
It's way too early to obsess over an Eagles coaching search that isn't even going to start for a couple of months yet, but hey, what else do we have to think about?
I'd love to know who's going to be running the search. I guess I envision a Jeffrey Lurie-Howie Roseman tag team, which was the way the interviews went in 1999, the last time the Eagles did this, with Joe Banner in Howie's role. The Eagles hired Tom Donohoe as an advisor last year; not sure whether he will come into play in this process or not. They also maintain ties with other former NFL execs who have worked for them in the past, including Phil Savage and Andrew Brandt.
There's an interesting and I think instructive anecdote about that 1999 search in my book "Philadelphia Eagles: The Complete Illustrated History" which by the way would make a fine Christmas present for any Eagles fan. I think a main selling point right now is that it contains all the good stuff from the glory years, and absolutely nothing from the past two seasons. But I digress.
The anecdote is about how the leading candidate then was Jim Haslett, who had deep roots with then-GM Tom Modrak from Pittsburgh. At the time, Lurie and Banner had only been around 5 years, and they hadn't experienced much success. The only coach they'd hired was Ray Rhodes, and you know how that turned out.
The way I heard it, Haslett came in for an interview and basically insulted Lurie and Banner. He wanted to make it clear that if he deigned to accept their coaching job, they were both going to have to butt out, entirely. He wasn't going to have any clueless, interfering nerd-boys telling him and Modrak what to do.
My understanding is that Lurie and Banner wished Haslett well and immediately turned their search elsewhere. They also thought for a minute about where in the world Haslett might have acquired such a view of them. I'm pretty sure the skids were greased for Modrak's departure right then.
This is not 1999. Back then, the Eagles' job was not considered attractive, even though the Birds had the second overall pick in that year's draft, mainly because the team was playing and practicing in dilapidated Veterans Stadium, a tough sell to free agents and not a great setup for financial success. In 2012, the Eagles have first-class facilities, a stable, passionate fan base, and a history of recent success.
Lurie, whatever fans think of him, is not a Jerry Jones-level meddler or a guy who might be looking to move the franchise to Los Angeles because he can't sell tickets. He's a solid owner who has shown he's willing to spend money on coaches and players; when Andy Reid needed him to open up the checkbook to entice Jim Washburn and Howard Mudd here, Lurie did that. (Yes, I'm aware those hirings haven't turned out well. The point is, when the head coach has wanted to spend money, Lurie has spent it.)
It's true that if Nick Foles isn't any better than he looked in Washington Sunday, the Eagles are going to have to draft a franchise quarterback, and that's a daunting task. It's also true that teams with head coaching openings tend not to have franchise quarterbacks sitting around. Funny how that works. It's almost like there might be some sort of connection there.
The Eagles have some talent, not as much as many of us thought they had in September, obviously, but more than the usual lousy team can boast of having. LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson, Fletcher Cox, DeMeco Ryans. These are core players. You can add Jason Peters if he comes back all the way from the Achilles' and maybe Jason Kelce, if he can adapt to a different blocking scheme. There are other guys who aren't bad and might blossom with better talent around them -- Brandon Graham, Bryce Brown, Jeremy Maclin, Cedric Thornton, Mychal Kendricks. I'm not sure what to make of Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie right now, but I know he has talent,
Who's going to be hiring a coach this year? Cleveland, Jacksonville, Carolina and Kansas City, the teams down at the bottom with the Eagles right now, are always hiring coaches. Anybody who thinks any of those jobs is a better situation than this is crazy. Yeah, Carolina has Cam Newton. Big whoop. Seen him play this year? Tuned into any of his press conferences? Good luck building around that guy. Maybe in 5 years, when he grows up.
San Diego might fire Norv Turner. San Diego has a QB, more or less, but doesn't have a stadium and is considered one of the league's weaker franchises, overall. The Cowboys are the Cowboys. Any coach looking into that mess has to know what he is getting into, what the last decade and a half has been like in Jerryworld.
I think the Eagles' problem won't be attracting candidates, it will be deciding whether a candidate is the next Jim Harbaugh or the next Bobby Petrino. And deciding how much say over personnel that person might get, whether Roseman has done a good enough job to continue to carry a lot of weight in his role.
I'm pretty sure we'll have all the answers to these questions in, oh, two or three more excruciating months.
If Roseman is still involved in personnel decisions, this rebuilding will not truly start until Jeffy gets a real personnel guy in here. Whether you like it or whether you don't like it, that's the truth according to the Tonner and it's the best thing going today.- Hey HOWIE, stick to being an Attorney or Accountant... Football talent is not you strong suit!!— elfman
- how do you pur Desean as a core player??????? the guy is good for a go route and a deep post once a game. come on now, he has the worst route running skills and worst hands on the entire team. he is a big play guy good once or twice a game, not a core player— kidrocco
- I rarely respond to someone in a negative way on here, but he hasn't dropped a ball this year and took a nasty shot on that game winning drive in the Ravens game. I'll be the first to admit he was frustrating last year, but he's been by far our best receiver this year. — gjgreen3
- Please look hard at Cowher. We need someone that will preach hard hitting smash mouth Defense and someone that runs a BALANCED offense something we havent seen from Reid for over 5 years now.— RealizticFan
- Hire Jaws as VP in charge of football operations, give him the keys. Let him hire a proven football mind to do the talent evaluation and aquisition side and keep Howie on contracts and cap management. Jaws is the boss a la Elway in Denver! Let him rebuild the franchise from the top down and give him 5 yrs. to do it. The fan base will immediately re-engage. Jaws is nearly universally loved and respected amongst the fan base and will be given an ample grace period to do his work. These fans know how bad the team is and how clueless the organization has become under the past 5yrs of Andy's era; they understand this will take time. What they do not want and will not support is a 37 yr old with no proven NFL personnel expertise running the show and causing any respectable coaching candidate to pause or decline. Howie can become a guy that can be valuable in a personnel role under the tutelage of the VP and talent evaluation guy. But he is not now qualified to build an entire NFL caliber organization. He does not have the gravitas! IN JAWS I TRUST!— bentlip
- Please, please do NOT hire Jon Gruden the mouth piece!!! All he does is talk, talk and talk some more saying absolutely nothing of value. He is a legend in his own mind and the smartest analyst in NFL broadcasting. Another egotistical Reid. Enough said.— oneway
- @ Realiztic: I would support a Cowher hiring, but I want Jaws and a real GM running the front office.— bentlip
- My preference is not the the Gruden/Cowher route. Once these guys get a sniff of broadcasting, it is very hard to get back on the sidelines and have the incredible energy that is needed. I also want more separation of power. One of the large holes in this organization is that one person basically reports to nobody and his approach is deeply flawed (and has been for quite some time). Assuming that Foles does not develop into a top-notch QB, the Eagles best hope is 1-15 next season with a chance at a top QB.— rwolffd12
- Can't wait to rebuild around Fletcher Cox, Desean Jackson and Cedric Thornton. This article made me more depressed about this team than when I woke up this morning.— guyguy4
- GREAT POINT GUYGUY. THIS TEAM IS AT LEAST 5 GOOD DRAFTS AWAY FROM BEING A LEGIT NFL TEAM. REID HAS CREATED A GARBAGE TEAM THAT WE ARE NOW WATCHING. PURE GARBAGE. — bedpan
- People seriously think Howie can't evaluate talent? Have the actually watched any Eagles games? The 2012 draft class is STACKED. Cox and Kendricks look awesome, and I bet Curry will be too. And don't forget Ryans.— libertyof76
- liberty YOU ARE A DOPE!!! ACCORDING TO PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS, KENDRICKS LEADS THE LEAGUE IN MISSED TACKLES. CURRY HAS NOT PLAYED ONE DOWN. AND RYANS WILL BE GONE WHEN THE NEW REGIME TAKES OVER. GET A BRAIN YOU DOPE. — bedpan
- Don't forget Boykin and Dennis Kelley. Man has he been a disappointment. And you have Foles. I'm holding out hope for him, but if he fails, this 2012 draft won't really be that good either. — watsonmr
- THE AMAZING THING Mr. Watson IS THAT IF COX AND BROWN CAN JUST PRODUCE A LITTLE [FORGET ABOUT FOLES (NO MOBILITY) AND KENDRIX (TOO SMALL)]. THAT WOULD MAKE THE 2012 DRAFT BETTER THAN THE 2010 AND 2011 DRAFTS. WHERE REID MADE 25 PICKS AND COULDN'T FIND 1 LEGIT PRO PLAYER - NOT 1. REID EXPENDS A 4TH ROUND PICK ON A PK THAT CAN'T EVEN MAKE A PAT FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. HOW DOES REID STILL KEEP HIS JOB??? — bedpan
